Northlane - Windbreaker

     There's a mini-theme connecting your Monday post to the Sunday metalcore track I posted earlier, namely the theme of me championing a genre I dig in the face of all you tr00, kvlt metalheads out there. But where earlier it was metalcore, this time around it's everybody's favourite, djent.

     And if we're talking djent, one of my fun, go-to, djent-for-djent's-sake bands is Australia's Northlane. They don't melt my face off or anything, but they've got the goods when I'm looking for something catchy and chock full of big grooves. So for your Monday Funday song I'm going with "Windbreaker" from Northlane's 2013 LP Singularity. Your instructions? Car engine: on; windows: down; volume: up. Enjoy. (Bonus points if you get the joke with this one...)

    

Tuesday: In Hearts Wake - Intrepid (feat. Marcus Bridge of Northlane)

     No Tech Tuesday post this week, belated or otherwise. In fact, the Tuesday song I've chosen is in some ways the very opposite of what you might expect from a Tech Tuesday tune. It is, however, headbangy fun. Should I have saved this for a Sunday Funday or something? Maybe. Why don't you be the judge?

     Australia's In Hearts Wake might not be reinventing the djent wheel at all, but they sure have a knack for groovesmanship. Take as an example "Intrepid", from the band's latest release Skydancer, which is more than the sum of its riffs. I found myself nodding along at multiple points, and hitting repeat a time or two as well. Like I said, there's no rocket science here, but then, does there always have to be?

Saturday: Northlane - Ra

     What're your thoughts on Australia's Northlane? Would you be excited if I told you they've got a new record coming out, or unimpressed? What about a new single? Not sure? Read on and find out.

     Spoiler alert: based on said new single, if you didn't dig Northlane before, you probably still won't, and even if you did, you might find yourself cooler on the new material. The new single in question is called "Ra" -- or seems to be, anyways, as the single's reveal was apparently the end result of an online scavenger hunt/puzzle solving kind of situation -- and if it's indicative of the rest of the forthcoming Node then you can expect things to be full-on, groove-heavy djentcore.

     Now, keep in mind of course that "Ra" might not sound the same as the Node's ten other tracks, but for the time being it seems like things will be low, heavy, and groovy this time around for Northlane. It's not necessarily a drastic shift in sound, and the strong core (no pun intended) of melody that still lies at the heart of "Ra" means that things could be more evolutionary than revolutionary on Node. Check it out and, if you dig, make a note to yourself to grab a copy when it drops in July.

Northlane - Rot

     I've got some more new music for you this afternoon, in the form of the latest from the Australian djentlemen in Northlane.

     There has apparently been some line-up shuffling in Camp Northlane since last we heard from them -- vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes has parted ways with the band and been replaced by Marcus Bridge -- but you wouldn't necessarily know it to listen to them. The voice over top might be different, but the atmosphere-enhanced melo-djent underneath doesn't sound radically different than it did on 2013's Singularity.

     Not that there's anything wrong with that. As new single "Rot" demonstrates, Northlane can craft engaging hooks and grooves no matter who's on the mic. They're still not blowing my mind or anything, but I found myself hitting repeat and bobbing my head in a pleasant feedback loop with this one. Northlane's next record could be one to watch out for.

Northlane - Masquerade

     For our last catch-up song, the one for the second of January, we're going something more modern than the last couple of days. First 1998, then 2009, and now 2013.

     Your song for today is Northlane's "Masquerade" from last year's Singularity. They're not reinventing the djent wheel, but they are managing to craft some cool tunes with both good djenty grooves and some interesting texture. If you're a fan of that sort of thing, Singularity and "Masquerades" are above average examples of the genre.

Song of the Day: Darkest Hour - The Misinformation Age

     In Monday's Song of the Day post I likened the vocal style of Northlane's Adrian Fitipaldes to that of Darkest Hour's John Henry. It was more "vaguely reminiscent of" than "dead ringer for", and maybe you think even that kind of broad comparison is unwarranted, but either way I got to thinking that It's been a bit since we've done a Darkest Hour song.

Song of the Day: Northlane - Dream Awake

     I've been rocking Northlane's new album Singularity all day and I'm finding it pretty tasty. It's pretty djenty, and as such it's not exacly the most unique album out there, but there's something about it that I'm diggin' on that I can't quite put my finger on.

Song of the Day: Northlane - Quantum Flux

     I've seen the name of today's band crop up a couple of times online lately, touring with this band or being mentioned by that band, but I didn't check them out until this evening. Here is the result of my investigation.