FUELED BY STRUGGLE; BUILT FOR SUCCESS
A CONVERSATION WITH TORONTO METALCORE BAND THE NORTHERN
When it comes to the metalcore genre, few bands can execute a balance of melody and heavy cadence as well as Canadian metalcore band, The Northern. In 2017, The Northern was a studio band, but their creative ideas finally took shape when they collaborated with members of another Canadian band, The Prestige. With band members changing and molding into what would become their current lineup of the band, vocalist Mike Cutway, guitarist Eric Leblanc and Jordan Gallant, second vocalist, and drummer Adam Linka, The Northern would take on their first album, Solstice. This would not come without a journey and learning experience that would quickly teach them that not all that glitters is the golden opportunity one hopes for when a band is signed.
“When the band started making music in 2017, the band had already been working on stuff with Jordan Gallant,” responds drummer Adam Linka. ” Eric Leblanc and I had not joined yet. So, The Northern was not necessarily a thing, it was more of a studio band with our original vocalist Nick, who Mike Cutway has replaced. Jordan asked Eric to join, because we had known each other from touring together in a previous band from Montreal called The Prestige. That’s kind of how it happened. This was all a studio band before we all joined. Nick, Jordan, and other band members that are no longer in the band anymore wanted to make this a full band, that is where Eric and I came in. We basically got right down to business, wrote a full-length record, which eventually became Solstice that we put out with Tragic Hero Records, and that’s how we got started.”
Embarking on this journey of pursuing a music career taught these aspiring and ambitious musicians that the path to success is not always paved in gold. It quickly became evident that not all opportunities that shine bright are worth pursuing, especially when signing onto a record label. The learning experience that comes with the journey highlights the importance of being cautious and discerning when evaluating potential career opportunities. While they would make one of the best records of their careers, Tragic Hero Records would unexpectedly put a wrench in their plans of success, leaving the band without a way forward and their dreams slightly dashed. However, this would not stop them from going after their dreams. The Cloudburst EP catalyzed the band to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic and explore new avenues of creativity. The band’s latest singles were produced by Jonathan Dolese in Nashville, showcasing a more refined and talented version of the band that emerged from their struggles.
PURCHASE/STREAM USURPER
“We all had the same mindset; we all wanted to create music we all loved making that would be fun to play live,” surmises Adam Linka. “Solstice kind of fell out of us,” laughs vocalist Eric Leblanc. “Solstice came at a magical point and time,” says Jordan Gallant. “It was one of those things where I don’t even remember writing it. It just kind of happened and it was done, and we were like, ‘What happened?!’ We would just get together every single day and work on music. The Cloudburst EP was a bit more challenging because we had the struggles of the pandemic to go through, so we didn’t get to see each other a lot, and we didn’t get the studio experience as much. So Cloudburst was done at my house in the basement, so this was a lot more challenging to do remotely in that respect. The newer stuff we did in Nashville, so that was pretty cool. ” Being in the studio with Jonathan Dolese doing the last three singles we released and all the other singles we have planned to release soon, I feel, have all been different in a way,” says Adam. “Solstice all just came together. I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and I don’t think I have ever seen something come together so quickly. I think it was because we were all excited and new in the band and stoked about the future. We were already talking with Tragic Hero Records at that point. We were all optimistic about writing that full-length. I believe it showed; it all just came out of us organically. Cloudburst was done remotely and at different times. In Nashville with Jonathan Dolese, it was like a week of just writing, and that’s all we did, which was cool to experience because you didn’t have to think about jobs, I have kids or all these other responsibilities; Eric and Mike have pets; Jordan has pets; it was great to be able to just hone in on writing.”
The Northern’s latest single, “Usurper”, delves deep into their personal history with Tragic Hero Records. The band had high hopes of creating the perfect record with a record label that promised to take them to new heights based on their creative talents. However, things took a turn for the worse as The Northern hit a low point. Despite being an eager and excited new band ready to take on the industry with new ideas, they were left to embark on a new chapter without the help they were promised. Their hopes of a new beginning were destroyed, and they felt dead in the water before they had a chance to become something more. Their new singles would reveal a band that has not only learned from the pains of these experiences but has become rebranded and not weighed down by circumstances or the people who cause them. If anything, this is only the beginning of a new and improved version of the band.
“We co-write all of our lyrics,” says Adam. “But “Usurper” was the amalgamation of two demos. We combined two songs with John while we were there. It was written on the spot. It’s a really angry and pissed-off-sounding song. Once we had the skeleton of the song written by John and we listened back to it a couple of times with him, he was really helpful. What made us pissed off? What could all of us relate to? A negative experience of any kind. Unfortunately, we had a pretty negative fallout with a former record label. That’s kind of what sparked it. It’s very loosely about our experience with Tragic Hero Records. I say loosely because you can relate this to almost any situation. It’s generally a message to not be a blind follower of your own vices or distractions. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you. We maybe didn’t read all the fine print or read the situation with Tragic Hero Records; to be honest, I’m not quite sure why all that happened to us to this day. But we were still blindsided nonetheless. This made us pretty pissed off. They still owe us a bunch of money in royalties. This is a big middle finger to them. But more so, this is a message to artists or to anyone really to keep their artistic integrity intact and do what you love.”
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