One of the most prevailing criticisms of Christian bands is that they tend to be bandwagon-jumpers, hitching a ride on whatever the scene kids are listening to, in order to espouse their message.
For many, Norma Jean were a shining example of a counter-attack. Unapologetically heavy, technically breathtaking with the song-writing skills to make being preached at by a bunch of guys who look like they've just massacred a small Kenyan village seem like fun. Sure, we were never quite sure how deathly growls were supposed to make us embrace a message of peace to all, but it was entertaining to watch.
With the birth of "The Anti Mother" all of those checks in the 'pro' column look set to be permanently erased as the boys finish their journey from Botch sound-a-likes to The Bled sound-a-likes. Melodic-hardcore is the name of the game here; the guitars are stripped down to bog-standard riffing and the screams are mid-range and repetitive with virtually anything in the way of emotion having been cast out.
As touched on in the last paragraph, the damage to the instrumental section of the band has been devastating. Very little effort is made on "...vs. the Anti Mother" to utilise any spacing within riffs - a technique which quickens the pace, adds variety and increases the intensity of the section. As they are though, the guitars just trudge along with little regard for any of the aforementioned qualities. When Fightstar sound heavier than you, you know that you've taken a horribly wrong-turn in the world of metal.
As with most bands struggling to make the (supposedly) distinctive sound of each song noticeable, the onus has shifted to vocals. Want some atmosphere? Then simply relegate your lead vocalist to lower down in the mix and add some echo. Better yet, grab some guests. Chino Moreno (Team Sleep / Deftones) for example. Also, there's the age old tactic of grabbing a female vocalist or two (Holly Rae and Camille Driscoll) and putting them on backing vocal duties. Never at the front mind! We don't want things to end up all Lacuna Coil-esque.
Even with all those diversifying techniques done, the simple fact is that the album is droning, repetitive and garners nothing in the way of empathy. Even the grand-standing attempt at mainstream success which appears in the form of "Robots 3 Humans 0" fails to register to any major degree. Front-man Cory Brandan Putman makes prominent use of sung vocals but is seems as though he made the vocal melody up on the spot, with little-to-no-regard for crafting memorable hooks. It's actually a relief when he starts screaming again.
Final advice: If you're gonna try hardcore Norma Jean, please come back when you've listened to "The Shape of Punk to Come" and not just "Pass the Flask".
4 / 10
This album is fucking sick 4/10, you crazy brah
you dick
Wow are you serious? This isn't Norma Jean trying to be hardcore, this is just Norma Jean being unique again and experimenting. There's no other album like this out there.
Okay seriously I'm a huge Norma Jean fan but you guys have gotta see the selloutness of this album. There are only two original members of Norma Jean and only one from the original Luda-Kriss. I'm thinking there's a reason everyone's leaving. To me this record sounds like they took Redeemer and just made it sound more generic. There is no experimentation at all. I'm sorry but Norma Jean just made me die a little inside.
honestly this album is crap.......ok maybe not THAT bad, but nowhere near their first 3 albums......they're definitely selling out a bit. and anyone trying to stick up for them right now really needs to face that fact......so here's 3 cheers for norma jean up to 2006 and four more for possibly throwing this album out.
honestly this album is crap.......ok maybe not THAT bad, but nowhere near their first 3 albums......they're definitely selling out a bit. and anyone trying to stick up for them right now really needs to face that fact......so here's 3 cheers for norma jean up to 2006 and four more for possibly throwing this album out.
i accidentally commented twice...but it bears repeating/
selling out? what are we, 12? this album was amazing, i can't remember the last time i bought an album and loved every song on it. if this is norma jean 'selling out', then keep selling out, boys. it suits you well.
i love the Bled... but NJ have been around longer than them, (albeit in a different name "Luti-Kriss," but still...) so I guess you can't refer to them as "The Bled sound-alikes." The Botch thing is somewhat obvious I reckon- getting Matt Bayles (producer of Botch *shock horror*) to produce the record? Cory Brandan sounding somewhat similar to Dave's vocals? (Cory sounds much, much different on Redeemer and on The Anti Mother, as you guys would've heard.) The band themselves admitted to having a heavy Botch influence when writing O' God, The Aftermath, so no point in rubbing that fact to their faces.
As for the album, I liked it. At least the guys wrote songs instead of inserting a guest vocal spot, which many bands seem to do these days.
I love this album: haven't stopped listening to it since I got it. It's not quite as good as Redeemer or Bless the Martyr, but it's still a great album that tried to experiment in a genre that's starting to get a bit stale.
Some of the tracks are as brutal as ever. Others are just NJ writing what comes out of them. Every band evolves, and when they do, you have to take it for what it is and give it a chance. Most of the tracks on The Anti-mother shred. I just wish it was longer. Sellouts? Whatever. I'll believe that when they've got three singles that go top 40. They're way too brutal for the mainstream. Why don't we all tell them to go write another Bless the Martyr to make everybody happy.
Band evolve others they "sell out". Although I'm not sure how selling out applies to Norma Jean, no suburban boy/girl is going to buy this album and put in beside their 50 cent albums. Many will probably be repulsed by album cover alone and though screaming is more popular than it used to be, it is far from mainstream.
No, Norma Jean did not sell out because they decided to put some melody into their music. They quite obviously wanted to challenge themselves in making an album that focuses on different qualities than their others. If you want a good band that doesn't sell out their sound(doesn't change) listen to Parkway Drive. I hope Norma Jean will never put an album that like O God the aftermath because why would they want to? Been there done that and did it very well. Now let's make the listener feel something different.
Enjoy this album for what it tries to do. What does it try and do? Well listen to it and decide for yourself, I'm sure you'll agree that just because a band refines their sound to something different, after 4 and 1/2 albums, you'll agree that they're not selling out. Rather that they are artists trying to add in some different brush stokes and colours.
.... the more I think about this review the more I realize the reviewer is trying to be pretentious and only succeeding in being ignorant.
The guests were people they brought in, sat down with and wrote the songs together! "We are not just doing "guest vocal" spots for them either... every band does that... we are going to write songs with them". That's pretty cool. I strongly dislike people with half cocked opinions, quit being lazy and do your job or find one you can do.
NJ sound like a terrier on steroids ....
Listened to the 3 publicly available songs...not buying the album! They seem to have lost the spirituality and the emotion they showed in recent albums.
'Redeemer' was a step down, this is a step down further...
I tried not to believe it and even gave the album two solid listens before coming to the decision that Norma Jean has lost their 'mojo'. Something is terribly wrong. Since reading up on the band and doing some research, I am at the conclusion that with constant change of members, and the last being Daniel, it has stifled the band in a major way. Especially with Daniel leaving. It's not just a simple evolving, the "backbone" of this band has faded. What made Noram Jean...Norma Jean...is not there. As mentioned from a previous review, the spirt of the band is dead. I really don't think they'll be able to recover, but miracles can happen. It really makes me sad to think back on what this band represented, being unique and steadfast in their Christian beliefs and writing about those influences, and not to have what is a shell of their existence in the present.
Bless the Martyr...by far is their best album.
Even though I could only listen to the new album two times, I did find one song that I can stomach. "Murphy Was An Optimist"
I first met David... Read on
On paper, it's hard... Read on
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cs65dos
commented 4 months ago
... There's nothing wrong with Pass The Flask mind.