Norma Jean

Redeemer

[4/5]“Adversity” is not a term that everyone understands. That’s doubly true for bands that have a penchant for making controversial member changes. It’s almost unfathomable how the band that once went by the very jock-rock moniker Luti-Kriss has erupted into the metalcore powerhouse that Norma Jean is today. Following in the paradoxical footsteps of their Solid State Records brethren Underoath, they announced a singer switch less than a year before the release of their 2005 effort, O God, The Aftermath, only to receive increased critical acclaim, record-setting sales, and massively heightened expectations to deliver a masterpiece.
What’s especially remarkable about Norma Jean’s ascent is the recent backlash the entire “metalcore” genre has experienced for lacking any specific originality, save for obvious names like Dillinger Escape Plan and Converge. Bands that don’t evolve lose their momentum, and bands that try to evolve lose their fans. Redeemer is, by and large, the status quo for Norma Jean, but, in this case, it’s a good thing. Barely a year removed from O God, Norma Jean found time to write the expected-and satisfyingly raging-follow-up to one of 2005’s angriest releases, only with bigger production and just a hint of surprise.
With Redeemer, Norma Jean press on with absolutely no melodic agenda, even though that seems to be all the rage with today’s heavier bands looking to rope in the Warped Tour crowd. Every verse resolves with a breakdown, every bridge resolves with a breakdown-even the breakdowns resolve with breakdowns. The formula for a good metalcore song (which Norma Jean follow impeccably) looks like a musical disaster on paper: Fill your record with perpetually wandering and nonsensical guitar leads; play as few choruses or refrains as possible; and, in the name of all things holy, don’t allow your singer to sound even remotely intelligible. That might explain why the list of true metalcore innovators has dwindled in recent years.
If you can track any changes in the band’s sound over their last three albums, 2006 brings slightly more mathy structures and a few pseudo-melodic episodes (try out “Blue Prints For Future Homes” and “Songs Sound Much Sadder” for brief tastes of gruff post-hardcore). It’s worth noting, too, that Norma Jean keep this album free of any self-absorbed instrumental tracks, allowing the record to flow and rage continuously for almost 45 minutes. The concluding track, “No Passenger, No Parasite,” explores some electronic flourishes, but still concludes with the same hardcore might. Redeemer’s angst and fury are undeniable, and the record provides a productive and efficient cure for the back-to-school blues. (SOLID STATE) Kevin Wade



ROCKS LIKE: Norma Jean’s O God, The Aftermath • Converge’s You Fail Me • Botch’s We Are The Romans