Northward - Northward (2018)

There are only a handful of people in the Metal scene that rock as hard as Floor Jansen with her vocal talents and intense stage presence. In her new band, Northward, she unleashes 11 tracks that reflect this hard rocking attitude with tons of brilliant vocal arrangements and catchy guitar melodies. Moving away from the direction of ReVamp and Nightwish, this track delivers some straight up Rock tunes that showcase her versatility and energy, alongside guitarist Jørn Viggo Lofstad of Pagan’s Mind fame.

The album sets a very lively mood from the start with superbly catchy and filled with attitude tunes like “While Love Died” and “Get What You Give”. The soaring vocal melodies of “Storm in a Glass” make it one of the most engaging and dynamic songs in this release, while taking the listener on a musical journey. For those that like power ballads, “Paragon” and “Bridle Passion” give the listener a more raw and direct appreciation of Floor’s charismatic vocals.

Originally formed in 2007 this outfit’s debut release was already written back then, however, you can’t tell as all songs feel very fresh and modern. With the band fully rocking out on songs like “Let Me Out”, “Big Boy” and the explosive “I Need”, the listener will have a hard time picking a favorite and will certainly enjoy listening to all of them over and over again.

Closing with the emotional album title track, Northward has managed to take the scene by storm with a dosage of superbly catchy and well crafted songs. Perfectly pairing Floor and Jørn’s talents, this album is has a high replay value due to the unrivaled musical quality presented here. If you are into bands like Doro but would prefer a calmer tempo, this is the album you have been waiting for in 2018.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: October 19th, 2018

Genre: Hard Rock

Country: Norway / Netherlands