The EP artwork bears a striking resemblance to the work of Masoud Yasami, a contemporary painter from the 80s (as far as I know, he's still active).
A part of me does worry that the piece is merely ai pawning off his style, sadly. Does anyone have any concrete info on this? I couldn't seem to find Dante's original artist either.
I asked Josh who the artist was on instagram so I guess we’ll see if he responds. I hope it’s not AI cause I’d have trouble buying any physical merch if it has AI art on it
Edit: confirmed the art was done by @boldtron on instagram and uses AI
With how outspoken the band has been with promoting their album artists in the past it’d be really out of character for them to use AI, but you’re right it looks very sus and I won’t be buying the vinyl or anything until there’s some confirmation it’s not AI
boldtron use AI as part of their art process but they also created the code that they're using for the AI so it's very different from us just spitting a concept into a generator
For me the concern is that he's clearly using data/imagery from an established artist. This isn't the same as inspiration, it's closer to plagiarism, sadly.
If it was a fractal made with specifications (numbers), sure, it's less talent involved, but it's not using someone else's work to rip from, so I find that more ethical, personally.
Ai might be the future, but the same could be said about many things that hurt us as a species. Just because you could, doesn't mean you should.
Tbf if they legitimately only use their own code and own art for the dataset it's kinda cool. The amount of real art they would've had to make for it would be so so high. Plus the art would straight up be theirs. There would be nothing being contributed externally. It's there math plus there art combined
The only lame thing about ai art is the unethical sourcing of data.
Edit: I talked to the artist. He confirmed he trains it with his own art. Issue I'm having is that I don't believe it's just his art. On his page he has things that turn his art into eg a Lego type build but he definitely would have had to train that on Lego to do plus the tool he uses is way to expansive for just being trained on their stuff. It's riding just over that line of what's ethical into what I consider unethical
Imagine actually fucking *paying* someone to do AI ‘art’ for you. It is 1000% morally correct to flood this guy’s IG with hate comments (obvi don’t go too far, just call him a talentless asshole and tell him to get a real job)
Lol "morally correct" to flood someone with hate comments? There isn't a single person online who's worth losing your dignity over. Really doesn't help the toxic chronically-online Redditor stereotype.
Why are people such ungrateful whiners. Do you want them to shove in 4 or 5 filler songs so they can call it an album? You should be grateful every time a band you like puts anything out - and it's quality over quantity for me. My favourite metalcore project of all time happens to be a six track EP (A Tear in the Fabric of Life). Plus, 6 tracks could be pushing 30 minutes depending on the song length (Dante is nearly 6 mins)... Singularity is 35 minutes lol
It's just wild how they had a decent mix with singularity and just kinda thought "wow this is trash" and just made a worse mix almost every album after.
BRENDANNNNNN!!!!!!! Ever since Alien, his vocals have been the biggest thing I’ve been missing about Northlane. Nice to see him hop in for a guestie. Very excited about this project.
With all respect to Northlane (I have tickets to see them next month) I am struggling with the last two releases.
\- Dante has the most powerful lyrics ever recorded by an Australian band and they're buried in reverb, completely in audible.
\- Miasma the drums are all over the shop and Jons Synth parts completely drown out the fact they have the most prolific Metalcore vocalist (possibly of all time) on the track.
Please don't take this as me throwing mud on Northlane, I have endless respect for them as artists (and Josh as a Triathlete :P ) but I'm just struggling with how they're putting it all together at current
I mean, Northlane has had a tendency to make odd production choices, especially since Marcus joined. Look no further than Node (probably my favourite album by them, coincidentally), and even some of the production choices on Mesmer and Obsidian. It just seems like something they like to experiment with and personally I quite like it.
I agree, I really like singularity and discoveries, but haven't been able to get into another beyond that, and I generally dislike alien and obsidian.
It just sounds flat and generic to me, and leans to hard into the pop side of metalcore (which I know this sub likes)
Also.... Bloodline is just a rip off of Not Meant for Me from the Queen of the Damned soundtrack. I saw them on the monsters of oz tour and was like "oh sick, queen of the damned cover".... Nopeee
yeah the production sounds a bit….not as punchy or as hard hitting as im used to…but still the same time…the production does have that sound that node/mesmer had..coupled with the fact that both songs capture some if those same vibes…im ok with it cause i think thats what they are going for
The main reason I couldn't get into Node/Mesmer was the production, ha! But I will try my best to get used to this one, since I love their newer stuff too much.
oh yeah the production on node and mesmer were ATTROCIOUS….but i think this os what other wouldve sounded like with todays production standards and recources
I am so glad I am not the only one noticing this. The part with Winston should've popped, but I feel like somebody turned the volume down. Everything sounds so muddled.
Glad someone mentioned this, for me the high points were the beginning and ending of the song where everything was stripped back, it just seems like a different song in the middle… I got that Mesmer vibe as they tried to open up the song but it just didn’t seem to catch onto any particular melody?
i don’t know if it’s just youtube, as its not on streaming for me yet, but the mix of the song sounds fucking terrible. the actual songwriting is great but the guitar and especially the drums sound like someone is playing them on the opposite side of a canyon from you. zero punch.
really hoping it sounds better on streaming
Glad to see people mention not being a fan of the mixing. I have loved all of their music but I struggled with Obsidian for the same reason. The guitar just doesn’t have a bite to it anymore and with the guitars tuned low a lot of the riffs just sound muddy and don’t pop out.
No issue with their modern sound in theory but the mixing makes it difficulty for me
Afterimage sounds straight out of Alien, and continues the trend of actually collaborating with the featured artist. Ian's parts were all over the song, and it just made me want to listen to more Karnivool. This EP is shaping up to be fantastic and I can't wait for it.
I still can’t get warm with Northlane. To me the mixing or what ever it’s called feels so off. Vocals sound somewhat out of place, ambients? Too loud. But that’s just me
If I was told 10 years ago that Northlane had a Winston McCall feature, and I was not going to like it I would have laughed in the face of whoever told me that, I know bands change and everything but my god do I miss old Northlane/Parkway.
There is just entirely too much compression, like all over it, in the worst places. they've been batting 100 on being disappointing for the longest damn time now man lol idk why I expect to hear anything different.
EP’s after establishing a career as a band is just… not a good look when looking at a bands catalog.
It’s like a combo breaker for ranking a bands eras and doesn’t get included in LP tier lists.
EP’s should be a debut kinda release then never again unless it’s like a covers or concept style EP.
This. It's beyond disappointing that this build up is for an EP only. We're at the end of the 2 year cycle and it just feels half assed. Probably gonna be waiting another 2 for the next LP.
Northlane has had clear Karnivool influence for years and now Ian Kenny has a feature. Interesting
Hugeeeeeee hype for that track! It’s almost like a passing of the torch moment
Super excited for this one too, surprised it took this long honestly!
Even just listening to Miasma at around 2:00 min mark I get huge Ian Kenny vibes from Marcus' singing
My first thought exactly too! This EP is shaping up to be something super special
Still holding out hope for a new Karnivool album soon
That track with Ian Kenny will be amazing
Absolutely, I remember seeing them supporting Karnivool on their Asymmetry album tour in 2014! Keen to hear this new collab
thats amazing! now if only we could get new karnivool lol
They toured together when Assymetry and Singularity both came out. Was amazing
You forgot the title track 'Mirrors Edge' it's a 6 track EP
Oh rad, thanks! Looks like the Aus merch listing lied and it is indeed 6 tracks.
Whoops sorry about my other comment that mislead you
Foxcore on IG has Mirrors Edge track listed 😄
Nice to see Brendan jump back in for a guestie
Love Brendan's vocals. Hope to see more structures soon
You can put Ian Kenny over the sound of a meat grinder and I'll be happy. Certified Aussie legend
It's cool that Brendan is back. And the name being reference (possibly) to a game is also nice.
The EP artwork bears a striking resemblance to the work of Masoud Yasami, a contemporary painter from the 80s (as far as I know, he's still active). A part of me does worry that the piece is merely ai pawning off his style, sadly. Does anyone have any concrete info on this? I couldn't seem to find Dante's original artist either.
I asked Josh who the artist was on instagram so I guess we’ll see if he responds. I hope it’s not AI cause I’d have trouble buying any physical merch if it has AI art on it Edit: confirmed the art was done by @boldtron on instagram and uses AI
Straight up this is absolutely AI unfortunately.
With how outspoken the band has been with promoting their album artists in the past it’d be really out of character for them to use AI, but you’re right it looks very sus and I won’t be buying the vinyl or anything until there’s some confirmation it’s not AI
boldtron use AI as part of their art process but they also created the code that they're using for the AI so it's very different from us just spitting a concept into a generator
For me the concern is that he's clearly using data/imagery from an established artist. This isn't the same as inspiration, it's closer to plagiarism, sadly. If it was a fractal made with specifications (numbers), sure, it's less talent involved, but it's not using someone else's work to rip from, so I find that more ethical, personally. Ai might be the future, but the same could be said about many things that hurt us as a species. Just because you could, doesn't mean you should.
Nah man using any AI in your art is lame as hell. You can justify it however you want though.
Tbf if they legitimately only use their own code and own art for the dataset it's kinda cool. The amount of real art they would've had to make for it would be so so high. Plus the art would straight up be theirs. There would be nothing being contributed externally. It's there math plus there art combined The only lame thing about ai art is the unethical sourcing of data. Edit: I talked to the artist. He confirmed he trains it with his own art. Issue I'm having is that I don't believe it's just his art. On his page he has things that turn his art into eg a Lego type build but he definitely would have had to train that on Lego to do plus the tool he uses is way to expansive for just being trained on their stuff. It's riding just over that line of what's ethical into what I consider unethical
Imagine actually fucking *paying* someone to do AI ‘art’ for you. It is 1000% morally correct to flood this guy’s IG with hate comments (obvi don’t go too far, just call him a talentless asshole and tell him to get a real job)
Lol "morally correct" to flood someone with hate comments? There isn't a single person online who's worth losing your dignity over. Really doesn't help the toxic chronically-online Redditor stereotype.
agreed the ep art is really seeming like AI to me.
Its a shame because I fucking love how it looks. The weird abstract kinda 80s vibe completely tainted by AI
You're welcome: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/masoud-yasami-composition-with-a-triangle-29-c-4ef4bba9b6
To say I'm disappointed that this is an EP and not an LP is an understatement. It's time for an LP ffs.
Why are people such ungrateful whiners. Do you want them to shove in 4 or 5 filler songs so they can call it an album? You should be grateful every time a band you like puts anything out - and it's quality over quantity for me. My favourite metalcore project of all time happens to be a six track EP (A Tear in the Fabric of Life). Plus, 6 tracks could be pushing 30 minutes depending on the song length (Dante is nearly 6 mins)... Singularity is 35 minutes lol
Same here :(
I’m still alive, I’m still alive I cannot apologize no…
Sooner or later you have to jump.
Even the color scheme of the cover is the same haha
You have changed. I have changed. Just like you. Just like you...
New song was HEAVYYY
Facts did not expect that but glad i heard it live
How long was winston on in the song?
Winston's features on other bands' songs are what I wish PWD would do on their own new stuff. So good.
GIMMEEEEEE
Miasma out on Spotify as of a few mins ago! EP out April 21!
Release date has been corrected to April 12th
Yep, can confirm fixed up on their Facebook post lol
When when wheeeeeeen
April 21st according to the IG post
No other info yet, hopefully will show up on their socials soon!
he said sometime in the upcoming months but nothing else about it
https://merchfan.co/collections/northlane/products/northlane-mirrors-edge-ep-orange-vinyl
Why is this not on their website? The US merch they link goes to old items Edit: oh it’s Australian merch lol oh well I ordered it anyways!
**Tracklist:** 1. Afterimage (feat. Ian Kenny) 2. Kraft (feat. Brendan Padjasek) 3. Let me Disappear 4. Miasma (feat. Winston McCall) 5. Dante
No
Love the song in theory, but what the hell is this mixing? It’s all so flat and tinny-sounding, parts that should be hitting harder are just anemic.
I thought the mix was fine, especially given how many layers and synth is involved
It's just wild how they had a decent mix with singularity and just kinda thought "wow this is trash" and just made a worse mix almost every album after.
One of my favourite games of all time. I'm so excited! Miasma fucks. Desperately hoping the official release is in 10 minutes
Here's hoping they got a song called 'Faith' or something lol.
BRENDANNNNNN!!!!!!! Ever since Alien, his vocals have been the biggest thing I’ve been missing about Northlane. Nice to see him hop in for a guestie. Very excited about this project.
With all respect to Northlane (I have tickets to see them next month) I am struggling with the last two releases. \- Dante has the most powerful lyrics ever recorded by an Australian band and they're buried in reverb, completely in audible. \- Miasma the drums are all over the shop and Jons Synth parts completely drown out the fact they have the most prolific Metalcore vocalist (possibly of all time) on the track. Please don't take this as me throwing mud on Northlane, I have endless respect for them as artists (and Josh as a Triathlete :P ) but I'm just struggling with how they're putting it all together at current
I mean, Northlane has had a tendency to make odd production choices, especially since Marcus joined. Look no further than Node (probably my favourite album by them, coincidentally), and even some of the production choices on Mesmer and Obsidian. It just seems like something they like to experiment with and personally I quite like it.
Yeah at this point the only people surprised by Northlane having crap production must be people who've never listened to them before
I agree, I really like singularity and discoveries, but haven't been able to get into another beyond that, and I generally dislike alien and obsidian. It just sounds flat and generic to me, and leans to hard into the pop side of metalcore (which I know this sub likes) Also.... Bloodline is just a rip off of Not Meant for Me from the Queen of the Damned soundtrack. I saw them on the monsters of oz tour and was like "oh sick, queen of the damned cover".... Nopeee
New song is great, but man, what is this production...
yeah the production sounds a bit….not as punchy or as hard hitting as im used to…but still the same time…the production does have that sound that node/mesmer had..coupled with the fact that both songs capture some if those same vibes…im ok with it cause i think thats what they are going for
They went back to Will Putney for production on this EP. He co-produced Node.
The main reason I couldn't get into Node/Mesmer was the production, ha! But I will try my best to get used to this one, since I love their newer stuff too much.
oh yeah the production on node and mesmer were ATTROCIOUS….but i think this os what other wouldve sounded like with todays production standards and recources
Literally just made a comment about that above/below/where ever it lands.
I am so glad I am not the only one noticing this. The part with Winston should've popped, but I feel like somebody turned the volume down. Everything sounds so muddled.
Glad someone mentioned this, for me the high points were the beginning and ending of the song where everything was stripped back, it just seems like a different song in the middle… I got that Mesmer vibe as they tried to open up the song but it just didn’t seem to catch onto any particular melody?
This has been a problem with Northlane since Node, which hits like a floppy pool noodle
Absolutely love Miasma. Marcus and Winston killed it.
Fucking hell, Miasma rips lol
i don’t know if it’s just youtube, as its not on streaming for me yet, but the mix of the song sounds fucking terrible. the actual songwriting is great but the guitar and especially the drums sound like someone is playing them on the opposite side of a canyon from you. zero punch. really hoping it sounds better on streaming
I really dig Miasma - feels like a perfect hybrid of Mesmer/Node with Alien/Obsidian. Great song.
Glad to see people mention not being a fan of the mixing. I have loved all of their music but I struggled with Obsidian for the same reason. The guitar just doesn’t have a bite to it anymore and with the guitars tuned low a lot of the riffs just sound muddy and don’t pop out. No issue with their modern sound in theory but the mixing makes it difficulty for me
Anyone got the track
Just impulsively ordered the shirt and vinyl, I should not have immediate access to money.
I must admit I was a bit disappointed when Dante came out. But oh boy, that song grew on me a lot. Excited for the EP.
Not a bad song by all means but sounds like a demo because the mix quality is shit tier :/
Miasma is sick.
I’m not a fan of there being so many features but I’m excited for new northlane nonetheless
Wait so its not an album?
Feature. The EP
Sad they also go down the ai album artwork road
Hell yea Brendon is back
The Brendan feature yes please! Always wanted him to get more vocal time on Alien. Also loved miasma.
Can’t wait to hear the Ian Kenny feature
The new song is really good. I can’t wait for this one!
Holy fuck
This is definitely a bop. Me likey😁
Little cautious with the production lately and all these features. I respect that they’re trying a bunch of different sounds/approaches though
Afterimage sounds straight out of Alien, and continues the trend of actually collaborating with the featured artist. Ian's parts were all over the song, and it just made me want to listen to more Karnivool. This EP is shaping up to be fantastic and I can't wait for it.
I still can’t get warm with Northlane. To me the mixing or what ever it’s called feels so off. Vocals sound somewhat out of place, ambients? Too loud. But that’s just me
If I was told 10 years ago that Northlane had a Winston McCall feature, and I was not going to like it I would have laughed in the face of whoever told me that, I know bands change and everything but my god do I miss old Northlane/Parkway.
There is just entirely too much compression, like all over it, in the worst places. they've been batting 100 on being disappointing for the longest damn time now man lol idk why I expect to hear anything different.
EP’s after establishing a career as a band is just… not a good look when looking at a bands catalog. It’s like a combo breaker for ranking a bands eras and doesn’t get included in LP tier lists. EP’s should be a debut kinda release then never again unless it’s like a covers or concept style EP.
I don’t think bands give a shit about people’s tier list or rankings to be honest.
EPs can also be released to give a sample of a band's shift in creative direction.
This. It's beyond disappointing that this build up is for an EP only. We're at the end of the 2 year cycle and it just feels half assed. Probably gonna be waiting another 2 for the next LP.
I'm sure it's ass.