Live Review : Northlane + Polaris + Void Of Vision @ Academy 2, Manchester on November 27th 2019

Tonight’s Academy 2 lineup is a real treat for this reviewer as I’m a big fan of all three of listed bands. Silent Planet should’ve been a fourth band on the bill, but they had to pull out of the tour, and so with a later door time (and the unsurprisingly cancelled and then late train under the belt) I’m left with all killer no filler tonight. All tonight’s bands are good examples of modern metalcore – heavy naturally distorted vocals interspersed with searching melodic vocals layered over the top of pounding drums, electronic incidental elements and angular, intricate guitars and bass. That being said, each of tonight's bands add a unique characterization to this theme, so stick with me on this one or the nuances might get lost... 

I’ve known about opening act Void of Vision for a while now, but haven’t managed to catch them live until tonight. Like the rest of the lineup they hail from Australia and they serve to add to the impress roster of metal bands coming out from down-under at the current time. As expected their live performance is passionate and energetic, with brash confidence pouring off the stage. Frontman Jack Bergin has brought his A-game and is reminiscent of a modern metalcore Zack de la Rocha – his hollered vocals are rhythmic and hammer out the tempo for their exciting and groovy hardcore-infused take on metalcore.

I've seen Polaris previously at UK Tech-Fest, and supporting Architects, and they’ve impressed whenever they’ve been given the chance. I expect nothing less tonight and I’m not left disappointed as they are excellent from start to finish. They mix modern prog, hardcore and metalcore effortlessly, but also throw in some genuinely impressive post-hardcore aspects too. Brutal, rasping hardcore vocals, with the odd vocal shred, from Jamie Hails sit alongside mightily striking powerful clean vocals from bassist Jake Steinhauser. All too often the clean vocals in modern metalcore bands are a bit thin, whiney and feeble - not so with Polaris who've obviously learnt a great deal from their breakthrough tour with Architects. The guitars are chunkily full whilst retaining that trademark interweaving intricacy too. A standout aspect of Polaris gigs is the way they engage the crowd and, whether it’s during the heartfelt post-hardcore passages or the requested wall-of-death, the crowd are more than willing to go along for the ride. But most importantly, they achieve one of the truly difficult things for any band looking to succeed and that’s writing distinct and memorable songs. The best example is ‘Crooked Path’ that has everything – jagged tech guitars, screamed punky vocals, stomping drums and soaring clean vocals on the sing along anthemic chorus. Polaris are on the rise and you’d be foolish to ignore them.

Northlane are a band that has evolved an awful lot over their five studio albums and two vocalists. “Node” and “Mesmer” allowed new vocalist Marcus Bridge to get his feet under the table and establish his soaring clean vocals and raw screams, but latest release “Alien” has seen the band carve a unique and distinct niche within the metalcore scene – the radio friendly electro-djent tracks are stunning. It’s guitarist-in-chief Jon Deiley who has always caught my attention though. In him, they not only have what I believe to be one of the most well-rounded and complete musicians in modern metal, but is probably my favourite guitarist to watch live. Tonight he plays with live sequencers and sample pads as well as his guitar, but he’s no less entertaining and impressive.

There’s a seemingly strange segment before fan favourite ‘Citizen’ where guitarist Josh is seemingly sent from the stage for mucking-up in the previous song. Bridge asks if anyone from the crowd knows the song on guitar, and sure enough someone is plucked from the crowd. As it turns out it’s Ben Charleston from local up-and-coming band Where Oceans Burn. In my last review of Where Oceans Burn I actually likened Ben to Jon Deiley, and he takes to his task of playing Josh’s guitar parts, both musically and regarding stage performance, with seeming ease and panache. In some ways it’s a highlight of the set, especially for those of us who know of the local band and Ben’s undoubted talent.

Maybe it’s with Northlane following on from Polaris, as the headliner’s dim lights and nightclub-esque light show don’t encourage the same type of crowd engagement, but overall though the band seem a little rough around the edges tonight compared to my previous experiences of them. Having said that they’re still excellent and as theatrical as ever, with futuristic posturing aligning to their heavily processed but brutal sound. Northlane still deserve your attention and will likely see their stock rise even further, alongside Polaris, in what promises to be a dynamic 2020 for the genre.