Milwaukee, WI's Northless began in 2007 and has since punched out heavy, melancholy soaked doom/sludge in the vein of bands like Primitive Man, Inter Arma, and Fister. Those that hang in the heavy sphere have doubtless heard them before, having done splits with bands like the aforementioned Primitive Man, as well as Light Bearer. On top of that, their upcoming fourth LP, A Path Beyond Grief, is less than a month away and we are here today with the third track, "Forbidden World of Light."
Clocking in over eight-minutes, Northless unleash a ruthless track dripping in misery. The track starts slow and fuzzy and eventually kicks up the volume and starts stomping its feet. It slows, and then the vocals kick in and Northless show their teeth. It's melodic but heavy. A guitar lead hits in the background and then things slam onto the low end. It's a barrage of crunch and fuzz. Then, Northless open up some breathing room and get bluesy. After a bit the track picks back up and hits us with some speed and death tinged riffs. Things move back into doom territory and Northless just keep things heavy-as-hell until fading out.
According to guitarist/vocalist Erik Stenglein: "Forbidden World of Light" is a statement against salvation – on my own terms. No gods, no masters! If there's a heaven, I doubt I'll make it there because I've embraced humanism and rejected fundamentalist brainwashing throughout my life, which apparently makes me an enemy. The music in this song is pretty different for us. There's some vibes in here that we haven't really explored before: progressive rock, black metal, death metal…It's all part of the pursuit to make the heaviest and most miserable music we possibly can."
The track also features guest vocals from Erin Severson (Former Worlds) and bassoon from Alaina Leisten. A Path Beyond Grief will drop July 22 on Translation Loss Records. You can preorder it here.
