NORTHLANE | Mesmer | Album Review

NOTE: This review was written and posted in March 2017.

All pieces of music are required a due date in order to be packaged for the masses. Whether it be a long and lengthy period of time or a much shorter amount of time, every band or artist needs to come to the conclusion of finding the perfect date to release a piece of their art, single tracks and twelve song albums included. But, the idea of releasing an album without any promotion and all of a sudden giving a surprise to your fanbase by announcing its release the day before or suddenly ordering the album to be shipped and sent to stores seems to be uncharted water, but a few artists have attempted it. Of course, lots of people know about the unveiling of Avenged Sevenfold's "The Stage" late last year, and it had no promotion behind it other than a single. But, a new example of this was possible for a band entitled Northlane with their album "Mesmer". Before the surprise release of the disc, several hints and clues were given to fans, but no one suspected that "Mesmer" would come this early in the year. The reason why the entirety of this disc was put out early was because the band had stated themselves that it was a special gift to the fans, implying that they felt so confident in the material written for the album that they decided to not let fans wait.

Northlane is a band that merges the sounds of metalcore and progressive metal together into a very unique blend that I definitely see a lot of potential with. There was a bit more of a metalcore sound present on their earlier two albums, as well as the EP that started it all entitled "Hollow Existence", and while these albums were a lot heavier they also had a little bit of progression as well as a little bit of a djent-y style to them. Starting with "Node", however, the band traded its original vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes in favor of Marcus Bridge, and with the modification of the vocal helm brought forth a much more progressive album that featured a lot of ambient values to it and an overall higher amount of diversity to the forefront. In fact, this was my first real exposure to the band, and it took me by surprise so greatly that it was a Top 5 worthy album the year that it came out. It's still an album that I come back to every now and then because of how fantastic it really is.

For this album, Northlane go even deeper into the atmosphere and the experimenting, and it's something that may present a lot of confusion to fans of the earlier material. Also, this is an album produced by David Bendeth, whom now is on a goldmine in terms of producing albums, and I feel that this suits Northlane's sound very well. And Bendeth's influence on the band can be felt as soon as you consider the first track on the album "Citizen". This is a track that is not any different from anything heard on "Node", but I feel like this track could be a minor radio hit as well. In fact, a good majority of the disc is like what would happen if you took the experiments that took place on "Node" and mixed it in with a band of the modern "core" persuasion that has managed to get airplay on active rock radio such as a band like Of Mice And Men. "Citizen" is also a great kickoff track for the album, and has a very good concept behind it, and it's actually the second song that has come out over the course of two years that is inspired by Edward Snowden, and there is evidence of that in the lyrics. The other band that attempted to write a track about the ex-CIA agent was Thrice with their most recent album. 

The majority of songs on Side A of this album follow a similar regime. While each of them have different concepts attached to them, the six tracks that make up the first half of the album are all very seamless and do not skip a beat. Whether it be the track that follows "Citizen" on the album entitled "Colourwave" (which features parts that border on nu-metal), to the leadoff single and potentially the heaviest track here entitled "Intuition". However, Track 4 on the album, "Solar", is probably the most unique out of the first half due to this sounding even more like it should be played on the radio than "Citizen". That, and the riff that opens up this song gives it a very enticing and hypnotic feel to it. Another song that could attempt to get a bit of radio traction is "Fade", which is the eighth track and is definitely the calmest track on the album, although there are brief moments where the djent techniques and Marcus Bridge's screams come in. And this is something that actually works for it because it does make the track unique and if it was a radio single it would be something totally different I feel. As for the other tracks on the album, they're pretty good as well, each of which showcase Northlane's tricks and abilities at a very consistent pace. 

I can't believe that we haven't even gotten done with the first half of 2017, and we already have three potential contenders for the Album Of The Year in our hands. Because, in all honesty, this is probably Northlane's best and most well-rounded disc out of their four album discography. And this is a band that's only going to continue to evolve. This is a massive recommendation for people in the djent community that want something very unique and delivers on its premises to give a listener the ultimate thrill of innovation as well as overall quality and excellence. This band definitely is looking at brighter pastures in their near future, and I have the feeling that this band will become one of the biggest in the metal community pretty soon, because now they've had two albums in a row worth a listen and worth your time and money, and will potentially add more albums to their discography that are worth your attention. 

RATING: 10/10

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.