Northlane
Node

Losing a charismatic singer can be a death blow for many bands, and many thought, to tell the truth, it might also be the case for Northlane after the departure of the brave Adrian, a capable frontman and powerful screamer.

This was not the case: after the magnificent Singularity, a truly well-crafted album in the Djent/Core scene, Northlane resurrect by offering a more subdued and “lighter” album (at times), progressive and, above all, vocal-oriented.

A controversial and hated album by most of their own fanbase, Node is, in my opinion, an album I would dare to call magical: at first you hate it, being totally different from their previous offerings, then at most, you are indifferent, then subsequently, after various listens, you can no longer do without it.

The tones soften and lower, the "punch" of previous albums remains but not too much, the natural and crystalline production highlights a group that finally loves to experiment in a stale and self-celebratory genre, with very interesting Nu Metal inserts and Wesborlandian guitars, clean vocals that literally make you scream miracle, and a fantastic, ever-changing, never banal rhythm section.

And it is precisely the voice that is the real protagonist of this album: both in scream/growl and clean, Marcus doesn’t miss a single damn beat, far surpassing the "shouts" of the very first singer, though good, but frankly nothing compared: speaking in detail of the songs, Soma, Animate, Node and the very powerful Rot are some of the most interesting moments of the entire album, which never falls into banality and even in the less inspired moments it does not veer into that banality that this Djent genre has accustomed us to over the years.

Far from being a perfect album, Node nonetheless represents a great example of how a band can change identity in a non-reckless way, experimenting and seeking new nuances of an already winning sound, but that in the long run, would surely have grown tiresome.

Recommended.