We're Calling It: Northlane's 'Mesmer' Is A Bona Fide Masterpiece

"Why do we subscribe to a universal thread that weaves the fabric of our lives/Ask why without batting an eye we're so accepting/Question everything." So commences the lead single from Northlane's latest Mesmer set, Intuition (that paralysing double-time kick-drum pace!), which the band debuted live during their headline set at UNIFY 2017 (the accompanying music video was also filmed at this festival). The thunderous drum beats and urgent riffs urge: "find your obsession!"   

  

Enter single number two, Citizen, the album's opener. Riffs employ robotic precision, an elongated scream, relentless bass and super-varied drum patterns with creative, sporadic cymbal crashes - the song barges in like an avalanche, Marcus Bridge's vocals lamenting, "We're caught in the undertow, follow the leader". This song pays homage to Edward Snowden ("It's time to take back our home/Thank you Mr Snow").

 

Is the whole album this heavy and deep? Why, yes, yes it is. Mesmer is the shakeup our society needs. We've become complacent; corporate slaves by day, daring to fantasise about dreams we'll never follow up by night.   

 

Northlane's second album with Bridge up front, Mesmer is also steeped in loss, depression and anxiety (both lyrically and sonically). The rim clicks in Colourwave evoke the racing heartbeat of a panic attack, then there's beseeching verse vocals interspersed with screaming choruses that will blow your face off! In comes Savage, sneaky, almost caressing electronics and then, boom! Carnival-esque riffs and cymbal-heavy drumming underscore the command to, "RISE UUUUUP!"

 

We're only three songs in, but have already experienced and felt so much. It's brutal, but hope glimmers just out of reach and the technical virtuosity on display here is next-level. There are softer moments that serve to accentuate the aural assault of rallying tracks. The impossibly lofty heights to which Bridge's vocals soar will make you shake your head in disbelief. His perfect diction (lyrics are never overenunciated, mind) draws us into the messages within this set of songs.

 

Something about the curly opening Solar riff calls to mind Nirvana's Heart-Shaped Box — yep, it's melodic AF. This track starts off eerily calm; complex compositionally but not as in-yo'-face as we’re used to experiencing via Northlane's hands. There's pleasing harmonies and Solar brings it down a notch to give the listener a breather (never fear, it's far from boring). Heartmachine reinstates a caterwauling pace with insistent circular riffs. There's a sense of despair ("I'm breathing just to pass the time/I forgot to eat tonight"). During Zero One, guitars wail out, sporadically, as if in protest within an unpredictable tempo. You can tell some of the songs on this album are intensely personal for the songwriters/lyricists — bravely so, but you can't feign this kind of emotional delivery (see: Fade, with its sprinting pace that conjures running through/away from pain).  

 

Prepare for Render, which gallops toward your ears from a distance; the perfect intro to accompany a Wall Of Death. One of the more intense and relentless Mesmer offerings, there's vulnerability in Bridge's upper register and his vocal control during extended notes is matchless.

 

"Let me leave this world with dignity" — Veridian's lyrical content is almost too hard to hear.     

 

Northlane's tribute to Tom Searle (the late Architects guitarist/songwriter and Northlane lead guitarist Jon Deiley's primary influence), album closer Paragon opens with the sound of shallow breathing. Electronic throbs simulate a heartbeat; bass stabs replicate footsteps advancing, threateningly. Without warning, a menacing riff assault enters. Bridge's chilling screams will stay with you way beyond the album's duration and he somehow manages to sneak single spoken words in between howls.

 

Unlike many bands in the heavy sphere, Northlane's words are as affecting as their instrumental prowess. The band have clearly suffered personal losses in recent years and bravely chose to immortalise this grief through their art. Mesmer is an enduring work that magnifies a snapshot of their lives, generously shared. A bona fide masterpiece that can't have been easy to pin down.