Node

AVERAGE

Northlane is neat. That's really all I have to say about them. They're not the saviors of metalcore everyone seems to think they are. They're not the worst thing to happen to metal since Emmure. They're just neat. They make slightly interesting music that's kind of enjoyable while it's on that isn't too compelling to relisten to after it's over. Node is a crystallization of everything right and wrong with the modern wave of djent and progressive metal as a whole.

You see, djent is such a wide genre. It's incredibly diverse and can mean pretty much anything at this point (as long as the riffs djent). It can mean incredibly unhinged and manic avant-garde death metal (Meshuggah, Vildhjarta, Born Of Osiris) or, in this case, very cleanly-produced and precisely played prog. There may be some screams that try to trick you into thinking it's intense, but everything always ends up being very safe and sterile. This style isn't inherently bad; there are plenty of bands who make it work that are even less heavy than Northlane (TesseracT, The Contortionist, Animals As Leaders), but those bands know how to spice it up. They have variety to their riffs, guitar tones, styles, etc. Node felt like one long stream of acceptable djent. Totally inoffensive and not really pushing any new ground, despite what the PROGRESSIVE metal tags would lead you to believe. Again, I don't hate Node; there were parts I really liked, but there were also a lot of factors that made me second-guess everything nice I had to say.

First of all, you know those albums where the tracklist has one good track, then one bad track, then one good, bad, good, etc. etc. etc. until it's over? Node was kinda like that. None of the songs were particularly bad or anything, but they would shift from being really good to bland from track to track. One moment I'd be enjoying the album and getting into the vibe, while the next I'd just be scratching my head and wondering why they couldn't have kept the energy up. The guitar tone was also pretty thin for my liking--I think for most metal bands (especially a genre BUILT on heavy riffs like djent), a punchy, heavy tone works really well if you're focusing on riff-based music. You'd think a band like Northlane would know this. Instead, I personally found it to be really weak. Every time I good riff came in, I found myself thinking "This is good, but it would be way better if the tone sounded like THIS". I get that tone's very much a personal taste thing, but still, it affected my enjoyment of the album.

Once again, Northlane's Node is not at all a bad record. There was nothing offensive about it. At best, it was moderately good, and at worst, it was forgettably bland. Plus, it's only been a few hours and I remember very little of what I was listening to. I'm generally very optimistic towards new genres that people are up in arms about, but this is one of the albums that makes me understand why people are getting mad at modern prog.

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FOR FANS OF: Silent Planet, Volumes, Novelists, Erra, a much lighter Architects

Favorite tracks: Obelisk, Ohm, Rot, Leech, Ra

Least favorite tracks: Soma, Node

(Djent, Djentcore, Progressive Metalcore, Progressive Rock, Alternative Metal)