Northlane

The state of the world is dire. Disinformation dictates politics. Fascism is in fashion. Social media is rotting brains. Algorithms have flattened culture. Lives are optimised and not lived. Civility is dead. The future we were sold is not the one we bought. When Northlane retreated to the studio, it would have been easy for them to descend into the void. Instead they emerged with their most hopeful and human record yet.

Across a career defined by seismic shifts, Northlane have stared down technological anxiety, alienation and collapse, channelling it into a highly influential body of work that is as expansive as it is confrontational. This time, instead of leaning into the obvious, songwriter/guitarist Jon Deiley found inspiration on the dance floor courtesy of a mind-altering set from UK producer and DJ Evian Christ. As the strobes flashed and projections swirled overhead, Deiley had a creative awakening: trance, in all its emotional intensity and physical scale, could work naturally with guitars and the catharsis of heavy music. That moment became the foundation of Anemoia.

Fuelled by the same artistic spark that gave birth to Singularity (2013), Deiley returned to the studio chasing a question: how far could electronic metal be pushed? What was only meant to be an EP quickly turned into an album when the band enlisted producer Jordan Fish to bring this vision into focus.

Both Fish and Deiley share an intense curiosity for songwriting tackled from opposite ends. Fish’s anything-goes approach was the much-needed counterpoint to Deiley’s penchant for obsessively fixating on elements for months, even years, pursuing perfection to the detriment of everything else in his life. 

Steering Deiley and Marcus Bridge (vocals) in unexpected directions simply to see where it would lead, Fish’s experimental mindset unlocked a new sense of playfulness within Northlane, transforming what could often be a tense process for the band’s creative heads into a relaxed environment where they could focus on making music and, most importantly, enjoy doing it. The trio quickly transformed a folder full of nascent ideas and demos into Northlane’s seventh album.

 “I don't think we could have done it without Jordan,” says Deiley, “the bones of those songs weren't even there, it was just, like a riff or two. He was the one that really ignited something in those.”

“He's really good at finding the special thing in an artist and you can see it with all the other people he's worked with. It takes two to tango, and when he's able to get that stuff out of someone it turns into something really special,” adds Bridge.

For Northlane, that something special is Anemoia. An album that toys with the concept of feeling nostalgia for a time or place one has never known, Anemoia feels like the first rays of sunlight peeking through the clouds on an overcast day. 

“That is the thing about it, people don't feel nostalgic for things that were bad. You feel nostalgic for things that were nice,” offers Deiley.

Reaching for musical touchstones that serve as a comfort and reprieve from the global bin-fire burning around the band, Anemoia is a web of intricacies where Northlane’s hallmark electronic metal takes many forms, shapeshifting through euphoric trance, seismic breakdowns, brain-bending grooves, drum-and-bass, jungle and pop, creating a record that is as physically immersive as it is vulnerable. 

The nostalgic yearning coursing through Anemoia opens up a dichotomy of darkness and light that underpins the record. Buoyed by the sense of freedom in eras past, there’s a light and carefree energy running through tracks like the bright Britpop-tinged ‘Start Again’, the 2000s cheekiness of ‘Cut It’, the kinetic exhilaration of ‘Evian’ and widescreen interplay between Bridge and guest vocalist Rory Rodriguez (Dayseeker) on the album’s title track.

But nostalgia is a double-edged sword and that reverie is broken when the present rears its head. Feelings of anger and despair in all their forms take the wheel and Northlane rain hell via the one-two punch of ‘Crucified’ and the earth-shattering urgency of its companion track ‘Deathwish’ lamenting the collapse of civil discourse from opposing perspectives, while the human-vs-technology final-level boss battle of ‘Sega’ is soundtracked by some of the band’s heaviest moments since their Hollow Existence EP (2010).

“There's darkness here, but it's not nihilism - and there's hope, but it's not naivety,” says Bridge. “We weren't interested in writing a record that projects something beyond ourselves with a prophetic statement, or pretending the world is better than it is. What we made instead is something that feels like it was written by real people living through the same experience as everyone else.”

Since the release of 2019’s Alien, a duality of Northlane has emerged with the band’s expansion into electronic music moving in tandem alongside their signature heavy sound. Anemoia coalesces both elements into their own sonic singularity. 

“Up until Alien, Northlane was trying to figure out what it wanted to be,” starts Deiley. “After we released Singularity, we toured with Architects for the first time and Tom (Searle) and I became very close. He even said then he loved the album but didn’t think we’d found our sound yet. I always think of that because at the time, I thought we had.

“Now I'm the most comfortable that I've ever been with my taste and ability to make things,” he continues. “I’m able to express myself in other ways outside of guitar with synths and electronic elements. I want to make music that people may not have heard before, especially from a band.”

It is this restless pursuit of evolution that has defined Northlane since their genesis. With Anemoia, they have not chosen between the worlds that shaped them - they have finally found where they meet.

Formed in 2020, Allt is a progressive metalcore band from Karlskoga, Sweden. Known for their audiovisual storytelling and innovative approach to metalcore, Allt has just released their highly anticipated debut album, "From The New World." The name Allt, which means "everything" in Swedish, reflects the band's philosophy towards music: never to be confined within genre boundaries and continually delivering conceptually rich compositions inspired by the world around us and the stories and myths told through the ages.

After the release of their early EPs Dark Waters (2020) and The Seed of Self-Destruction (2021), Allt quickly earned recognition for their genre-transcending sound. What began as a studio project soon grew into a live force, with tours alongside Animals as Leaders and Bleed from Within laying the foundation for the next chapter of their journey.

In October 2024, the band unveiled their debut album From The New World, a concept record exploring collapse, survival, and the human condition. Praised as one of the most compelling metalcore releases of the year, the album connected deeply with audiences and set a new standard. Its success was matched on the road, with the band supporting Imminence across Europe. Following up in the beginning for 2025 with a sold out headline tour and  later sharing US stages with Invent, Animate and Silent Planet.

Now, one year after its original release, From The New World returns as a Digital Deluxe Edition, expanding the album’s universe with new interpretations and instrumentals. This release marks both a celebration of how far Allt has come and a bridge toward what lies ahead.

Since rising out of Australia’s flourishing musical underground, Reliqa have established themselves as one of Australia's most exciting new prospects. Their 2024 debut album, Secrets of the Future, showcased a band leaving no stone unturned in their quest for total musical expression, harnessing the most savage and passionate elements of modern metal fused with electronica, pop, prog and post-hardcore for the thrill of it. Trailblazers in their own right, they've shared stages with the likes of BABYMETAL, Spiritbox, Periphery, Make Them Suffer and more.

The imminent arrival of their second album via Nuclear Blast Records / Immortal Music Group promises to raise the bar of Reliqa’s captivating musical style.