Norma Jean - Meridional
Rating
RIYL
BotchThe Bled
The Chariot
Poison The Well
Release Date
07/13/2010
Label
Razor & TieTracklist
1. Leaderless and Self Enlisted2. The Anthem of the Angry Brides
3. Deathbed Atheist
4. Bastardizer
5. A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse
6. Septentrional
7. Blood Burner
8. High Noise Low Output
9. Falling from the Sky: Day Seven
10. Everlasting Tapeworm
11. Occidental
12. The People That Surround You on a Regular Basis
13. Innocent Bystanders United / Oriental
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Meridional is not Bless The Martyr And Kiss The Child, no matter how badly you want it to be. During the recording process, Norma Jean promised that the new record would mark a return to the sound of their first long-player as Norma Jean; I don’t know why they said this and I don’t know what we were all expecting, but that album was a point in time now long gone. Bless The Martyr was a product of another era; it’s a timeless record and one of the best the metalcore explosion produced, but since the departure of vocalist Josh Scogin the dynamics irrevocably changed. Fans have been griping about it for almost a decade, and it seems as if the band has let it affect them, promising something it seems like they never had any intention of delivering upon.
The telling moment of Meridional is during “Leaderless and Self-Enlisted” when Cory Brandan sings, “We know you’ve heard it before,” during what serves as the chorus. There’s also a bit of irony when he screams, “I wanna rip out the foundation.” You see, we have heard it before, with the foundation being post-hardcore-infused Botch, and in this respect Meridional delivers just what we’ve come to know as hallmark Norma Jean. So there are no surprises, but believe that these Southern boys haven’t blunted their attack any.
They’re still comfortable raising holy hell and screaming bloody murder over jagged Until Your Heart Stops righteous fury, a battle-tested formula executed to precision as always. Brandan screams with an uninhibitedness virtually unmatched in the genre, adding to the chaos when the band drops into their Evander Holyfield breakdowns (“The Anthem of the Angry Brides,” the aptly named “Blood Burner”) or dances around their mathcore-influenced frets like aural daisy-cutters. “Bastardizer” has some moments that make the fire-bombing of Dresden look like a backyard cook-out.
But there’s a rub, and it’s what’s got many of Norma Jean’s fanbase who were unwilling to follow the direction of O God, The Aftermath so irked—for all of the Botch and early Cave In worship, there’s that counterpoint courtesy of the band’s decision to temper the onslaught with a healthy dose of the melodic. At this point, the criticism is becoming absurd. It’s been a part of their repertoire for four records, versus the singular being that is Bless The Martyr, and it works—if you have any doubts see “Falling from the Sky: Day Seven” or “The People that Surround You on a Regular Basis.”
If you’ve been a fan of the past three Norma Jean records you’ll undoubtedly like this one too. Their jagged bursts of rage still cut deep and their use of the melodic still remains a weapon they know how to wield. The only catch is that Meridional won’t bring anything new to the table, as the band plays this one a bit safe. Norma Jean have taken their metalcore to Razor & Tie territory and though it remains to be seen if a new audience will be receptive to their sound, look for the label to put “Bastardizer” on the next Kidz Bop compilation as a means of promotion.
--Jake Oliver
Comments
Washington, DC
As someone who died at the fire-bombing of Dresden, this review offends me.
Also, Norma Jean hasn't interested me since Bless the Martyr, and this album isn't making me change my mind. Good review.
"Standing still is where we've gone wrong" - The dingees
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Kansas
not sure how I feel about this album yet...mixed feelings...
http://rateyourmusic.com/~benny06
Dubuque
Thought the album got a little stale towards the end, why I rated it a 3.5, but the beginning is bombastic.
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Minnesota
Meh, nothing special here. Much better than Anti-Mother and Redeemer, but not up to the level of O God.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
COB Basrah, Al Basrah, Iraq
This band is not the same band as they were on Bless The Martyr, Kiss The Child.
Speaking for myself I do not care for anything they've released since then, it sounds like every song written since then, has came from the same sessions and sometimes almost are identical sans the titles and lyrics.
I don't know why its so hard to recreate their first album even with different members, it was incredible, yes but it wasn't groundbreaking.
I'll give this album a 3/5 because its leagues better than anything they've done since BTMKTC.
...and God saw everything that he had made and behold it was good and God created man and man created machine and machine... machine created music and machine saw everything it had created and it said - Behold!
Infinitely Inwards
BTM, and O god had a lot more Botch and Meshuggah influence in their riff patterns and chordal phrases....they lost that intensity with everything after those two. Too bad O' God isn't the shining example of them at their prime either.
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
ERRA - Impulse
Aborted - Global Flatline
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
Lehigh Valley, PA
This album and band blows hard.
San Diego, CA
Oh shush Lohr
Too old to bother, too young to give a shit.
Infinitely Inwards
I like you Bill....you're just predictable enough to lol with instead of at.
Ever Forthright - Ever Forthright
Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs
The New Law - The Fifty Year Storm
ERRA - Impulse
Aborted - Global Flatline
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind)The Crafty Ape
Baton Rouge
After the first listen, I was ready to give this a two. I've listened to it a lot since then, and it has improved vastly every time (unlike Antimother, which just fell apart more and more after each subsequent listen). I think it is their best since O' God, tthough it lacks the intensity of that album. I didn't fall for the Bless the Martyr talk, and it's clear that without Scogin on vocals and Davidson on drums, they aren't the band that made that album anyway...which I guess is kind of depressing. I gave this a four, though I almost gave it a five just to offset Bill. Also, two random observations:
1. Distance to Planets should not only have been on the album--it should have closed the album. Definitely one of the best songs they have recorded.
2. The artwork for this album is ridiculous. Jason Oda's paintings in the CD Booklet are insane, and it kind of makes me wish the band would haved amped up the weirdness and added some spaciness to compensate.
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/
Alabama
This album has grown on me more and more each time I've listened.
I really don't understand what all the hatred is about for this album. The reason i quit listening to Sevendust and Hatebreed is because they predictably put out albums that sounded exactly the same every damn time. I happen to think BTMKTC, while a somewhat decent album, doesn't touch what they did after wards. Subsequently comparisons will always be drawn between NJ and other "hardcore" bands, but who gives a crap? If it sounds good it sounds good so stop your goddamn belly aching, if you hate it so much start your own band that's better or STFU.
It's like trying to explain Final Fantasy 8 to a lemon.
Pittsburgh, PA
I tried explaining Final Fantasy to a lemon once. He didn't get it, so he squirted juice in my eye and told me to play pong instead. It was fun.
I haven't been able to get into them past redeemer. Everything kinda just sounded like it was blending together into the same song and that there wasn't much growth between albums. I haven't listened to either of their first two in a couple years, but I still love Memphis Will Be Laid To Waste.
RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
London, UK
Same here. I've never been a huge Norma Jean fan but am really enjoying this album.
Currently listening to:
Tetrafusion - Horizons EP
NAMI - Fragile Alignments
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Agony
A Hope For Home - In Abstraction
Blindead - Affliction XXIX II MXMVI
Dubuque
I'm the same. I've liked basically their past three releases. I like the melodic singing and I think it fits. So suck it.
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Fishers, Indiana
I've only ever heard the Anti-Mother before this, so my opinion doesn't count, but I'm about 3/4 through and am diggin it hard.
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Dubuque
Boo ya.
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Baton Rouge
The discussion about The Chariot made me think about how much I have been trying to make myself love this album, but the more I listen to it, the more I find fault in it. Don't get me wrong, I still like this far more than Antimother, but a couple of things have really been bothering me:
1. Cory's lyrics don't make any sense. This has bothered me since he joined, but now that he is trying to belt out sing-along choruses, it would help if there was a discernible purpose behind anything he sings. Or maybe the lyrics just aren't good.
2. The drums (and Raines playing) sound too small. Daniel Davison's toms sounded like shotguns going off in your ear. The drums since he left have just sounded weak. I'm getting aggravated talking about this.
I gotta drop my score a little. (I don't feel like I have to offset your score anymore, Bill)
Boobs
http://thenicsperiment.blogspot.com/