Northlane @ Rescue Rooms (Nottingham, UK) on December 1, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

I had to carve path through a dense mass of people to get to the photo pit for Northlane’s set at Nottingham Rescue Rooms. People were amenable but equally keen not to give up their hard-won space in the crowd.

Guitarist Jon Deiley immediately grabbed my attention, and between my curiosity about his ominous mask, and his ability to play guitar in matrix-like positions, he stole the show. The contrast from intense strobing to dark blue lighting temporarily created an alternate world, we could have been in any city because for a while, my focus was solely on what was happening on stage.

Eventually, however, I felt the venue was in need of respite, so that the audience could catch its collective breath as the high-intensity set was starting to lose its “wow” factor – maybe you can have too much of a good thing. Fortunately, a brief pause at the start of “Quantum Flux” was a welcome relief.

Some songs stood out from the rest, mainly because the fans responded with such fervour, particularly “Citizen” and “Solar”, both from their latest album Mesmer, the tour’s namesake.