When switching off from social media it can feel weird at first. But let's face it, most of the time, being jacked into the matrix offers us very little substance.
The mindless scrolling and knee-jerk click of the 'like' button is habit for most of us, but disconnect yourself from it and you may sleep better.And if you're like Northlane frontman Marcus Bridge, you may be able to write a new album.
Attesting to the weirdness of 'social' disconnection, Marcus says: "You feel like you should be doing something, like you should be looking at your phone, but not doing it feels a lot better."
There's enough stress and worry in a person's life before they're exposed to the constant din of people – most, in reality, are strangers – sharing their unearned opinions for the sake of it.
As turn of phrases get thrown about, people are implored to 'educate themselves’ and 'do your research', but there are some out there, like Marcus, who decided it would be better to look at the world around them, and not into the haze of a smartphone.
Marcus' journey led him to ignore the often-toxic polarisation of social media and turn his shift toward a more tectonic project; Northlane's new album 'Obsidian'.
'Obsidian' single 'Echo Chamber' provides, with its rumbling groove and futuristic techno beats, a sense of resilience – a recalcitrant attitude towards the notion of being a sheep.
Not in the three previous Northlane albums he's been part of have we heard the frontman's vocals at the level presented on 'Obsidian', a powerful improvement to Marcus’ now flooring range. It's driven in large part by the sheer adamance he has in upending cyber-socialism, and an element of self-reflection.
Particularly in the wake of 2019's 'Alien', Marcus was galvanised to go all in on its follow-up.
"In the aftermath of that release, a lot of wild stuff happened," Marcus begins tentatively, looking somewhere far off – anywhere but this Zoom chat.
"Some of these family members, some of the songs would relate to, if not be about someone. Some of them got upset. They got angry at me for writing these songs.
"It was a weird feeling – and I don't think it was fair – but it led to this feeling of, 'what am I doing? Am I doing the right thing?' I found it hard getting back into feeling comfortable writing about my personal things."
Marcus appears uncomfortable and speaks softly, a drastic contrast to the deliberately rageful performance he delivers with Northlane. This is a difficult topic to broach.
"It's a matter of not wanting to be so direct and immediately tell people in my family that 'this song is about you' or something like that. I'd rather steer it away.
"That being said, with ['Obsidian'], I'm still trying to figure out what my purpose is. I felt a lot of pressure after 'Alien' to kind of give people space to talk about their struggles and what they related to in the songs.
"I think I put too much of that pressure on myself and it kind of wigged me out in the end."
'Clarity' was, Marcus says, his last "talking-about-people-in-my-life song", with the rest of 'Obsidian' instead exploring how he could move forward.
The word for this isn't 'justify', but the relationship Northlane have developed in 'Obsidian' – between the electronic and heavy metal genres – then gives rise to those personal landscapes.
"It adds definitely a more melancholy kind of vibe to it I guess," Marcus says, a slight brightness lilting his tone as talk turns to the musicality of the new album.
"Weaving through these different sounds and these different emotions, and how they move forward, it does kind of link in that way.
"Throughout the writing process, there was always that sense of 'what makes sense and fits this song?', but whenever it came to writing a song, we didn't really have much positive to write about.
"It was all either personal struggles and stressing out, or not being inspired due to being locked up from COVID.
"A couple of songs are on the lighter side, but for the most part it's all pretty negative." Marcus last comment comes with a bashful chuckle, as he seemingly reconsiders his outlook on his work.
"I'm not sure if that really reflects in the music because the music is always up and down, but yeah, I think everything kind of fits with what I'm saying and what the music is doing."
'Obsidian' will be released 22 April.
Northlane 2022 Tour Dates
Sun 24 Apr - Eleven Dive Bar (Sunshine Coast)Thu 16 Jun - Metropolis (Fremantle)
Fri 17 Jun - Bridgeway Hotel (Adelaide)
Sat 18 Jun - Forum Melbourne* sold out
Sun 19 Jun - Forum Melbourne
Thu 23 Jun - Max Watts (Sydney)* sold out
Fri 24 Jun - Max Watts (Sydney)
Sat 25 Jun - The Tivoli (Brisbane)
