Northlane, Erra, Landmvrks, Banks Arcade @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 16/2/2024
When Northlane arrived many years ago, they quickly established themselves atop the Australian Metalcore world and stayed at the forefront from some time. Once there and afforded more freedom they dove into creating art, be in lush textures in their music, harrowing content in the lyrics, their cutting edge videos or performance on stage. To listen to their music is to submerse yourself into theatre.
Tonight the Sydneysiders are on the final lap of their current month long Australian tour and true to their core beings, they bring with them three other bands, from all corners of the world, who for them art is paramount.
Opening are Banks Arcade, hot on the heels of their rip-you-to-shreds EP Death 2 and Josh O’Donnell and his crew waste no time dropping some bangers from that. Worship The Internet opens and Roulette finishes a set that displays the full range of the bands emotions from rage to serene. Having followed the bands trajectory, to see how people in the Adelaide crowd know the lads songs, singing and dancing along, is a celebratory reflection of the work they are doing. The band for their part are not overawed by the bigger stage as O’Donnell dances, shimmies and claps his way around it like he was born to do it.
Hailing from France, Landmvrks arrive next and straight away everyone’s getting a face lift such is the ferocity of their performance. Lost In The Wave gets the crowd chanting,, mosh pits are de rigueur by the time ‘Blistering’ is performed and how the band switch from rapping calmly in French to pure rage in English during Visage and Creature is something to behold. The riffs are as sharp as the traps in the movie Saw and the crowd boisterous. Landmvrks, ça a été toute une aventure.
From another part of the globe comes the Americans Erra, and that heavy downstroke on Cure ignites the audience and opens proceedings. Scorpion Hymn follows up and the harmonies and grooves from seven stringer Jesse Cash stand above the brutality of the music. By the time Snowblood finishes the set, the whirlwind that is J.T. Cavey has the crowd eating of out his devil horn raised hands.
Northlane though are the chief conductors of tonight’s orchestral performance. Starting with the explicitly great Carbonized, it’s clear Northlane are bringing the heavy on this tour while not sacrificing the serene. New track Miasma has guest vocals from Erra’s J.T. Cavey and it goes down extremely well.
4D and Talking Heads have the room bouncing as guitarist Josh Smith goes for a ride in the crowd.
Northlane’s ability to swing from beautiful melody to crushing rhythms is evident in the hand waving Bloodline and by the time the medley of Worldeater, Dispossession and Jinn is done Marcus Bridge has had about three costumes changes and lost ten kilos in sweat such is the energy exhumed.
Bridge does give the band a breather for a solo performance of Solar before a brand new song Afterimage is dropped with a luscious groove.
Finishing with Clockwork and Nova, Northlane have taken you on a musical pilgrimage throughout their career, one part musically heavy, others spiritual, old songs are here, songs you’ve not heard before aired. It’s all part of the Northlane experience. Art from their deepest soul.
Live Review By Iain McCallum