Following the surprise release of Northlane’s latest studio LP: Mesmer, Australia’s leading metalcore giants have embarked on their ‘Mesmer Tour’ across Australia with some of the biggest names in metalcore. Taking the stage at Perth’s Amplifier Capitol, they were supported by progressive metalcore outfit from Alabama: Erra, the brutal metalcore 4-piece from Illinois: Sworn In, and Perth’s new local spacecore band: Once Almost Never.
Getting the crowd warmed up for the night was Perth’s spacecore outfit: Once Almost Never, a relatively new band on the Perth metal scene – have just released their debut EP last Thursday titled: Escape Velocity. Their set consisted primarily of tracks from this release, starting the night off with “Terror-Firma”, immediately showcasing the unique vocal style from frontman Jordan Hood, consisting mainly of deep gutturals – surrounded with a flow of reverb-infused, somewhat pop-punk style clean vocals from guitarist Ashton Bell, that blended very nicely on stage. Both Ashton and Emerson Day floored through precise metal core riffs on their guitars, with excellent builds to a some truly satisfying breakdowns that were cleanly sliced throughout their tracks. Each band member had excellent stage presence, particularly bass-player Patrick De Rooy, who spun around with invigorating energy and really got the crowd moving. The band ended on “Aurora”, the final song in their EP – a fantastic track filled with driving metalcore riffs, space-themed lyricism, and a breakdown that hits like an absolute truck. This band was the perfect warmup set for the show, Once Almost Never is carving a fantastic niche in the Perth music scene, expect big things from these guys.
Next up on the night, setting a slightly different tone, was the hard-hitting metalcore Sworn In. Taking the stage, the tone drastically shifted to darker atmosphere, as frontman Tyler Dennen stood ominously during the dark, eerie opener of “Cross My Heart” from their latest LP 2017 album All Smiles. As soon as the first verse hit, it erupted into the massive hard-hitting breakdown where Tyler absolutely tore through the setlist with enthralling energy. This performance is the embodiment of madness and destruction, throwing his head back and letting out deathly growls with his knees on the floor – it was a terrifyingly hypnotic performance to witness. The band then moved into disarray of “Endless Grey”, last years single release preceding the release of their latest album. Between Tyler’s brutal screams, his clean vocals were good highlights that cut through very nicely in the mix. Constantly working up the crowd, Tyler commanded his audience to put their “hands up”, and “wake up” – erupting in absolute chaos following every huge bassdrop-filled breakdown that was expelled. Sworn In also included older crowd favorite tracks such as “Mindless” from their 2013 album The Death Card, where the ultra-tight instrumentals really shined, guitarist Eugene Kamlyuk and bassist Derek Bolman were on-point the entire time, and every riff was hit with destructive precision. The band then moved to the audience-favourite: “Snake Eyes” – every word was matched by a hectic moshpit as the band’s set came to a roaring finish as Tyler let out one final scream.
Progressive metalcore outfit Erra took the stage for their first show in Perth, and stormed straight into the beautiful tapped introduction of one of their most popular songs “Luminescence” from their latest album Drift. From the very beginning of Erra’s set, a mass of crowdsurfing, head banging an moshing ensued. The mix was incredibly clean, each tapped note was clear and precise along with every fast-paced chugged breakdown from lead guitarist Jesse Cash. The unclean vocals frontman J.T. Cavey, were phenomenal, and sounded straight off the recordings. His mid-ranged vocal style was absolutely thrilling to hear live, and he really got the crowd moving with some phenomenal energy onstage. Jesse’s clean vocals were also fantastic, with incredible accuracy the entire set. The band then moved to other songs from Drift, such as “Irreversible” and the title-track “Drift”, which had audiences elated off their feat the entire time – jumping and moshing throughout the night. Additionally, Erra also went back in time to years pre-J.T for songs such as “White Noise” from the band’s early 2011 LP Impulse, and “Hybrid Earth” from their 2013 album Augment, which were both fantastic to hear with J.T‘s mid-ranged vocal style. Overall, Erra put on an absolutely fantastic set – with absolute technical proficiency, near-perfect vocals and captivating stage presence, Perth is certainly looking forward to their return!
Finally, in true Northlane fashion, each member took the stage to a deep atmospheric tones, a digital backdrop and some incredible lighting and stormed straight into “Colorwave” from their recent Mesmer LP. Marcus Bridge’s vocals were absolutely spot-on as expected, never missing a note as he transitioned beautifully between screams and clean vocals. The mix was also exceptional, the bass was very loud but not overpowering, and emphasised an almost of sonic tone from the guitars and bass, it was crafted to near-perfection. Guitarists: Jon Deiley and Josh Smith had engineered incredible sounds unlike anything heard in a live performance – the guitars were filled with massive razor-sharp intensity that completely filled the venue, it was truly captivating to hear live. Interestingly enough, the band immediately went into “Worldeater” from the pre-Marcus days of their 2013 LP Singularity – arguably Northlane’s best release – showing off their iconic open-O “djent” breakdowns that had audiences hypnotised.
Continuing across the band’s discography, they played more earlier tracks such as “Dream Awake”, “Quantum Flux”, and of course, the iconic track “Dispossession” from their 2011 LP Discoveries, which had audiences singing along to every word and losing themselves to the brutality of Northlane’s breakdowns. Each member performed with such style and rigour, dressed in their iconic outfits, such as Marcus’s long distressed black shirt and Jon’s iconic medical mask and black contact lenses. The band progressed through plenty of songs from Mesmer, such as the slower track “Solar”, which had audiences clapping and singing along to every word, as well as tracks from their 2015 album Node, such as “Rot” and “Weightless.” The metalcore giants ended the night on “Paragon”. The lights went out as the atmospheric introduction swept through the venue, and with an absolute bang they kicked into the massive metalcore riffage. Northlane put on a terrific set, backed up a great selection of big metalcore names that formed an unforgettable show. The ‘Mesmer Tour’ is not one you want to miss!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by André Avila at Redwood Visions
NORTHLANE
The Mesmer World Tour
Australian Leg
Thursday 19th October – The Gov, Adelaide
Friday 20th October – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Saturday 21st October – Capitol, Perth
Friday 27th October – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Saturday 28th October – Brightside Outdoor Carpark, Brisbane
For complete tour and ticketing information, visit:
livenation.com.au
