|
04-07 New Norma Jean video
07-21 New Norma Jean Video
07-09 Norma Jean's Meridional Stream
05-06 Norma Jean Post Free Song
04-28 Norma Jean Release Album Art
» Edit Band Information
» Edit Albums
» Add a Review
» Add an Album
» Add MP3
» Add News | Norma Jean
Metalcore, Hardcore |
Axl Rose once sang, "Nice boys don't play rock 'n' roll." Apparently, he's never met Norma Jean. While the band's peers have been busy
buying their way
onto Ozzfest (and Axl was working on that Chinese Democracy thing), these Atlanta, Georgia, natives have spent the last five years on the
road,
relentlessly playing basements and ballrooms, expanding their uniquely organic fan base with each show they play. With their second proper
full-length, O'
God, The Aftermath, all that work is about to come to a head-but in case you're just tuning in, here's the CliffsNotes version of the Norma
Je ...read more
Axl Rose once sang, "Nice boys don't play rock 'n' roll." Apparently, he's never met Norma Jean. While the band's peers have been busy
buying their way
onto Ozzfest (and Axl was working on that Chinese Democracy thing), these Atlanta, Georgia, natives have spent the last five years on the
road,
relentlessly playing basements and ballrooms, expanding their uniquely organic fan base with each show they play. With their second proper
full-length, O'
God, The Aftermath, all that work is about to come to a head-but in case you're just tuning in, here's the CliffsNotes version of the Norma
Jean story.
Recorded by Matt Bayles (Isis, Botch,Mastodon) at Stone Gossard's Studio Litho, O' God, The Aftermath doesn't just push the band's
personal limitations
(which it does); it also pushes the limits of heavy music, period. "A lot of bands say 'we've progressed..." But the thing about these guys is
they really did
progress as musicians and artists, "a direct result of over two and a half years of touring while having only released one record" explains the
most recent
addition to the group, singer Cory Brandan who, along with guitarists Scottie Henry and Chris Day, bassist Jake Schultz and drummer Daniel
Davison,
make up the current incarnation of Norma Jean. "[With O' God], we wanted to do something that was musically challenging and artistically
balanced", he
adds. "Anyone who's expecting [2002's] Bless The Martyr And Kiss
The Child is probably not going to get very much of that..
Although the aforementioned Martyr has scanned over 58,000 copies, this is actually a good thing. From the math-metal madness of
"Muderotica" to the
mesmerizing melodicism (wait, is that singing?) of "Bayonetwork" to the alternately ambient and aggressive ten-minute opus
"Disconnetcktie," O' God,
The Aftermath spans the chaotic cannon of heavy music from Pantera to Poison The Well to Pelican and is as cerebral and obscure
comparative to musical
giants Tool. But, more importantly, it has as many stylistic shifts as it does time changes, refusing to fall back on hardcore's cliché¤ song
structures and
stabbed in-the-back lyrical motifs.
And the band's heady ambition doesn't apply solely toward the music. O God's thematic lyrics, song titles and artful aesthetics are all open
to
interpretation-even the album's seemingly bleak title isn't necessarily what it appears to be. "A lot of people think the word 'aftermath' has
a negative
connotation, but I look at it as more of a positive thing; a pleasant aftermath, you could say," explains band drummer Davison. "It's looking
at it from a
spiritual standpoint; the aftermath of grace or salvation..
Oh, and then there are the live shows. Combining motion pictures, smoke machines and an epilepsy-inducing light show, the band insist
their current
world tour with Atreyu and Unearth is their most over-the top yet. "We're artists and we want to pursue our vision of art, but we're also
entertainers and
we want people to come to our shows and have fun," explains Brandan. It's worked; countless bands who've sold more records can't pack
the kids in
night after night the way Norma Jean do.
Source: http://www.christianpunks.com/band.php/180 « hide |
Similar Bands: Underoath, The Chariot , Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Handshake Murders
Contributors: ALucidReality, Iamthe Nightstars, Satellite, Groink, liketotallydude, alachlahol, Willie, spacekitty, Deviant., Spec, Lakes, Emerald, Mikesn, dillydumdum, HumanCannonball, Big Coop 27, TurnTheOtherWay, Let's Chop Cats!, RoderickINM,
|
