The Northern Interview

We had the pleasure of talking to Toronto natives, The Northern. They informed us about their latest release "Solstice",  tour and what it's like being a Tragic Hero band. Here is what they had to say:

Info

Genre: Progressive Metal, Djent

Years Active: 2012-Present

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Record Label: Tragic Hero Records

1) What's your name and role in the band?

Adam - Drums/ Clean vocals
Eric - Guitar
Jordan - Guitar
Gordon - Bass / Back up vocals 

2) What made you want to be in a progressive metal band, write heavy music?

Heavy music has always appealed to us. We emotionally connected immediately with its’ aggression and honesty the genre brought. When we first heard heavy/metal music, it appealed to us and had a certain something that we could all relate to while growing up that other genres seemed to lack.

3) Being Toronto is a major market for touring bands, what is it like to be a local band in Toronto?

The Toronto market is fairly saturated, but it's full of opportunity for many bands. It’s a staple city for touring acts to perform at. This opens a lot of doors for local acts that other cities may not have available to them. 

4) You guys picked the name The Northern but are from Toronto, so why the name?

Our name was actually inspired by fellow Canadians Alexisonfire and their song 'The Northern'. Also, when people in other countries think of Canada in general, they tend to think 'North' or 'Northern' in terms of geography. 

5) If you were to trying to sell your album to the Warped Tour line, what would you tell them?

We would tell them that we combine the perfect mix of aggression and melody in our album that would appeal to a significantly large and wide variety of people; much like the crowds that usually attend Warped Tour. 

6) What was the process like to get signed to Tragic Hero Records? How has it been so far working with them?

Tragic Hero had approached us in late 2015. We had several great conversations with the label and we understand what we needed from each other. Tragic Hero is the best home and family for The Northern, they really put our creativity and goals first. Their support and amazing team have been an integral part of The Northern's recent success and we can't wait to see what the future holds with Tragic Hero's support. 

7 a) Solstice was released last year, what has the response been like?

The response has been overwhelmingly positive and we couldn't be more pleased. With support like this, it really allows us to continue being able to do what we love. 

7 b) Solstice seems to have more of a blend between screamed and clean vocals than Imperium, was this something you pushed for?

We felt the cleans were a welcome change and allowed us to express ourselves in the way we wanted to for this record. It was really how we were thinking musically.

8 a) Being a progressive metalcore band, guitar work is important, what method do your guitarists use to progress their talents?

We always try to push our limits in the writing process, in the future music we are working on now we've challenged ourselves in a technical aspect we haven't tried before but is still very distinctive to The Northern sound. 

8 b) What advantages do you feel the 7 and 5 sting guitars give the band?

The addition of the 7th string really adds the a range that we are very comfortable in, it almost feels natural where as going back to a 6 string feels like something is missing or limiting our playing. The 7 really gives that freedom we desire. 

9) The band has been around for over four years and are just hitting some of the major markets in your area, why is this?

Originally The Northern was started at a studio project. With the current line up we decided to take a real run at doing something with the band. So far we are happy with the response. 

10) You are on a small run with The Parallel, what has that been like?

Being on tour with The Parallel is like being on tour with our best friends. We all get along really well and it helps that we are all fans of each other's music and playing ability. You will definitely see more shows, tours, and maybe even features on songs, respectively, in the future. 

11) What was it like playing the final Farewell To Freeway show? Any thoughts on the band?

Playing the reunion show was an amazing experience. We definitely made new fans that night and new friends with all of the other supporting acts. We all grew up listening to Farewell to Freeway, they're kind of like local legends around Southern Ontario. They definitely had a hand in shaping our musical tastes as musicians. Also, Adam used to be their touring drummer so it was an extra special night for him. 

13) Which bands from around the local Toronto scene would you suggest to someone looking for new music? Who do you miss?

We would definitely have to recommend our most recent tour-mates The Parallel, along with our friends in The Healing, Loyalist, Throne To The Wolves, The Luminary, and Horcrux.
We dearly miss: Rosesdead, Sydney, Structures, Dead and Divine, The Holly Springs Disaster, Moneen, Choke, Dancing with Paris, and Shotgun Rules.

Published Sept 2nd, 2017