Concert Review - Northlane, Auckland New Zealand, 2017

Northlane

26th August 2017
The Kings Arms, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.

When those painted black doors of The Kings Arms opened at 8pm tonight there was already a solid line of fans winding its way up the street, all eager to get inside and secure a place for the show. This evening promised to be a variable feast of both prog metal and metalcore with not one but two international bands gracing the stage along with rather impressive support from local act Set On End.

Jesse Cleaver cuts a foreboding figure as he stands poised at the edge, mic in hand, staring out into the audience with a fixed glare. It has been a good thirty minutes since the doors have opened but the historic walls of the KA are already heaving with a close to capacity crowd. Set on End is like a steam train who just won’t stop, the relentless drums and almost at times snake charmer like lead guitar combining to create a powerful sound that is slightly elevated from the standard prog metal often heard. At times during the set, the three man guitar line form a power stance across the stage as a bearded Jeremy Suckling (former drummer with the infamous Dawn of Azazel) continued to beat the kit into submission while barely breaking a sweat. Stand out track of the set had to be ‘Endeavour’ during which Cleaver demanded that everybody move, the fans happily complying.

Hailing from just across the ditch in Byron Bay, In Heart’s Wake have been busy lads over the last few days of their trip to New Zealand. Before headlining their show in Christchurch last Thursday the – in collaboration with Sea Shepherd – participated in a clean-up of New Brighton Beach as part of their ‘We Are Waterborne’ intiative, an initiative that as stated in a recent interview with lead vocalist Jake Taylor, is something of great significance to the group as a whole. Considering the proximity of the bands home town to New Zealand it almost seemed appropriate that they kicked off their set tonight with “Passage’ from their latest album released this year entitled Ark. Immediately the crowd are drawn in chanting the anthemic chorus line “Resist!, Resist! With unbridled passion.

A quick conversation with a fan about the rugby where a phone was held up to validate the score and In Hearts Wake continued with their break neck set, ‘Nomad’ another track from the latest album followed closely by ‘Healer’ off their 2014 album Earthwalker; Taylor telling the audience that he wanted to see everyone jump, the front section instantly turning into human pogoes. What happened next though was a spectacle not often (if at all!) witnessed at a show, especially one in a venue of this size; Taylor announcing that the band had been discussing the idea of coming up with something fun to do at the shows. The result being a daring game of ‘Capture the Flag’ which involved Taylor inside a large inflatable dingy (brought out onto stage with much pomp and ceremony to the backing track of ‘I’m On A Boat’ by The Lonely Island) being ferried across the crowd to the back of the venue to retrieve a flag and then back again. Flag retrieved the charismatic Taylor backed magnificently vocal wise by Kyle Erich continued on with their set, Taylor almost conducting the audience purely with one hand as he raised them up and brought them back down again. Despite playing New Zealand twice before, tonight signalled the first time that all five members had been able to attend, Taylor dedicating their track ‘Divine’ to drummer Conor Ward for helping to make it all happen, the audience raising the very roof with their collective voices much to the delight of the band itself. “There is beautiful energy in the room tonight – sing it louder” Taylor encouraged the crowd, the voices swelling at the sight of his wide spread arms and grateful smile. There would be no encore for the band, instead just a solid nine song set culminating with ‘Earthwalker’, Taylor – one hand on the lighting rig – leaning out and half resting his lengthy frame across the sea of upturned hands.

A decent break between sets allowed for the now completely drenched audience to grab some fresh air and re-hydrate at the bar, the hardcore front row stoically holding their position, braced for the next round of metalcore goodness.

Northlane, not only originate from the same country as the preceding act but also happen to be best friends with its members – the feel good vibe of friendship emanating from the stage and throughout the crowd. Formed in 2009 Northlane faced a significant change in dynamics when former lead vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes departed the band in 2014; replaced by Marcus Bridge, Northlane went on to release the album Node in 2015 which went straight to No. 1 in the Australian charts, an achievement (as discussed in a recent interview) that blew the new singer away. Taking the stage to a pulsating backing track, the band certainly looked like they meant business. Decked out in black, smoke winding round their feet, Northlane stood almost stock still observing the audience before exploding into opening track ‘Paragon’ off their latest album Mesmer released in March of this year. While the guitar line and drums were in perfect unison, the vocals were basically non-existent, an issue with the microphone that frustratingly persisted for the entirety of the track. Mic issues seemed to plague most of the set, with Bridge only coming through clear on sporadic songs throughout the night, but at no point with the volume one would have expected. Despite this, the crowd embraced the band, the stage becoming a conveyor at one point of over enthusiastic stage divers, most of who were embraced by Bridge himself, happily sharing the microphone and at one point even pausing for a selfie with a phone toting fan. The evening even saw Bridge try his hand at camera work as an ecstatic fan handed him a go pro which he happily took on a tour of the stage, slowing panning over lead guitarist Jon Deiley as well as the audience.

Northlane are an impressive band with a core group of musicians who have certainly honed their craft. Deiley on lead guitar rarely moves from his power stance, yet he elicits runs of notes that draw the crowd’s awe, a solid black surgical face mask covering the lower half of his face. Also wearing a black face mask drummer Nic Pettersen is a blur of arms and hair, resting only between the very brief pauses between songs before once again launching into a tidal wave of sound; Alex Milovic on bass often is facing him, his long fingers striding up and down the neck of the bass, melding the bass lines together beautifully. “Are we having a good time?” Bridge asks the crowd, their cries of appreciation not quite loud enough for the singer, “I’ll ask you again, are we having a good time Auckland?” Bridge this time leaning backwards and howling the line into the microphone, the crowd reciprocating with increased volume.

A small technical fault on stage saw Bridge have to entertain the crowd for a few minutes; a Mexican Wave initiated followed by a conversation with an audience member about whether rhyming his name Nate with Mate qualified as a decent on stage joke or not (apparently it did not). Back up and running, sweat pouring from the band and their instruments, Northlane delivered their final track of the night ‘Quantum’ before bidding the still high energy crowd goodnight. An encore was of course demanded and delivered, the track ‘Obelisk’ dedicated to a young fan in the audience named James.

Despite the few technical difficulties, it was an undeniably quality night of metal.

Northlane:

In Hearts Wake:

Set On End:

Were you there at The Kings Arms for this magnificent metalcore masterpiece? Or have you seen Northlane perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!