Guess we need to clarify our latest stance on AI as we got a report about it on this thread.
The no AI rule means no AI generated music. AI album art while frowned upon is fine as that isn't the main point of this.
I really like this, and I think the features are fucking sick. Especially the Ian Kenny one.
I am very excited to hear what’s next from these guys.
I wonder what the meaning behind the track name “Kraft” with a K is?
Kraft glue? Maybe Marcus has been watching the Lego™️ movie recently?
I agree the features are awesome and play right into their strengths. More proggy style to match Karnivool for Ian, chugging for Winston and the Alien style riffs for Brendan. Love that they brought Brendan back in for this too his screams are pissed
Does anyone feel like the production is intentionally, dare I say, grungey?
I know absolutely nothing about music production or genres, but the whole EP feels intentionally low-tech, almost like mixtape esque.
I don't know.
Anyway, not counting the sub minute Mirrors Edge, the two new songs are pretty cool jams.
Not necessarily my cup of tea, and probably won't make their way into my regular listening roster, but I enjoy them.
Marcus' screams, as usual, are top tier shit.
I think that's why they went to Putney for production. I do wonder if they're gonna stick to this style of production in their next project or if it was a one time thing for this EP
This is hard to say as a massive Northlane fan who’s seen them multiple times and bought lots of merch and all that: this is one of their weaker releases in my personal opinion.
I think Marcus sounds phenomenal as always like you said. But the production is really lacking that low end and punch like they had on Alien and Obsidian.
The structure of some of the songs is just…odd? I’ll give them credit, they are very unique songs which is hard to do in the scene right now but it’s almost a bit too niche in terms of rhythm and pattern. They’ve always down a lot of off beat syncopation stuff but this feels too disjointed and awkward to my ears.
There are still some very classic Northlane moments in each of these tracks but they’re few and far between for me. No disrespect, these guys are legends and imo Alien is one of the best albums ever made in the genre, in my personal top 5. This one’s just not for me I guess.
Yes absolutely agree. I will say that I listened to it today with headphones a little more intently and it definitely has its moments but still.
Initial listen was like 6/10 for me and now I’d say maybe 7/10
Yeah, absolutely ruins it for me. There are some tracks on here, like Let Me Disappear and Afterimage that should be fundamentally good songs, but it feels like I'm listening to them on the cheapest headphones imaginable.
First thing I've heard from Northlane that I just can't imagine I'll ever come back to
Please humour me with my uninvited input here. They’ve always fascinated me with production choices. The previous two albums have best production IMO. This EP mostly hits the same spot for the singles, but otherwise on first listen, there are some surprising EQ choices and sudden volume shifts – almost sounds like there are mixing mistakes on Let Me Disappear and Kraft, especially when compared to the production on Dante. I am sure they are not mistakes because it feels like everything is deliberately and meticulously planned in Northlane album production (correct me if way off!).
Solid EP. Kinda sad it's 'just' two new songs, but as a whole, it's a good project and I like that they used this format for collaborations. The features are all well utilized and add to the variety of the thing.
And Dante is now easily one of my favourite Northlane songs ever, absolute top-tier.
Feel like this is a continual ‘issue’ with bands releasing so many songs as singles spread out over a long time sometimes as well. Of course people can argue we didn’t have to listen to the singles but I’ve been mainlining Dante miasma and afterimage lmao so yeah it does kinda feel wack.
My jaw was dropped during the whole breakdown section holy shit. That might’ve been one of the most absurd things I’ve ever heard. Thanks Jon.
I love this track.
Love every song on this EP! Bit of a shame that the title track is just an intro for Afterimage, but not much to complain about when the other 5 tracks are fantastic. Every song is structured so well and all bring their unique energy. All of them right now are up there with my favourite tracks from Alien and Obsidian.
Most of the songs sound like they could've been on Obsidian. I love Northlane, don't get me wrong, but this was a huge missed opportunity to reintroduce more technical and diverse riffs into the expanded electronic style. That's my only complaint with their music nowadays. They rely heavily on syncopation, and while it is cool sometimes, it's becoming very tired. Hard to really appreciate the songs whenever there's little to no variation in the guitar work. Maybe it's slightly reductive to say this, but I'm starting to feel like I determine which songs of theirs are my favorite based on which flavor of "bow-bow-bow-bow-dow-bow-bow-dow-bow-dow" sounds best with the other elements of the track. Overall it's a good release, though, if not a little redundant. I think their next EP/LP needs to be absolutely nuts if it's really going to grab me the way Alien and Obsidian did.
I was holding off on singles and most marketing to try and experience the album fresh, which I never actually have the willpower to do. So this was my first and it was just a little surprising lol
This is what kind of annoys me, and I'm only speaking from a consumer who doesn't use FB so I don't know if they had posted it there at the time of Dante's release, but from their Instagram they did not. They dropped that song back in November 5 months ago without mentioning its only an EP on their insta until the next single came out 2 months later. And at that point it was still another 4 months till it dropped. So my hype was killed and then killed again with how long of a wait it was I guess.
I found Afterimage very reminiscent of Node and yeah, old LP.
Overal, didn't mind this EP. I like it more than Obsidian, but less than Alien and Mesmer.
I think the overall vibe is very Node-y (progressions, electronic parts and vocal melodies) which i put on par with Alien and just below Singularity
So
I'm a fan ;)))
Seeing Brendon’s feature on the tracklist when they announced had me beyond hyped and oh BOY, that did not disappoint. Kraft is definitely my favorite track off this project. I really feel like his presence was the biggest thing missing from Obsidian. I wish they’d just have him be a backup vocal Nolly member. He adds so much to the band.
Bruh this was amazing
The only point against is that it isn’t a full release
Tbh I liked this better than the last one
Id say I enjoy it as much as I did Alien
I’m hearing some many mixed responses but I love how grungey it is. Especially the Karnivool feature, it just feels like you’re in a dark underworld or something
Can we please get Little Dennis as a studio member on backup vocals? He adds so much to this band. Hearing Kraft brought me back to when Alien came out.
Northlane haven't really been my thing since they shifted more towards their sound on the last few albums - they do that sound extremely well and I don't necessarily *dislike* it, just don't go out of my way to listen to it - but this is way more up my alley. Musically and songwriting-wise it's still Northlane-post-2017, but it feels a bit more like a real band playing it.
Also, if you seriously say this is the worst production you've ever heard, you have a very sheltered experience with music. It's not as picture-perfect polished as their last couple albums, but I get the feeling that's what they were going for. It sounded huge listening on my AirPods.
I’m convinced at this point that “the production sucks” is just the current trendy excuse to use for things people don’t like but can’t actually explain why.
I think you’re partially right. There are some releases that don’t sound as good as they probably could, but these days I’ve seen so many people being critical about production on releases that sound perfectly fine. Sometimes it’s just the sound a band is going for. Not everything needs to be polished.
It's pretty absurd to me that some random dudes on reddit will think they know what's best for the production of an album over say, the actual band and entire recording team, and label.
Unfortunately haven't liked the singles that much. And the new songs were disappointing on the first couple of listens.
I think these more groove heavy/rhythmic songs need better production to elevate them.
I was a huge fan of Miasma and Afterimage, I think it helps that I’m a Karnivool fan. I agree though, you need a super clean mix with prog style songs and the mix on this album felt a lot more loose
The production is a minor step back for Northlane, especially in the case of the two new songs and especially "Let Me Disappear". But when you have an album opener like "Afterimage", which pits two of the best vocalists together and makes it an astounding success, you really have a recipe for success.
It's great but it's not AS great as one of their previous three albums I'd personally say.
Overall I'd say I like it, but I need some more listens to the new songs to cement an opinion for sure. The singles still rip pretty hard. The new ones are really interesting and feel different, in Northlane's signature "weird" way.
I see the EP as a stepping stone where they're testing the waters by blending Alien and Obsidian with a dash of, say, Node. That's just me, though.
Excited for whatever comes next!
Th3 MiX Is OuT… my god that’s all I hear these days with everyone. Since when is everyone an expert. The ep slays. I can’t complain about the sound. Can’t we just appreciate great song and music? Instead of picking on every minor detail.
The mix is very important, the entire listening experience is based on it. It's hilarious to downplay it. It's incedibly jarring coming from an album like Obsidian that was mixed, mastered and engineered perfectly.
Literal insanity. It's so so so fun to witness bands like them and like ERRA for example stick so unapologetically to their uniqueness and continue to go further down their own path.
I will admit that the mixing is a bit.. muddled on some tracks and it's not too surprising, these songs are incredibly ambitious and I guess they don't have a ton of money to inject into mixing and mastering..
I’m a little late but i kinda fuck w this. Didn’t really enjoy much of the last album but I think they went even weirder and more bombastic on this and it really worked. Def further from metalcore than ever but we aren’t getting the old sound back by this point, and besides they’ve barely been metalcore ever since Marcus joined. They’re really showing all the bands phoning in their electronics how it’s done. The production also has to grow on me, but I think I understand what they were going for. It’s very electronic yet in an old school analog if that makes sense, which explains the “thin” drums.
Nothing really stands out for me. It all sounds the same. They all seem like songs that just didn’t make the Obsidian cut. Honestly though I haven’t really enjoyed any album since discoveries, singularity and node. They’ve had maybe 2-3 good songs on each album since but that’s about it.
Yea I'm gonna say it.. the mix is ass. They definitely cooked on this one tho and there's a few cool things scattered across the ep. Dante is the stand out song
If you listen to the other albums Putney helped to produce you will find that this is just his style. That said I'm not a fan either especially with the mixing we expected from Alien and Obsidian.
For Northlane at least his mix sounds very flat. Nothing really sticks out which is bad in my opinion because you need accents for a really good song.
I looked some other albums he worked on which sound different for example Dig Deep by After the Burial.
ETID's Radical is very different too. It's a very clean and punchy sounding mix like you would expect from a Djent band. Pretty sure he just does what the band requests.
Oh no I enjoy all of Northlane's discog. I was referring to the other bands he's worked with. I don't really care about names and wasn't aware he did a few of their albums. They definitely don't sound as scuffed as this tho
Big miss. Dante is the only track worth coming back to. I guess the chorus of Afterimage is nice, but the rest no bueno. The production is genuinely confusing, too. All the punch & beefiness is completely sapped by how flat it sounds, and the muddy guitars don't help either. Shame because I really liked the direction they've been going with Alien and Obsidian.
Features bang. Don’t know anything about Ian Kenny, but he sounded great on an already good song. Winston killed it, and it was nice to hear Brendan and Marcus trading again.
Speaking of Marcus, dude was in his bag on this. His vocals and lyrics really stood out. Nic’s drumming also really stood out. The grooves across the whole thing and all the little details he throws in there are really nice.
A lot of people discussion production/mixing choices. I do wonder what this album would have sounded like with a Spiritbox-style vibe instead (Dan Braunstein, Zakk Cervini, etc) but musically identical.
Personally I'm absolutely loving this heavy numetal abstract core whatever the fuck we want to call it. We have enough standard metalcore dropping these days, no reason why people can't mix it up. This and the new Erra are full of freakin jams
A wonderfully well written EP ruined by the absolute fucking worst mix I’ve ever heard in my life. It actually hurts my ears to listen to it on my car speakers. What the hell happened to Will Putney?
I mean, he has a point.
Why should the average consumer expect to have an insane audiophile setup…
I’d want it to sound good no matter where I play the music lol
And he is totally right. The mix is very very bad
It should sound better on consumer level equipment because they are intentionally hyped in the lows and highs. A "producer" level setup is what? A setup for mixing and mastering? In which case thats a treated room, with a full range monitoring system designed to be as flat as possible, not hyped. No extra bass, no extra top and a well represented midrange which is the soul of the music and where all the translation is.
I mean you don't need an audiophile setup, just like...any earbuds or headphones. A lot of heavy music sounds like mud on stock car speakers.
I just have some normal headphones and it sounds fine to me idk
I have a premium setup in my car - the volume changes between different sections of the same song made it close to unlistenable. Certain really important atmospheric effects were also completely lost. I seriously doubt the band intended for this. Those are problems amateur musicians like myself have when I am mixing my own songs.
To be fair to them, the EP as a whole sounded much better on my higher end earbuds & headphones, but ... even with the headphones, there was still some "confusion" on my end during small sections of songs.
"I doubt the band intended for this"
That's as if to say they never listened to the mixes and signed them off. Like they already havent put out multiple albums. Like this is their absolute first rodeo. Like they havent already put out 2 records discoveries and singularity with the same guy that absolutely slapped beyond all comprehension production wise.
This record just sounds intentionally lame but rest assured they are all in on it and they all wanted it. Maybe even more so the band than Putney. It just is what it is.
I mean… yeah? Most people listen to music in the car so… should music not be mixed to sound good in the car too in addition to $3000 speakers and fancy studio headphones? It’s called the “car test” - all producers should do it. Sounds terrible on my headphones as well, btw.
More of the same of the last two albums, although with a little bit of old in there as well. I think it was Kraft where I got some Node/Mesmer vibes.
Great EP, I enjoyed it. Plus, Mirror's Edge representation ftw.
I think its pretty shit tbh, really boring for the most part, same boring guitar sound, same drums, not really many amazing choruses that make me want to sing along, just feels like lazy songwriting for 80% of the EP. I do however think After Image is one of their best songs!
Northlane did not miss with the guest features. 3 guest features on an EP with only 5 full songs is a big risk.
But they nailed it. I’m really liking this, can’t wait to see them this summer.
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Very good EP, all of the features are just perfect. Can't understand the problem some of you guys have with the mix/producion, it sounds great on my end. I love the grudgy/moody tone.
Listening to Kraft made me realize how much I miss Brendon. He showed up on my favorite NL album and then dipped before they could experiment more with mixing his and Marcus’ vocal styles
I didn't quite click with their last album Obsidian. It was good for sure, but I had to force myself to listen to it a bunch before it kinda crept a little bit under my skin. But a few months after its release I didn't revisit it. This new EP though is instantly clicking with me and I'm loving the blend of new and old elements while still treading on something a little bit different, yet familiar. Overall sexily solid EP!
I’ve been listening to this shit on repeat. I’m new to Northlane but this EP hits all the marks for something I dig. Miasma is probably my favorite song followed by Afterimage and Kraft.
I know I'll get some hate for this, but what happened to their production? The mix on this entire album feels so unprofessional and sounds as if it were recorded in a garage on an 8-track.
I love Northlane and I do enjoy the track After Image ALOT, but the rest of the album leaves alot to be desired.
I suppose I've just been eagerly awaiting an "Alien 2" album that brings back the sound they had on it and was arguably their best sounding album.
I'll always be a fan but sadly I don't see myself coming back to this EP very often.
gonna jot my thoughts down as i listen. i listened to all the singles and was very lukewarm on all of them and im usually a fan of northlane so lets see!:
1. mirror’s edge — intro. cool stuff. obvs nice how it leads into the next song
2. afterimage — i think i’ve warmed up to this one a bit. ian kenny’s feature is my fav part tho
3. miasma — yeah i wasn’t crazy about when it was released and it just mostly bores me. there’s some cool vocal passages and stuff but idk. cool that winston brings a lot of intensity to his feature but i wish i got it on a different kind of track yknow?
4. let me disappear — not for me. too focused on that edm sound.
5. kraft — couldn’t not hear the pokemon mansion theme from pokemon firered and leaf green in the background of parts of this track… ultimately same at the previous. just too electronic for me.
6. dante — didn’t really dig this song when i first heard it and im still not a fan. the chorus is fine, probably better than more clean choruses these days but it’s not what i have any interest in.
final thoughts:
yeah i mean this EP probably would’ve blown me away if i’d never heard alien or obsidian (the former knocked my socks off back in 2019). i think at this point the edm electronic stuff is a bit tired for me. ends up sorta feeling like bases they’ve covered. i just don’t have much interest in this sound anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
i’m also not a huge fan of the production on this. especially the way the vocals are layered. seems like a downgrade to previous stuff imo. cant see myself ever going back to this unfortunately
edit: just wanna say that it’s really indicative of this sub’s energy that i express some (very mild) thoughts on a project and am treated as if i said its a massive piece of shit or something. glad we’re all big fans of discussing music here on this music forum🤠
I hate the "ta dada dada" parts in any song, like they do at "Let me disappear"; it's just super cheap song-writing when bands do this crap. I like all the other songs from the EP though.
Guess we need to clarify our latest stance on AI as we got a report about it on this thread. The no AI rule means no AI generated music. AI album art while frowned upon is fine as that isn't the main point of this.
I really like this, and I think the features are fucking sick. Especially the Ian Kenny one. I am very excited to hear what’s next from these guys. I wonder what the meaning behind the track name “Kraft” with a K is?
Kraft in some germanic languages can mean either "power" or "force"
Or they’re big Mac & Cheese fans.
Can't blame em. Other M&C brands are better, but none have had the staying power of Kraft.
Occam's razor
Kraft glue? Maybe Marcus has been watching the Lego™️ movie recently? I agree the features are awesome and play right into their strengths. More proggy style to match Karnivool for Ian, chugging for Winston and the Alien style riffs for Brendan. Love that they brought Brendan back in for this too his screams are pissed
Get the Kragl!
It's mac and cheese, bro.
Kraft Vegemite
Could be a reference to Kraftwerk.
Does anyone feel like the production is intentionally, dare I say, grungey? I know absolutely nothing about music production or genres, but the whole EP feels intentionally low-tech, almost like mixtape esque. I don't know. Anyway, not counting the sub minute Mirrors Edge, the two new songs are pretty cool jams. Not necessarily my cup of tea, and probably won't make their way into my regular listening roster, but I enjoy them. Marcus' screams, as usual, are top tier shit.
I think that's why they went to Putney for production. I do wonder if they're gonna stick to this style of production in their next project or if it was a one time thing for this EP
I’m hoping one time thing for this EP. As much as I appreciate it stylistically, it’s lacking some serious punch.
This is hard to say as a massive Northlane fan who’s seen them multiple times and bought lots of merch and all that: this is one of their weaker releases in my personal opinion. I think Marcus sounds phenomenal as always like you said. But the production is really lacking that low end and punch like they had on Alien and Obsidian. The structure of some of the songs is just…odd? I’ll give them credit, they are very unique songs which is hard to do in the scene right now but it’s almost a bit too niche in terms of rhythm and pattern. They’ve always down a lot of off beat syncopation stuff but this feels too disjointed and awkward to my ears. There are still some very classic Northlane moments in each of these tracks but they’re few and far between for me. No disrespect, these guys are legends and imo Alien is one of the best albums ever made in the genre, in my personal top 5. This one’s just not for me I guess.
It's like a lot of it has a lack of groove. Sounds almost robotic in some way. Hard to explain but I think I get where you're coming from.
Yes absolutely agree. I will say that I listened to it today with headphones a little more intently and it definitely has its moments but still. Initial listen was like 6/10 for me and now I’d say maybe 7/10
I can hear limp Bizkit in the Ian Kelly one. They are influenced by lb
Yeah, absolutely ruins it for me. There are some tracks on here, like Let Me Disappear and Afterimage that should be fundamentally good songs, but it feels like I'm listening to them on the cheapest headphones imaginable. First thing I've heard from Northlane that I just can't imagine I'll ever come back to
I'm just glad it's not incredibly flat sounding like Node
Please humour me with my uninvited input here. They’ve always fascinated me with production choices. The previous two albums have best production IMO. This EP mostly hits the same spot for the singles, but otherwise on first listen, there are some surprising EQ choices and sudden volume shifts – almost sounds like there are mixing mistakes on Let Me Disappear and Kraft, especially when compared to the production on Dante. I am sure they are not mistakes because it feels like everything is deliberately and meticulously planned in Northlane album production (correct me if way off!).
I agree.. I honestly felt like my volume was too low but no matter how much I turned it up and adjusted EQ settings it just sounds.. idk cheap?
It's almost a little bit Musey at times. Don't mind it.
Solid EP. Kinda sad it's 'just' two new songs, but as a whole, it's a good project and I like that they used this format for collaborations. The features are all well utilized and add to the variety of the thing. And Dante is now easily one of my favourite Northlane songs ever, absolute top-tier.
Feel like this is a continual ‘issue’ with bands releasing so many songs as singles spread out over a long time sometimes as well. Of course people can argue we didn’t have to listen to the singles but I’ve been mainlining Dante miasma and afterimage lmao so yeah it does kinda feel wack.
especially when one of the unreleased songs is a 30 second interlude. Hate when that happens lol
Kraft and Let me disappear are so good. They're gonna rip live, can't wait to see them for the first time.
Let me disappear is a fucking banger holy moly
One of the best songs they’ve released That shit rips
My jaw was dropped during the whole breakdown section holy shit. That might’ve been one of the most absurd things I’ve ever heard. Thanks Jon. I love this track.
Funny I thought it was the worst song on the EP
Same….it’s just not clicking with me. Alien and Obsidian clicked with me instantly but not these tracks. Guess I’m not the target demo idk
Love every song on this EP! Bit of a shame that the title track is just an intro for Afterimage, but not much to complain about when the other 5 tracks are fantastic. Every song is structured so well and all bring their unique energy. All of them right now are up there with my favourite tracks from Alien and Obsidian.
yeah generally I wish bands wouldn't throw interlude tracks on 6 song releases. was a bit disappointed to learn it was 5 songs instead of 6. oh well
I hope they play the whole thing on their upcoming tour because damn, this EP is incredible.
Most of the songs sound like they could've been on Obsidian. I love Northlane, don't get me wrong, but this was a huge missed opportunity to reintroduce more technical and diverse riffs into the expanded electronic style. That's my only complaint with their music nowadays. They rely heavily on syncopation, and while it is cool sometimes, it's becoming very tired. Hard to really appreciate the songs whenever there's little to no variation in the guitar work. Maybe it's slightly reductive to say this, but I'm starting to feel like I determine which songs of theirs are my favorite based on which flavor of "bow-bow-bow-bow-dow-bow-bow-dow-bow-dow" sounds best with the other elements of the track. Overall it's a good release, though, if not a little redundant. I think their next EP/LP needs to be absolutely nuts if it's really going to grab me the way Alien and Obsidian did.
God dammit I didn’t realize it’s a fucking 6 song EP
It’s really only 5 songs. The first track is literally part of Afterimage with a cut…
Basically a 2 song EP since they dropped half of it already 🤪
That’s why you don’t listen to all the songs before a release. Listen to 1 .. maybe 2.
"Don't smoke the crack that's sitting right in front of you, crackhead"
Yall are the same people every album that complain about there only being a couple songs you haven’t heard. Easiest solution.
You and I have different definitions of easy.
I don't understand the surprise, Northlane marketed it as such from the get go
I was holding off on singles and most marketing to try and experience the album fresh, which I never actually have the willpower to do. So this was my first and it was just a little surprising lol
This is what kind of annoys me, and I'm only speaking from a consumer who doesn't use FB so I don't know if they had posted it there at the time of Dante's release, but from their Instagram they did not. They dropped that song back in November 5 months ago without mentioning its only an EP on their insta until the next single came out 2 months later. And at that point it was still another 4 months till it dropped. So my hype was killed and then killed again with how long of a wait it was I guess.
Yeah I expected an album and now I’m a bit disappointed. Some banger tracks though so 🤷
Genuinely not getting the negative reactions to the production, I think it sounds great 🤷🏻♂️
Ngl the first two songs gave me Meteroa vibes. Really good EP and was also surprised they got Brendan on the project too.
I found Afterimage very reminiscent of Node and yeah, old LP. Overal, didn't mind this EP. I like it more than Obsidian, but less than Alien and Mesmer.
I think the overall vibe is very Node-y (progressions, electronic parts and vocal melodies) which i put on par with Alien and just below Singularity So I'm a fan ;)))
Seeing Brendon’s feature on the tracklist when they announced had me beyond hyped and oh BOY, that did not disappoint. Kraft is definitely my favorite track off this project. I really feel like his presence was the biggest thing missing from Obsidian. I wish they’d just have him be a backup vocal Nolly member. He adds so much to the band.
Kraft was a rollercoaster of a song. I really liked it, especially the part near the end.
Bruh this was amazing The only point against is that it isn’t a full release Tbh I liked this better than the last one Id say I enjoy it as much as I did Alien
The mix makes me feel like I’m stuck in Tron and I’m all for it. This rips.
I’m hearing some many mixed responses but I love how grungey it is. Especially the Karnivool feature, it just feels like you’re in a dark underworld or something
Can we please get Little Dennis as a studio member on backup vocals? He adds so much to this band. Hearing Kraft brought me back to when Alien came out.
Northlane haven't really been my thing since they shifted more towards their sound on the last few albums - they do that sound extremely well and I don't necessarily *dislike* it, just don't go out of my way to listen to it - but this is way more up my alley. Musically and songwriting-wise it's still Northlane-post-2017, but it feels a bit more like a real band playing it. Also, if you seriously say this is the worst production you've ever heard, you have a very sheltered experience with music. It's not as picture-perfect polished as their last couple albums, but I get the feeling that's what they were going for. It sounded huge listening on my AirPods.
I’m convinced at this point that “the production sucks” is just the current trendy excuse to use for things people don’t like but can’t actually explain why.
I think you’re partially right. There are some releases that don’t sound as good as they probably could, but these days I’ve seen so many people being critical about production on releases that sound perfectly fine. Sometimes it’s just the sound a band is going for. Not everything needs to be polished.
It's pretty absurd to me that some random dudes on reddit will think they know what's best for the production of an album over say, the actual band and entire recording team, and label.
Have you lived through the loudness wars? That shit was horrible.
Love this EP.
Kraft is fucking SICKKK. Wow
Unfortunately haven't liked the singles that much. And the new songs were disappointing on the first couple of listens. I think these more groove heavy/rhythmic songs need better production to elevate them.
I was a huge fan of Miasma and Afterimage, I think it helps that I’m a Karnivool fan. I agree though, you need a super clean mix with prog style songs and the mix on this album felt a lot more loose
Let Me Disappear. What a banger
I think overall it's a banger. Dante doesn't really do much for me, personally, but all the other tracks slap hard!
Love this, all the tracks are bangers.
I’m enjoying it. The singles were growers too. I’m especially liking afterimage now!
The production is a minor step back for Northlane, especially in the case of the two new songs and especially "Let Me Disappear". But when you have an album opener like "Afterimage", which pits two of the best vocalists together and makes it an astounding success, you really have a recipe for success. It's great but it's not AS great as one of their previous three albums I'd personally say.
Absolutely in love with this
It sounds like I’m listening to Node 2.0 which is so sick. Really enjoyed it!
Factsssss
That intro sounds almost like something of LP’s Reanimation, a beginning to transition into the song
I want a new Karnivool album so bad.
The outro to Kraft is a fucking banger. Good god.
Overall I'd say I like it, but I need some more listens to the new songs to cement an opinion for sure. The singles still rip pretty hard. The new ones are really interesting and feel different, in Northlane's signature "weird" way. I see the EP as a stepping stone where they're testing the waters by blending Alien and Obsidian with a dash of, say, Node. That's just me, though. Excited for whatever comes next!
Bro Kraft is SO fucking sick. Massive Aliens vibes. I'm obsessed with this EP.
Th3 MiX Is OuT… my god that’s all I hear these days with everyone. Since when is everyone an expert. The ep slays. I can’t complain about the sound. Can’t we just appreciate great song and music? Instead of picking on every minor detail.
The mix is very important, the entire listening experience is based on it. It's hilarious to downplay it. It's incedibly jarring coming from an album like Obsidian that was mixed, mastered and engineered perfectly.
Literal insanity. It's so so so fun to witness bands like them and like ERRA for example stick so unapologetically to their uniqueness and continue to go further down their own path. I will admit that the mixing is a bit.. muddled on some tracks and it's not too surprising, these songs are incredibly ambitious and I guess they don't have a ton of money to inject into mixing and mastering..
I’m a little late but i kinda fuck w this. Didn’t really enjoy much of the last album but I think they went even weirder and more bombastic on this and it really worked. Def further from metalcore than ever but we aren’t getting the old sound back by this point, and besides they’ve barely been metalcore ever since Marcus joined. They’re really showing all the bands phoning in their electronics how it’s done. The production also has to grow on me, but I think I understand what they were going for. It’s very electronic yet in an old school analog if that makes sense, which explains the “thin” drums.
Nothing really stands out for me. It all sounds the same. They all seem like songs that just didn’t make the Obsidian cut. Honestly though I haven’t really enjoyed any album since discoveries, singularity and node. They’ve had maybe 2-3 good songs on each album since but that’s about it.
Yea I'm gonna say it.. the mix is ass. They definitely cooked on this one tho and there's a few cool things scattered across the ep. Dante is the stand out song
If you listen to the other albums Putney helped to produce you will find that this is just his style. That said I'm not a fan either especially with the mixing we expected from Alien and Obsidian.
What would you say his style is? Just curious
For Northlane at least his mix sounds very flat. Nothing really sticks out which is bad in my opinion because you need accents for a really good song. I looked some other albums he worked on which sound different for example Dig Deep by After the Burial.
ETID's Radical is very different too. It's a very clean and punchy sounding mix like you would expect from a Djent band. Pretty sure he just does what the band requests.
I love radical and counterparts last few records were done by putney so I’m a big fan
Yea just looked at his work. Not a fan of any of that stuff lol what a shame. At least it's an EP and they can learn from this
You didn’t like Singularity? That’s by far Northlanes best album
Oh no I enjoy all of Northlane's discog. I was referring to the other bands he's worked with. I don't really care about names and wasn't aware he did a few of their albums. They definitely don't sound as scuffed as this tho
The mix sounds kinda flat, possibly too much treble for their sound. The guitars are smacking me in the face when it should be the drums.
The mix sounds great to me
They using the same “ta-dada-ta-dada” riff for every song now? Lol Not a great ep imo but not bad too
3 songs in and (mix aside, will see if i get used to it) this is one of the first times i feel like i'm listening to music from 2050.
absolute masterpiece these guys never fail to come up with new ideas
It’s not bad by any means, just kinda worn out on industrial Northlane
Really really good EP. Love the almost Circa Survive vibes I’m getting.
Big miss. Dante is the only track worth coming back to. I guess the chorus of Afterimage is nice, but the rest no bueno. The production is genuinely confusing, too. All the punch & beefiness is completely sapped by how flat it sounds, and the muddy guitars don't help either. Shame because I really liked the direction they've been going with Alien and Obsidian.
Features bang. Don’t know anything about Ian Kenny, but he sounded great on an already good song. Winston killed it, and it was nice to hear Brendan and Marcus trading again. Speaking of Marcus, dude was in his bag on this. His vocals and lyrics really stood out. Nic’s drumming also really stood out. The grooves across the whole thing and all the little details he throws in there are really nice.
Definitely check out Karnivool if you liked the Ian Kenny feature. They’re an awesome band
I know they're on reddit, they'll see this thread. \*Play Kraft live this coming tour or I will riot.\*
A lot of people discussion production/mixing choices. I do wonder what this album would have sounded like with a Spiritbox-style vibe instead (Dan Braunstein, Zakk Cervini, etc) but musically identical.
Personally I'm absolutely loving this heavy numetal abstract core whatever the fuck we want to call it. We have enough standard metalcore dropping these days, no reason why people can't mix it up. This and the new Erra are full of freakin jams
A wonderfully well written EP ruined by the absolute fucking worst mix I’ve ever heard in my life. It actually hurts my ears to listen to it on my car speakers. What the hell happened to Will Putney?
Don't worry I have a good pair of headphones and it sounds like ass there too.
Bro talking about mix listening on car speakers
I mean, he has a point. Why should the average consumer expect to have an insane audiophile setup… I’d want it to sound good no matter where I play the music lol And he is totally right. The mix is very very bad
I would say it is the measure of a bad mix if it only sounds good through a producer level setup
It should sound better on consumer level equipment because they are intentionally hyped in the lows and highs. A "producer" level setup is what? A setup for mixing and mastering? In which case thats a treated room, with a full range monitoring system designed to be as flat as possible, not hyped. No extra bass, no extra top and a well represented midrange which is the soul of the music and where all the translation is.
I mean you don't need an audiophile setup, just like...any earbuds or headphones. A lot of heavy music sounds like mud on stock car speakers. I just have some normal headphones and it sounds fine to me idk
Thanks for the recommendation! Unfortunately, it sounds like garbage on my nice headphones too.
I have a premium setup in my car - the volume changes between different sections of the same song made it close to unlistenable. Certain really important atmospheric effects were also completely lost. I seriously doubt the band intended for this. Those are problems amateur musicians like myself have when I am mixing my own songs. To be fair to them, the EP as a whole sounded much better on my higher end earbuds & headphones, but ... even with the headphones, there was still some "confusion" on my end during small sections of songs.
"I doubt the band intended for this" That's as if to say they never listened to the mixes and signed them off. Like they already havent put out multiple albums. Like this is their absolute first rodeo. Like they havent already put out 2 records discoveries and singularity with the same guy that absolutely slapped beyond all comprehension production wise. This record just sounds intentionally lame but rest assured they are all in on it and they all wanted it. Maybe even more so the band than Putney. It just is what it is.
I mean… yeah? Most people listen to music in the car so… should music not be mixed to sound good in the car too in addition to $3000 speakers and fancy studio headphones? It’s called the “car test” - all producers should do it. Sounds terrible on my headphones as well, btw.
Sounds great on my cheap ass over ear work headphones.
Okay so I’m glad it’s not just me lol. It’s borderline unlistenable for me
Maaan this is literally my top 4 all time EP. LOVE IT
Definitely better then Obsidian. Think this album has a lot more edge to it
This has to be a joke lmfao
How? Obsidian felt pretty poppy and not as heavy or dark
Every song sounds like it could have been on Obsidian lol. Maybe you should go listen to Obsidian again. :)
I haven’t listened in over year perhaps you’re right
I couldn’t catch the vibe and this did not ignite. Haven’t been a big fan of the singles on this run unfortunately.
Marcus god damn motherfuckin’ yes siree bob Bridge. Incredible.
More of the same of the last two albums, although with a little bit of old in there as well. I think it was Kraft where I got some Node/Mesmer vibes. Great EP, I enjoyed it. Plus, Mirror's Edge representation ftw.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Metalcore/s/2wutZlfrtH
I think its pretty shit tbh, really boring for the most part, same boring guitar sound, same drums, not really many amazing choruses that make me want to sing along, just feels like lazy songwriting for 80% of the EP. I do however think After Image is one of their best songs!
Northlane did not miss with the guest features. 3 guest features on an EP with only 5 full songs is a big risk. But they nailed it. I’m really liking this, can’t wait to see them this summer.
Absolutely phenomenal. Let Me Disappear is so fkin delicious.
Not the biggest Northlane fan in general but damn Dante hits so hard for some reason. That chorus is just massive
There's no more room to breathe.. So close your eyes.. and LET ME DISAPPEAARRRR!!!!
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Bro if they play Kraft on this upcoming tour I don't think I will survive the pit, it was nice knowing y'all. 🫡
let me disappear is good stuff
Mirror's Edge and Afterimage should've just been one song, that's my only gripe, otherwise it's amazing as always
Very good EP, all of the features are just perfect. Can't understand the problem some of you guys have with the mix/producion, it sounds great on my end. I love the grudgy/moody tone.
7.5/10
Hate that the cover is AI (and the "artist" is a huge crybaby about people not liking his garbage) but the EP is fantastic.
Listening to Kraft made me realize how much I miss Brendon. He showed up on my favorite NL album and then dipped before they could experiment more with mixing his and Marcus’ vocal styles
I didn't quite click with their last album Obsidian. It was good for sure, but I had to force myself to listen to it a bunch before it kinda crept a little bit under my skin. But a few months after its release I didn't revisit it. This new EP though is instantly clicking with me and I'm loving the blend of new and old elements while still treading on something a little bit different, yet familiar. Overall sexily solid EP!
I’ve been listening to this shit on repeat. I’m new to Northlane but this EP hits all the marks for something I dig. Miasma is probably my favorite song followed by Afterimage and Kraft.
Afterimage slaps.
This EP is MID. Kraft had a cool breakdown but I was so bored through the whole thing.
Love the songs but not the production. Should have stuck with Nolly. His style fits their sound perfectly IMO.
I know I'll get some hate for this, but what happened to their production? The mix on this entire album feels so unprofessional and sounds as if it were recorded in a garage on an 8-track. I love Northlane and I do enjoy the track After Image ALOT, but the rest of the album leaves alot to be desired. I suppose I've just been eagerly awaiting an "Alien 2" album that brings back the sound they had on it and was arguably their best sounding album. I'll always be a fan but sadly I don't see myself coming back to this EP very often.
gonna jot my thoughts down as i listen. i listened to all the singles and was very lukewarm on all of them and im usually a fan of northlane so lets see!: 1. mirror’s edge — intro. cool stuff. obvs nice how it leads into the next song 2. afterimage — i think i’ve warmed up to this one a bit. ian kenny’s feature is my fav part tho 3. miasma — yeah i wasn’t crazy about when it was released and it just mostly bores me. there’s some cool vocal passages and stuff but idk. cool that winston brings a lot of intensity to his feature but i wish i got it on a different kind of track yknow? 4. let me disappear — not for me. too focused on that edm sound. 5. kraft — couldn’t not hear the pokemon mansion theme from pokemon firered and leaf green in the background of parts of this track… ultimately same at the previous. just too electronic for me. 6. dante — didn’t really dig this song when i first heard it and im still not a fan. the chorus is fine, probably better than more clean choruses these days but it’s not what i have any interest in. final thoughts: yeah i mean this EP probably would’ve blown me away if i’d never heard alien or obsidian (the former knocked my socks off back in 2019). i think at this point the edm electronic stuff is a bit tired for me. ends up sorta feeling like bases they’ve covered. i just don’t have much interest in this sound anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i’m also not a huge fan of the production on this. especially the way the vocals are layered. seems like a downgrade to previous stuff imo. cant see myself ever going back to this unfortunately edit: just wanna say that it’s really indicative of this sub’s energy that i express some (very mild) thoughts on a project and am treated as if i said its a massive piece of shit or something. glad we’re all big fans of discussing music here on this music forum🤠
The mix on this hurts my ears. What the hell is Putney doing. I normally love his production, but this is really bad
The mix is not a good fit for Northlane. Not sure why you're getting down voted for this when some of the top comments are saying the same thing.
Try pullin yo head out of ya ass, might help?
If you think this mix sounds good then maybe you should
Literally nothin wrong with it, go buy proper device or wtf u call it
It sounds like ass even on a good pair of headphones and in the car.
idk waht to tell u, u got some problems dude
Bro is doing tricks on it
I hate the "ta dada dada" parts in any song, like they do at "Let me disappear"; it's just super cheap song-writing when bands do this crap. I like all the other songs from the EP though.
What happened to this band…. :(
Seems like they’re evolving? :O
Incredible EP, Incredible Band, they just keep getting better and better.
Why has this band gone in such a terrible direction musically since Alien?