Northlane’s second record established the Sydney quintet as one of the biggest metal bands in the country—but it also signaled the end of an era. One year after its release, founding vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes suddenly and shockingly exited the band. By second track “Scarab”’s larynx-shattering Buddhism of “The truth is we all suffer,” it’s clear why: Burning through microphones in the name of awareness had irreparably damaged his vocal cords. With him went the spiritual optimism that made both their 2011 debut Discoveries—and especially Singularity—such compellingly unique perspectives to most of what constituted the genre in the mid-2000s, later replaced by current vocalist Marcus Bridge’s differently engaging discontent with the status quo. This is not to say Northlane has ever hinged entirely on the staggering talents of its vocalists. The band as a whole is precocious throughout Singularity, particularly guitarist and chief songwriter Jon Deiley—whose work on the untenable grooves of “Worldeater” and the impassioned yin-yang of lead single and fan-favorite “Quantum Flux” attest. The latter also marks the portion of the album where Fitipaldes exercises the permeable empathy of his clean singing, going on to suffuse “Dream Awake” with lightning strikes of sheer hope that can be felt even through the thunderous lock-step of bassist Alex Milovic and drummer Nic Pettersen. The self-empowering spoken word of vaunted American mystic Terrence McKenna on the title track serves as an enduring reminder that Singularity, much like Fitipaldes, imagined something better for everyone.