The renowned producer details his excitement to revisit their shared creative history and explore what’s next from the Aussie collective.
Currently trekking through North America as part of the Australian takeover of the Monsters of OZ Tour along with Parkway Drive, The Amity Affliction and Make Them Suffer, veteran unit Northlane have revealed some important news.
Though having released their sixth and arguably most complete work to date in Obsidian just last spring, the band shared they have been in the studio and have again sought the expertise of longtime friend and collaborator.
Among heavy music’s most in-demand producers, Will Putney has established a lengthy resume of essential releases from some of metal music’ most respected contributors. A decade ago, he worked with Northlane during some of the band’s most formative years – first producing their sophomore album Singularity in 2013.
The union proved potent, such that the band again enlisted Putney in 2015 for the especially pivotal album, Node. The project asserted the creative audacity of Northlane, daring to depart from their metalcore signature and traverse more experimental terrain. It would also be the first album to feature the band’s then new vocalist in Marcus Bridge.
Exploring their creative autonomy, Northlane would self-produce their last two studio releases in 2019 hailed LP, Alien and last year’s career-defining effort in Obsidian. Looking to recapture the creative chemistry that propelled the momentum of the early portion of their career, Northlane has again joined forces with Will Putney, recently revealing the tandem have been working together in the studio.
Taking to their social media to offer the update, the band explained, “Before we began the Monsters of Oz tour over in the United States, we flew over early to reunite with an old friend Will Putney and we recorded some new music.
The songs were born from a tumultuous period for the band, but we took our time with them, and the way they’ve turned out has exceeded every expectation we had of ourselves.
Beyond that, we’ve been privileged enough to collaborate with some artists who’ve been elemental in their influence of this band over the years. We have not been this excited or proud about a new creation in a very long time. A new era will begin soon.”
Will Putney also offered his thoughts on the reunion and shared that being able to see the evolution of Northlane first-hand is something to behold.
“Northlane has always been a band in their own unique space. Our paths had crossed almost a decade ago and we did a lot of really special work together back then. Having them back in the studio after what seems like so much time had passed, I immediately felt the excitement from the band like the first time we met. Their unending creative drive and passion for their music has never yielded, only expanded, and making a record at this stage in their career it’s been extremely rewarding to see their growth as musicians and people.”
Given the shared history between the two and the time and space that has since transpired, coming back to work together offers a new perspective that will no doubt make for some magic in the way of new music.
Putney added, “I think collectively we’ve all come to realize the importance of having an identity in music, and the value of authentic music and how that translates to the listener. They are very in tune with that, and this music will deliver the brilliance of this idea in spades.”
Photograpahers Andrew McEnaney and Brendon Padjasek captured some of the recent moments in the studio with Northlane and Will Putney. See the gallery of images below.
Photos by Brendon Padjasek
Northlane are currently on the North American Monsters of Oz Tour with Parkway Drive, The Amity Affliction and Make Them Suffer. A complete list of dates and cities can be found below.
Get tickets – HERE
The Monsters of Oz Tour Dates
9/15 — Worcester, MA — Palladium Outdoors
9/17 — New York, NY — Hammerstein Ballroom
9/19 — Montreal, QC — Place Bell
9/20 — Toronto, ON — RBC Echo Beach
9/22 — Cleveland, OH — Jacobs Pavilion
9/23 — Louisville, KY — Louder Than Life Festival*
9/24 — Chicago, IL — Radius
9/26 — St. Paul, MN — Myth Live
9/27 — Oshkosh, WI — Oshkosh Arena
9/29 — Denver, CO — Mission Ballroom
9/30 — Albuquerque, NM — The Revel
10/1 — Mesa, AZ — Mesa Amphitheater
10/3 — Salt Lake City, UT — Complex
10/5 — Las Vegas, NV — The Theater at Virgin Hotels
10/6 — Irvine, CA — FivePoint Amphitheatre
10/7 — Sacramento, CA — Aftershock*
*Festival Dates
