Northlane – Clockwork

Northlane’s song “Clockwork” is all about the pressure they felt to finish writing and recording during lockdown.

Marcus Bridge, the band’s frontman, explained that the track reflects the anxiety he carried as Northlane jumped back into writing after a stagnant year. He described feeling empty and isolated, working against an internal deadline he’d set for himself and the band—even though time itself felt suspended.

Lyrics like “I’ve got nothing to show, but the show must go on” and “I’m running out of time” spell it out. They show a real struggle to complete the song under mounting pressure—turning the creative process into the song’s core theme.

Northlane is an Australian metalcore band born in Blacktown (Sydney) in 2009. Early records (Discoveries, Singularity) leaned into classic metalcore with progressive elements.
With Node, they added more experimental and alternative textures. Mesmer continued that shift.
Alien took it further—blending in nu‑metal, industrial and even EDM influences. Obsidian pushed boundaries again with a self-produced, genre-mashing style.