Northlane

Northlane formed as a progressive metalcore quartet in Australia and quickly earned acclaim for topping charts and collecting awards. The lineup now features original guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith alongside drummer Nic Pettersen and vocalist/lyricist Marcus Bridge, whose music fuses intricate, angular riffs with elaborate chord progressions, abrupt shifts in intensity, heavy distortion, and detailed songwriting. National recognition arrived via the 2011 debut album Discoveries, followed by Singularity reaching number three on the ARIA chart in 2013. After launching and overseeing the FREE YOUR MIND touring festival that same year, the group experienced lineup shifts and delivered its second album Node in 2015, which claimed the top ARIA position and secured an ARIA Award, the Australian equivalent of a Grammy. The ARIA-winning Mesmer arrived in 2017 and entered the Top 20 of America’s Heatseekers chart, while Alien from 2019 landed inside the Top Ten and earned the band its third straight ARIA Award in the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album category. A fourth trophy followed for the chart-topping and boldly experimental Obsidian in 2022. Two years afterward the six-track Mirror’s Edge EP appeared.

The band took its name from a track by fellow metalcore outfit Architects and assembled in 2009 within Blacktown, a suburb of Greater Western Sydney. Founding members comprised guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes, bassist Alex Milovic, and drummer Mitchell Collier, the last of whom departed after the initial tour and was succeeded by Nic Pettersen.

Northlane rapidly assembled new material and issued its recorded debut, the six-track Hollow Existence EP, in 2010. Extensive national touring in support of the release built a reputation for relentless live performances. Following a deal with Melbourne-based, Warner-distributed label We Are Unified, the group recorded its first full-length Discoveries with producers Shane Edwards and Dave Petrovic at Electric Sun Studios in Arndell Park. That album marked the final appearance of bassist Simon Anderson, who was dismissed, allowing Milovic to rejoin. Though only a modest commercial performer, reaching number 85 on the ARIA chart, Discoveries paved the way for Singularity in 2013, produced by Will Putney—previously credited as engineer on Four Year Strong’s Enemy of the World and mixer/master on the Amity Affliction’s Chasing Ghosts—which climbed to number three on the ARIA chart. After further tours and festival dates in 2014, original vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes exited, leaving Deiley and Smith as the sole remaining founders. Marcus Bridge joined as the new frontman, and the band’s first single featuring him, “Rot,” surfaced before year’s end. Node, the third album, followed in 2015, again topping the ARIA chart and later receiving the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album.

The groove-oriented single “Solar” emerged in early 2017 as the initial preview of the surprise follow-up Mesmer. On the fifth studio album Alien in 2019, Bridge delved into his unsettled upbringing, addressing the difficulties of a fractured home and his eventual path forward. That expansive release captured the band’s third consecutive ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album.

November 2021 brought the video and single “Echo Chamber,” recorded while members remained in quarantine under Australia’s strict COVID-19 travel rules. The track served as advance notice for the April 2022 arrival of sixth album Obsidian, which led the Australian charts, reached the Top 30 in the U.K., and earned another ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album. The six-track Mirror’s Edge EP returned in 2024, featuring guest appearances by Karnivool’s Ian Kenny, Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall, and Structures vocalist and former Northlane bassist Brendon Padjasek.