Northmaan – Northmaan
Release Date: 26th March 2021
Label: Devfire Entertainment
Stream
Genre: Alternative Metal, Industrial, Doom.
FFO: Fear Factory, Static X, Killing Joke, Ministry, Type O Negative.
Review By: Adam Martin
A solo artist from the most Northern part of the UK, Northmaan had a desire to create something he thought was missing from the current alternative music industry: “I brought back a classic formula, a missing sound! with hope to bring light to things that matter more now, than ever!”. Rising from a darker side of music, a culmination of anger and frustration, this album tries to blend alt/metal styles such as industrial, doom and goth.
Northmaan’s self-titled album starts with a powerful punch, industrial grade heavy riffs, dirty bass, and deep gravelly vocals. Self-destruct reminded me a lot of classic Static-X, immediately sparking some nostalgic feelings within. When you reach the breakdown of this track the atmosphere has a nice feel to it, a welcome break from the chugging, but its false climax robs you from any sense of satisfaction. The end blends smoothly into the next, with Rage Trigger starting with the same atmospheric electronic sounds and industrial chugging, only now with a darker and spoken word vocals.
Persevere, the third track on this album, had me hooked, there was something about this one that made it stand out from the rest. Objectively it seems the most complete song out of the album, it has a few more interesting moments that grab your attention and a chorus that is quite catchy. It has the first guitar solo from Northmaan too, and it’s pretty sweet, it doesn’t push too far and remains fairly grounded as to not be a distraction. Even the verses have an interesting rhythm that compliments the vocals quite well. And sudden ends to powerful tracks always get me going.
The second half of the album felt mostly the same as the first two tracks, continuing a fairly uniform sound with few surprises, but there are still some highlights. Torture First can be quite terrifying at times, especially as the title of the song comes around with its spooky effects, and the introduction of soft piano towards the end creates a haunting atmosphere. The gothic sounds really come to life in Dying Star throughout its big intro, and lastly, Tolerate includes some fantastic harmonies.
Electronic tracks run throughout, and it makes sense to introduce these elements when working with Jayce Lewis the renowned solo artist who has written and worked with the likes of Gary Numan, Acid Reign, Robyn, and Fear Factory. The effects used throughout make for a few memorable moments, more notably on the vocals: the breakdown in Dying Star has some great panning, swirling the vocals around your head as if spirits circle you like sharks, and the very end of the album with the vocals trailing off into the distance, onwards to the next journey.
The whole album is well produced, and all the tracks sounds great, but some moments just fall a little flat. Some sections, and tracks, don’t always feel well balanced; the breakdown in the first track doesn’t quite reach a climax, compared to the final track where the breakdown hits a great conclusion. With all that said, it’s a great achievement that this all came from a solo artist trying to get something new on the table, and I appreciate the sentiment of “injecting new life into the scene” that comes with it.
(3.5 / 5)
