I have no issue in claiming Northlane as one of my favourite Australian bands these days. I might not be in that mosh/metalcore scene – and I don’t feel like I’d be particularly welcome if I was – but I admire the growth and the evolution of Northlane’s sound. There are few heavy bands in this country that can step to them; and them’s the facts. I knew something big was on the way when they put out their debut, and that’s where this interview takes place.
Adrian was a talented vocalist, albeit a bit of a brat – he once blocked me on Twitter because I corrected his your/you’re usage. Still, he was a kid. He was growing up as Northlane were exploding, and he couldn’t handle it. No-one’s holding that against him. In fact, it ended up being a blessing in disguise – with Marcus on board, they’ve been able to reach their full potential. Anyway, this interview’s fine. It’s fun, even. Adrian was a good kid to interview because he was just so stoked on his own band – and you can’t really blame him.
– DJY, May 2016
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Names are a formality worth skipping, according to Adrian Fitipaldes. To the twenty-year-old, everyone is either “mate,” “man” or “dude” – variations of which we are constantly given throughout our interview. There is one name, however, that Fitipaldes wants to engrave on every mind he encounters – the name of Northlane, the band he has fronted for the past couple of years and the band that have finally delivered a huge debut album in the form of Discoveries. “We’ve been working really hard on it,” he enthuses on the line from Melbourne. “What we really want it is to make an impression; to impress everyone. This album’s been in the mix for awhile, man.”
“We went over-time a bit at Electric Sun studios,” he continues, discussing the developmental stages of Discoveries. “John, our guitarist, is a bit pedantic and can be a bit crucial with his lead tones. He ended up re-recording a lot of his parts just to perfect them. We had to do the vocals for ten tracks in two days – which was brutal on me! Then we kept going back and forth with our mixes and mastering, just to continually refine it and make it the best we could.”
Electric Sun Studios, a popular recording studio in Blacktown in Sydney’s west, wasn’t actually the band’s first choice. Adrian reveals that the band initially wanted to head overseas to lay down Discoveries. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t in their budget to do so, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. “If you want to save money, you’re gonna have to do it in Australia,” explains Fitipaldes. “The thing is, though, we really love everything that’s come out of Electric Sun – and, in my personal opinion, it’s the best studio in the country. They have so much experience in the industry, they’re so easy to work with and they have such great ideas. Y’know when you have an idea of what you want something to sound like? They showed me exactly what I wanted to hear.”
Needless to say, a lot of effort has gone in on the band’s behalf to make Discoveries as bold and ambitious as a debut record can be. It’s worth noting that you shouldn’t be expecting more of the same in relation to the band’s first release, the six-track EP Hollow Existence from 2010. According to Fitipaldes, the respective contexts surrounding each of them could not be more different. “On the EP, we were working off a budget,” he says, “and we just wanted to get our name out there as soon as possible. We didn’t really give the production aspect much attention, so that was something we really wanted to step up when it came to this record.” He then adds, with an out-of-character ocker drawl and tongue placed firmly within cheek: “Jus’ wanted to show ‘Straya that we’re not f**kin’ around, ‘ey?” He cracks up, before shouting “don’t put that swear word in there!” in mock-horror.
The differences between Hollow Existence and Discoveries increase when discussion turns to the musical direction taken on the LP. “The EP has got different elements to it,” says Fitipaldes, “but I think the record is really honing in on our musicianships, and setting us apart from other Australian bands. We really want to stand out, and show that we’re not just copying other bands – we’re actually formulating our own ideas, and we’re doing stuff that’s different. I mean, you still want to please your fans and be a part of the hardcore scene – you still want to have the energy and the passion that the hardcore scene is all about. But, at the end of the day, you’re not going to please everyone. Not everyone’s going to like it, and you have to accept that.”
For what it’s worth, Discoveries is an impressive record. Not content to stay within a mould or a limited set of ideas, the album is a strong collection of material that has its foundations laid in hardcore but has no issue with expanding into territory that’s more melodic, heavier, darker and even more electronic – sometimes within the same song. Northlane make no apologies for it, either – they refuse to compromise integrity for popularity, or to get rid of a more out of place section to make way for another boring breakdown.
“I think you’re going to see a lot more of it really soon,” comments Fitipaldes on the topic of hardcore bands in Australia breaking free of generic structure. “Especially in Sydney. I feel it’s been really over-saturated with generic genres. It’s getting tougher and tougher for bands to stand out from the rest. Hopefully, in the next few years, we’re going to see some really cool bands coming up. I mean, there already are some cool ones coming up – I just want to see some more!”
David James Young 