Northless prep first LP in 5 years, ‘A Path Beyond Grief’ (stream the title track)

Gaia Writer

Milwaukee sludge metallers Northless will release their first LP in five years, A Path Beyond Grief, on July 22 via Translation Loss (pre-order). It's their fourth proper full-length album, and also follows splits with Primitive Man and Light Bearer and a handful of EPs. The album has been in the works since 2018 and recorded in various locations, including two of the members' homes, and it was mixed and mastered by Adam Tucker. Primitive Man's Ethan McCarthy lent guest vocals to "Of Shadow And Sanguine," Former Worlds' Erin Severson sings on four of the seven songs, and Alaina Leisten plays bassoon on two of them.

"A Path Beyond Grief is an album dedicated to all those whom I have lost over the last several years," says founder Erik Stenglein. "Too many loved ones have exited this wretched existence, and this record is to honor and preserve their memory. It is a testament to the sheer will and perseverance of the human spirit. The last several years have been insanely fucked up for our species. If you’re reading this, then you’re a survivor, and you’re also bearing witness to the horrors of our time. This album is the soundtrack for those who have endured, but still carry a remnant of the painful journey with them wherever they go."

We're premiering the title track, which is one of the songs featuring Erin Severson, and which finds the band nailing a balance between aggression and beauty, offering up brick-heavy sludge riffs, caustic screams, and uplifting melodies and equal measure.

"'A Path Beyond Grief,' as the title track of the album, is not so much a musical representation of the album as a whole, but is definitely the summary of the overall philosophical theme of the record," Erik tells us. "I wrote the song in tribute to those whom I have lost over the last several years, people who have been important to me. The lyrics deal with feelings of survivor’s guilt that I experienced after the passing of a family member. I was stuck in the belief that I had failed them, because I could not beat death and prevent their passing. Musically, this is probably the most straightforward offering on the record, and one of the most straightforward things Northless has ever done, but the focus here is not so much on creating a sense of heavy chaos so much as it is delivering a somber message. Plainly put, this is a song to honor the dead, and to identify with those of us who sometimes believe we’d be better off being with them instead of rotting slowly in this shitheap of a world."

Listen:

Tracklist
1. Nihil Sanctum Vitae
2. A Path Beyond Grief
3. Forbidden World of Light
4. Carried
5. Of Shadow and Sanguine
6. What Must Be Done
7. Nothing That Lives Will Last