It’s approaching ten years since Marcus Bridge joined Northlane.
Off the back of their sophomore album ‘Singularity’, founding vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes departed the band in 2014, as Marcus stepped into his shoes at the helm of the Australian metalcore outfit. Leading the band forward into a new era, the decade that followed saw the band flesh out their metalcore sound into the realms of cyberpunk and electronica.
Four albums down the line, the band are preparing to release their new EP ‘Mirror’s Edge’, where they embrace collaboration like never before. Enlisting Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall, Karnivool’s Ian Kenny and former bassist Brendon Padjasek, ‘Mirror’s Edge’ packs soundscapes from Northlane’s past and present into an eclectic six-track collection.
Following the release of their 2022 album ‘Obsidian’, Northlane found themselves at somewhat of an internal crossroads. With relationships on the verge of turning sour, the band retreated to Victoria’s Yarra Valley, confronting their communication issues through a series of earnest conversations. Revitalised and refreshed, the writing sessions that followed gave rise to the futuristic essence that flows through ‘Mirror’s Edge’.
Rock Sound caught up with Marcus about this exciting new chapter, ahead of the EP’s release.
ROCK SOUND: Since you returned for your last album cycle with ‘Clockwork’, it’s become one of Northlane’s biggest tracks. Did you feel any pressure to follow that as you launched this EP with ‘Dante’?
MARCUS BRIDGE: “‘Dante’, was the song throughout the writing process that grew the most and stuck with us. We’re always trying to push our sound in a new direction and be bigger and better than we’ve ever been. But it’s always [driven by] instinct as well, what we feel means the most to us.”
RS: ‘Dante’ is such a compelling blend of electronic and heavy soundscapes. You’ve been mixing those genres for a while, but where does the electronic influence originally stem from?
MARCUS: “There was, at a point, a disconnect between the old heavier stuff and this more electronic, dancey vibe. And now that we’re bringing some more of that in with this new EP, everything feels very fluid and connected. [‘Dante’] is a hard song to perform!
“Jon, our guitarist and main writer, he’s so passionate about the production side and digging deep into new things. He’s the only one in the band who really understands how modular synths work. For the rest of us, we’ve all grown up enjoying that kind of music as well; Nine Inch Nails and Pendulum. There’s so many groups that subconsciously influence what we do.”
RS: What led you to the decision to come back with an EP, instead of going straight onto the next album?
MARCUS: “With the landscape of streaming…you have to move a bit quicker these days. We were ready to do something instinctual, and also something with a little bit less pressure. Doing an EP takes [away] that pressure of having ten songs that all tie together, whether that be a theme or a certain sound. This gave us a bit more freedom to have a few songs that are quite drastically different. If you look at ‘Dante’ compared to ‘Miasma’, they’re light and shade.”
RS: Did the songs come fairly seamlessly, with the band riding this wave of creativity?
MARCUS: “Actually, through this period of writing, there was definitely tension. Personally, I didn’t feel like I was being able to fully use my voice in the process and express myself. We ended up going to the Dandenong Ranges, just outside of Melbourne, and spent a few days in a really secluded house. We broke all this stuff down, opened up and talked about it. I think Jon in particular can sometimes put it all on his shoulders and feel like it’s all up to him.
“As soon as we had that discussion, the music flowed. A band is a relationship, and you should be honest with everyone and make sure that everyone’s happy and feeling heard. ‘Miasma’ is a song about that experience. Jon was really open to that, accepting how I felt and wanting to help me strengthen that message.”
RS: Is the relative heaviness of ‘Miasma’ a reflection of the emotions behind it?
MARCUS: “When I was writing those lyrics, I was frustrated. It’s maybe not justified, because I just needed to talk to them. But I thought it needs to feel aggressive and feel like I’m talking about those issues. We’re never trying to separate ourselves from the past and that heavy side, and turn into just an electronic band. We’re never going to turn our back completely on that side of our sound – it just needs to be the right moment.”
RS: Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall features on ‘Miasma’. What does it mean to you to have such Australian metal royalty on a Northlane track?
MARCUS: I distinctly remember seeing [Parkway Drive’s] ‘Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em’ music video on Channel V. Winston has been really crucial to my growth as a performer and a vocalist. I was just so transfixed on how Winston performed…he can be quite aggressive on stage, but he also has this charm, where he will just smile out to the crowd. That really resonated with me – you don’t have to always be the tough guy in metal, you can be yourself and let the music do the talking. He came down to Melbourne from Byron Bay, he was adamant that he wanted to come and do it with us…a lot of people would track it from home. He was so excited about the song, and was so generous with his time.”
RS: ‘Mirror’s Edge’ is your most collaborative project to date. Why was now the right time to embrace collaboration?
MARCUS: “It was important that when we were to do it, it’s for the right reasons, not for the sake of some hype. The three guest spots on this EP are a perfect combination. Parkway – the band that kind of kicked off Australian metalcore for all of us. Karnivool, the band that set off a new chapter for Northlane. Karnivool had such a big impact, particularly on Jon and the dynamics of songwriting…it doesn’t always need to be 100% balls to the wall. And then having [former bassist] Brendan [Padjasek] back on a song, it’s like a throwback to ‘Alien’. We recorded the EP in New Jersey with Will Putney, and Brendan messaged us saying, ‘Do you guys mind if I come down for a week just to hang out and catch up? We still keep in touch with him…if we could have him back, we would. But he’s doing his own thing.”
RS: The last time you toured the UK was with Sleep Token, during their viral explosion with their surprise singles in January 2023. How did it feel being privy to that from the inside?
MARCUS: “It was weird, ‘cause we could definitely see this sudden shift. Something happened with those four songs, and the tour just sold out. And now, they rule the world. They’re such hardworking people, they’re really lovely and humble folk. They also never take a backseat, they’re always changing what they’re doing. They’re doing things on their own terms, which is so cool to see. Hopefully it encourages other bands to find their own pathway to create something unique that people may have not heard before.”
RS: Do you have plans to return to the UK in the near future?
MARCUS: “We definitely want to come back, and I think it’s on the cards for this year at some point. That’s about all I know at the moment. Keep an eye out, we should hopefully be back pretty soon.”
‘Mirror’s Edge’ is out on April 12.