Review Summary: A crushing thrill-ride that will demand your attention, take your refusal as offense, and proceed to throw you and your attention at a brick wall.
"Eugh, Norma Jean." If you have never heard a phrase along those lines (I could expand upon the first three words of this review, but you could be here for a while) from anybody in the metal community, you are probably new to the heavier side of the internet. God bless your soul. You have a lot to learn. Through a couple of rocky releases in a realm of music not entirely forgiving, Norma Jean have managed to create something as enjoyable as it is utterly crushing. A 50 minute tour-de-force (always wanted to use that) of crunchy tones, slamming grooves, and an impressive performance all around, Norma Jean have found their sound. And by heck have they had fun in the process of finding it.
'Hive Minds' is a near perfect example of an opener and sets a bar for the rest of the album to stand upon. Although a bit of a lengthy 7 minutes, it showcases all of the assets at the band's disposal, opening with creepy electronic fuzz and a slow drum beat. The band kicks in, and that is not to be taken lightly. They kick in with the foot of God, leg rippled with dense muscle and enough fur to cover the face of a small planet. What causes Norma Jean's songs to be so effective in this album is nothing ever outstays it's welcome. Although the opener may be 7 minutes in length, it is followed up by an utterly chaotic thrill-ride clocking in at just over 2 minutes. Not a second of this album is filler. Everything serves it's purpose, be it the rampant, mathcore monster that is 'The Lash Whistled Like A Singing Wind', or the peaceful 50 seconds of ambiance that come before it in the form of 'Afterhour Animals'.
Being a band a few years shy of two decades old, this album is the product of fine tuning; even if three members are new to the band. Every instrument and voice compliments one another wonderfully. 'Sword In Mouth, Fire Eyes', a standout track on Wrongdoers, shows the absolute control each band member has over their playing. Grooves rock back and forth as each member draws energy from one another. While the album is heavily guitar-driven, every component shines when it needs to. The drums run the show on tracks 'If You've Got It At Five...' and 'The Lash Whistled...', while front-man Corey Plutman gives his everything in album closing epic, 'Sun Dies, Blood Moon'. Norma Jean, 9 times out of 10, will opt to choose what suits the theme of the song, rather than what is most technically pleasing. And while it might deter anyone looking for the next Jane Doe, it allows for the most solid pacing I have ever heard in a metal release. The 50 minute run time flies by before you have a chance to notice it passed.
Wrongdoers is an album produced by hardcore fans with modern technology for lack of a better description. Every instrument sounds crunchy. No Abiotic, mini-kicks. No multi-layered, Toon Tracks snares. No pitch-perfect vocal takes. The mix is an ode to roots, while sounding clean enough to punch a hole in your headphones. While the dynamic range doesn't seem to be utilised as well as it could have been, every instrument is fully audible at all times and the few breakdowns on the album sound beefy enough to even get the most elite bobbing their heads and tapping their feet to the destroying riffs (example: 7 minutes and 3 seconds into 'Sun Dies, Blood Moon').
This album shines in two places that many metalcore releases of late have suffered from. Replay-ability and pacing. While Converge, The Chariot, Botch, and others have formed masterpieces with some of the most memorable songs in metalcore/mathcore/whatever you call it, Wrongdoers is one of the most consistently enjoyable albums in recent times. When assault is required, you will be assaulted. When release is required, you will be released. This is Norma Jean's best release to date, and should not be missed for any fan of metal looking for a hardcore fix.
