Crammed onto a tiny stage in Leeds around the corner from where the MOBO awards are happening, Northlane are bringing some Australian sunshine to what is a miserable, chilly day in Yorkshire.
Colourwave is a great opener for the show, front man Marcus Bridge shows his immense vocal abilities by switching from deep growls to melodic straight singing. It’s hard to believe that this show was originally downgraded from a larger venue in the city as the crowd seems to be slightly over capacity and the first crowd surfer descends onto the stage during banger Rot. With the lack of barrier in the venue, this is a super intimate show for the band who embrace the energy from the dedicated fans in the first few rows- warmed up nicely by support acts Ocean Grove, Invent Animate and Erra.
Dream Awake and Heart Machine are both huge but the biggest reaction so far is for Quantum Flux– a song not originally featuring Bridge, but his crystal clear vocals are distinctively better than the original and his screams piercing and perfect. There are headbangs and breakdowns a plenty and most of the crowd will no doubt wake up with a bangover tomorrow.
As soon as the first riff from Citizen from new album Mesmer comes over the speakers, the crowd lose their shit; screaming the lyrics back to the band- the energy never drops. The guitars are harsh and punchy but special mention should go out to drummer Nic Pettersen his intensity not just in this song, but throughout the whole show was a pleasure to view.
The jarring guitars of Obelisk ring around the venue and the good vibes continue, the Australian group are putting on a stellar show in little old Yorkshire this evening as Solar and Dispossession go down an absolute treat. Intuition again from latest release Mesmer gets a great response- the almost syncopated drums contrasting with the agitated guitars and dreamy vocals sounds huge, it’s a real shame that this room doesn’t give Northlane the show they deserve.
With five members in the metalcore outfit crammed onto a tiny stage, the band are restricted with movement. However,it seems the band loved returning to almost an old school/no barrier style show so they can feel that connection and energy from their fans. Northlane are simply that good that nothing is going to stop them absolutely demolishing shows night after night but on their next trip to the UK, it would be great to see the band dominating the venues they deserve to be playing.
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All photos and words by Forte Photography UK: Website
