I've always been enamored by "Christian Metalcore" (quotes are tongue-in-cheek) kings Norma Jean. From the abrasive "Liarsenic" off of O God The Aftermath, which I first heard off of Tooth and Nail Record's huge One Dark Summer EP, which is more a sampler than an EP, featuring likely or definite singles from most of their up and coming bands, I was hooked. I grew up on UnderOATH's brand of metalcore/screamo when I first listened to They're Only Chasing Safety, an album I've come to be more annoyed with, especially in light of their later three releases. Norma Jean never hit that slump. And despite the abrupt change of vocalists (Josh Scogin left shortly after Bless The Martyr And Kiss The Child to form The Chariot, leaving Cory Brandan to pick up the impossible hole left in the band's frontman roster), I never thought Norma Jean was an unnecessary continuation after the fact.
Norma Jean has consistently put out solid metal albums despite raging line-up changes. While O God The Aftermath will probably always hang low on my list of good metal, it was solid enough, showing some potential for progressive metal, but always felt a bit dry. It wasn't Botch enough. It wasn't Converge enough. It wasn't able to stand on its own. It relied too heavily on mathy distortion and not enough on Brandan's actual screaming/singing potential. It's a bit flat.
Redeemer is the album that should have had everybody's ears buzzing. It was the birth of the real Norma Jean. Instead of following in the footsteps of Bless The Martyr like O God had done, the boys put together songs, that while not as cohesive as a whole, stood out as just good songs. Redeemer held the spot for my favorite NJ album of the three that had already come out. It has a particular "Norma Jean" quality to it that I savor in my ears. Rougher production, a catchiness that belied the crunching squeals of the guitar. It sounds like what they would play live. When I saw them back in 2009, they didn't disappoint either.
After Redeemer, their drummer left, and was replaced by Chris Gaines. I blame unfamiliarity with the other band members for the jagged hamfisted way he seemed to play the drums on their next album. Don't get me wrong, the album is good. It's better than O God, but their prior work still held that spot in my heart. The Anti-Mother was rowdy and experimental, but still uncohesive. Apart from some very delightful guest vocalists from the likes of Helmet and Deftones, I wasn't terribly impressed with the album. It still had the "Norma Jean-ness" my ears craved, but it was still a slight disappointment.
Then comes the haymaker.
Meridional came out in 2010, and I finally had a reason to celebrate Norma Jean's experimentalism. And it didn't just come in the noise that pervades all things NJ, the whispering feedback that surrounds the musical space with dissonance. It also came with a pleasant surprise. Melody. It's a shame that they had one real single (according to Wikipedia, though I guess "Kill More Presidents" kinda counts too), but at least it was the best way to start out an album, guns blazing with "Leaderless And Self-Enlisted). Whereas Anti-Mother left me wondering why they chose Chris Gaines as the leading sticks-man, I now delighted in the sheer complexity and sense of the drumming. It was reserved, yet catchy, immediately present in the music. It didn't feel out-of-place. They completed the songs.
Meridional also benefited from coherence that is very rare in metal songs. Cory is almost spending equal time singing with his raspy voice as he is screaming and tearing your ears to metaphorical shreds. It's a welcome change in a genre that is dying. Cory Brandan may not have the most "chaotic" or "brutal" vocals for a band, but his stand out for being transcendent of the tropes most metalheads are familiar with. And if his yelling isn't a compelling case for freshening up metalcore's palette, then at least it will die with it as a swan song.
So anyways, I'm here to talk about Norma Jean's latest album, which was officially released today, 8/6/2013, Wrongdoers. It's a doozy. It's metalcore. It's experimental. It's natural. It's the way all ex-Solid State Records bands should record their resounding scoff at the previous label. Wrongdoers is the add-insult-to-injury magnum opus that only comrade bands like UnderOATH and The Chariot can truly claim to offer equivalent examples.
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| Cheery, guys. Real cheery. |
Starting off heavy and experimetnal with "Hive Minds", and ending with "Sun Dies, Blood Moon", Douglasville-native metalheads should be proud of the entire playthrough. Norma Jean had found the knack for making cohesive albums in a decidedly incohesive genre with Meridional. They also edged closer to progressive metalcore, keeping the mathy sections in check so as not to lose the groove of the listener. Maybe because of this built trust, Wrongdoers is more impressive. It's like the logical conclusion to Meridional. In the same way that UnderOATH got more progressive, more experimental, more heavy, more desperate, more polarizing, and less compromised between Define The Great Line and Lost In The Sound of Separation, NJ raises the bar with their latest. The album never lets up. The few quiet parts of their songs are noisy, and ambient, eeriely featuring samples of hypnotism.
NJ also stayed away from the safe-zone of metalcore hallmarks. 4/4 breakdowns are rare, and never detract. They feel natural. They don't arbitrarily change the tempo of the tracks. NJ was never about breakdowns anyways, but it's worth noting there's no wasted space in tracks, and there's no wasted opportunity to extrapolate every chord progression present in this album. Wrongdoers is metalcore, mathcore, progressive, noise, post-hardcore, and experimental all at once. It works and it works damn well. It's an honest album from some honest-to-goodness hardcore kids that have grown up, and grown-up and mature fans of their music should be able to appreciate the gift of growth and maturity NJ has gained as a band.
So here's the strangest thing. Remember that "Norma Jean-ness" I keep talking about? It's a quality to their music. I always thought it had to do with the chemistry of the band members just knowing each other's musical totems so well that they were extremely cohesive. Turns out, this is not the case.
Norma Jean has had three members leave and then be replaced since Meridional, some of whom joined late 2012 or 2013. Cory's stuck around, along with the original guitarist from Luti-Kriss/Bless The Martyr-era Norma Jean. Other than that, there's a new bassist, new guitarist, and new drummer. How is that even possible? How can an album sound this good? Don't ask me. I can't begin to imagine or understand how.
What I do understand is that Wrongdoers is here to stay, and within one and a half playthroughs, has established itself in my mind as the best Norma Jean album to date, and one strong contender for my favorite metal album of the year.
Nick
