Review and gallery: Luke Petty

Brisbane played host to the first leg of Nortlane’s Dante Tour and boy was there some hype for this one. The fans queued all the way back to Warner Street and they were keen as mustard to get their spot to see what was in store for the night.

Banks Arcade kicked things off with their new single “Worship the Internet,” igniting early sparks of support. “Change,” another from their fresh “Death 2” EP, ripped open the pit. Singer Joshua O’Donnell looked to be having an amazing time before announcing their final song, Roulette, at this point everyone went mental and moved as a horde of zombies all in sync, finishing off a great set to kick start the evening.

Next up, Landmarks from France made their Australian debut, instantly etching their mark with their unique brand of post-hardcore.

Their stage presence was electric, the French lads reveled in the energy from the crowed with a flurry of two-steps, fight dances, circle pits and a little playful banter that kept the fans hanging on their every word.
New song “Creature” stole the show with fans reacting as if it were an old favorite and then finishing with a bang with “Self-made black hole” echoing through the venue and leaving a lasting impression for those new to the band.

There is no doubt that Landmarks will be returning to our shores to headlining stages again in the near future and you can guarantee everyone here tonight will be there for it when it happens.

Erra took the stage next, and it was clear why they’re considered one of the most exciting bands in the alt metal genre. Their backdrop lights really set a tone for their set, and I was excited to catch them.

Fan favorite “Scorpion hymn” went off, showcasing their versatile style with a blend of heavy screams and clean vocals, which is something that works so well for them and is amazing to witness live.
Guitarist Jesse Cash is also incredibly talented, not only as a skilled player but combined with his insane spinning stage moves and high energy performance, his stage presence added another level of intensity to their set, and you could see the room reacting and feeding off it.

We want a circle pit for “Eye of God” demanded frontman JT Cavey who never failed to impress with his mental vocal abilities displayed during the intro to the song and set the fans moving to his commands, owning the Brisbane stage with the crowd lapping up every minute of it.

Their cover of Muse’s ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ was flawless and a highlight of the set with another being their closer ‘Snowblood’ which saw the band really ramp up their performance, with JT orchestrating the drum beat during the instrumental breakdown, all while rocking some sweet dance moves.
Erra left the crowd breathless and absolutely brought the house down perfectly setting the stage for the main event to follow.

Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for had arrived. The lights dimmed, an ominous intro filled the air, and then boom – Northlane materialized with guitarist Jon Deiley shrouded in his enigmatic face mask and sporting a glowing eyepiece, a cyborg prophet ready to deliver salvation.
With the first guttural scream of “Carbonized,” vocalist Marcus Bridge exploded onto the stage, channeling a raw energy that set the mosh pit in motion and instantly proving why the band are top of the game and selling out massive venues such as this on their biggest headlining tour in Australia to date.

Rumors swirled about a surprise guest appearance by Winston McCall for their new single “Miasma.” While that didn’t come to pass, JT Cavey from Erra stepped in to fill the spot, absolutely nailing Winston’s part.

Smashing through their set, song after song, each as great as the last with their mind-blowing atmospheric stage lighting and production matching it perfectly, taking the fans on a career spanning journey aurally and visually, the band have spared no expense when it came to making sure that everyone attending tonight would experience something truly memorable and special.

Tracks like Citizen, Bloodline and Dante all threw the crowd into a spin with circle pits going absolutely insane for them and then following it up with an epic medley of songs including Worldeater, Jinn, Dispossession and Solar.
Flawlessly executing sound and stage presence throughout the set. Northlane finished off with “Clockwork” and “Nova” leaving the crowd in absolute awe to what we had just witnessed.

Northlane are not only one of our best alt metal bands but one of the reasons that our flourishing music scene is currently under the spotlight globally right now, with each tour they evolve will no doubt continue to with each album cycle, which will see them headlining arenas in the near future. We were lucky enough to be the first city to experience this tour here in Brisbane and will definitely be stamped in many fans’ memories for years to come, next time we see these boys it will be on a whole new exciting level so don’t miss your chance to be part of history and catch them on this run.