The band comprises guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, drummer Nic Pettersen and vocalist Marcus Bridge.

[2] In 2013, Fitipaldes described their formation, "pretty much, through the internet and common interest" where Deiley and Milovic had contacted each other to start song writing.

Kill Your Stereo's All Shall Perish praised the group's "admirable and mature standard, a vital quality that is rapidly becoming extinct in most up-and-coming Australian bands" and summarised that it is a "Fantastic six track EP that has substantial replay value and will leave you craving more.

"[2] In late 2011, the band signed to the UNFD record label, which released their first studio album, Discoveries, in November that year.

Northlane played at the 2013 Soundwave festival and Pushover 2013 alongside other Australian metal acts such as Thy Art Is Murder, The Amity Affliction and In Hearts Wake.

It achieved mainstream success, debuting at #14 on the ARIA Australian Artists Top 20 Singles Chart in the week of 4 March 2013.

[8] Northlane announced that they would curate their own festival called FREE YOUR MIND, with the first tour taking place in May 2014 in Australia.

Northlane headlined the festival with support from Thy Art Is Murder, Veil of Maya, Volumes and Make Them Suffer.

It was after this tour that Northlane became activists and heavily supported many charities including The Smith Family by donating used drums sticks and guitars.

Their third studio album, Node, and first with new vocalist Marcus Bridge, was released on 24 July 2015, with Will Putney producing, which reached No. 1.

[7][20] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015, Node won the Best Hard Rock or Heavy Metal Album category.

On 9 September 2016, the band released the deluxe edition of Node, which included an instrumental edition of the album, two tracks from the Ghost City Sessions live performance, a version of "Aspire" with Marcus Bridge, a cover, and the original single version of "Rot".

[30] This website contained a landing page which showed timelapsed videos of members of Northlane in a recording studio, however no additional information was given.

[39] On 2 November, former Structures guitarist and vocalist Brendon Padjasek has been confirmed on taking over bass duties as well as additional vocals for the band.

[44] On 9 February, Northlane tweeted a video with small text reading "Rift" in it, which is the name of one of the tracks on the album.

[46] On 5 April, Northlane featured on PhaseOne's single "Crash & Burn", later included in his debut album Transcendency.

On 30 April, the band released their first single and music video for "Bloodline" which was based upon frontman Marcus Bridge's violent upbringing.

[53] In March 2020, the band released Negative Energy, a raw and revealing documentary around the album's writing and recording process.

A double LP neon pink vinyl will be released, limited to unknown amount of physical copies worldwide, and it will be later made available digitally for streaming and download.

Earlier that month, the band broadcast the concert footage in full as part of a pay-per-view livestream event, giving fans a chance to witness the intense, sold-out show from the comfort of their own homes.

The EP, set for release on 26 February 2021, features remixes of tracks primarily lifted from their 2019 album Alien.

The single has been chosen as the official theme song for the video game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege at this year's Oceanic Nationals eSports League.

[59] On the same day, they also announced that bassist Brendon Padjasek departed from the band in order to focus on his home life, with the group intending to continue on as a quartet for the time being, with Jon Deiley handling bass duties since.

The EP, set for release on 21 May 2021, features acoustic versions of tracks primarily lifted from their 2019 album Alien.

Vocalist Marcus Bridge explains how 2D adds another dimension to these tracks: "Recording an acoustic EP is something that we've wanted to do for quite some time and felt right with the personal nature of the songs from Alien.

I wanted to strip these songs back to the bare minimum to juxtapose the soundscapes of the album, a 2D version of sorts.

A song like 'Rift' has a completely different energy in this context and took on new meaning with the recording in the depths of lockdown, now almost feeling like a cry of frustration and despair.

[65][66][67][68] To promote the album, the band also announced their upcoming Australia tour which will start in June 2022 with Plini, Sleep Token and ALT as supports.

[78] On 6 March, one month before the EP release, the band premiered the song "Afterimage" featuring Ian Kenny of Karnivool and Birds of Tokyo.

[79] On November 14, 2024, it was announced that Northlane would be contributing to the soundtrack of Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson, a video game produced by Rob Scallon.