Northlane (AU)

About

Northlane have built one of the most consistent track records in Australian heavy metal, winning the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album three times across three consecutive albums: Node, Mesmer, and Alien. Based in Blacktown and working primarily in metalcore and progressive metalcore territory, the band has steadily pushed their sound into darker, more experimental corners with each release. Their sixth album Obsidian arrived in 2022, followed by the single Dante in 2023, showing no signs of the band easing up. The lineup of guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, drummer Nic Pettersen, and vocalist Marcus Bridge has proven remarkably durable, and live they have a reputation for relentless energy going back to their earliest touring days. Their 2015 album Node hit number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, while Singularity before it debuted at number three and topped the Australian iTunes chart. Few Australian metal acts can claim the kind of sustained critical and commercial traction Northlane have managed over more than a decade.