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Artist Description | Norma Jean
Atlanta-based post-hardcore heroes Norma Jean deliver an exhilarating and potent song cycle with their fourth studio album The Anti Mother. Re-teaming with producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, The Cure, Deftones), who first manned the boards on the quintet’s strongly-received Redeemer (2006), the band seems ripe for world domination if the crushing, sonically adventurous 11 song offering is any indication.
In advance of the hotly-anticipated The Anti Mother, the track “Robots 3 Humans 0”, caught the prompt attention of Norma Jean’s loyal following when it was posted on the group’s MySpace page. And if the sound of Cory Brandan (lead vocals, guitars) stepping away from his trademark growl and embracing melody on the track raised more than a few eyebrows, the band - also consisting of, Scottie Henry (guitars), Jake Schultz (bass), Chris Day (guitars) and Chris Raines (drums) - says it plans to continue evolving creatively.
“We don’t like to set norms for Norma Jean,” Scottie says. “People call us metal core or post hardcore, but we just kind of write what comes out. Being open to trying new things and having Cory actually singing has kind of sent this record in a different direction, musically. We don’t want to get trapped in any kind of sound or scene. It’s healthy for us to expand and grow.” Or as Cory explains, “I love melodic, catchy songs. Plain and simple. The Smashing Pumpkins are one of my favourite bands ever. And all they did was write love songs, even if they were heavy. We wanted to write a heavy record - and ‘Robots’ is heavy. But it’s melodic. And we’re stoked on that.”
Still, that’s not to say the group has abandoned the sound that it’s known for, as evidenced by “The Birth of the Anti Mother”. That song - also released in advance of the disc to satisfy eager fans - boasts Brandan’s patented screaming style and the forceful, fast paced riffs that fans have come to expect. Those same loyalists couldn’t help but be blown away by their first taste of the new material in a live setting this summer as Norma Jean conquered the Vans Warped Tour’s main stage.
The band’s ability to strike a balance between its established sound and its creative yearning on The Anti Mother has also caught the early attention of critics. “Neither are what people have come to expect from Norma Jean,” Alternative Press wrote of the aforementioned songs, adding, “this band kind of totally rules.”
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Times added in its 2008 Warped Tour coverage, “Atlanta metal-core quintet Norma Jean made a convincing case for rock’s potency, as the riffs from its forthcoming album, ‘The Anti Mother’, lived up to singer Cory Brandan’s claim that it’s ‘so heavy, it’ll make you want to punch a dolphin in the blowhole’.”
Fortified by separate collaborations with Page Hamilton of Helmet (who befriended the band after an ‘06 L.A. gig) and Deftones’ frontman Chino Moreno (who Norma Jean also came to know after exchanging boxes of T-shirts and other gear on the road), The Anti Mother is unlike any other heavy music album of 2008. And as for Hamilton’s appearance on the blistering “Opposite of Left and Wrong” Scottie says, “Growing up listening to Helmet, we were inspired to play music. It’s pretty much musically why a lot of us are even doing this. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a guest vocal thing, that it was us actually writing with him. We had a couple of riffs and he had a couple of chords he put together and it became the chorus. It was really smooth. It was awesome.”
Meanwhile, Moreno’s appearance on the incendiary “Surrender Your Sons” was equally fruitful. “Deftones are just another band that we grew up loving,” Cory explains. “That song was written in a very spontaneous way and came out so unique. Later, Cove Reber from Saosin came in and also did some vocals on the song as well; we also wrote lyrics together - Cove was such a huge part of that song. Cove also did various background vocals throughout the record.”
While the band’s willingness to pool resources with hard music legends is as courageous as it is unique, another creative element of Norma Jean that sets it apart is the fact the entire band is involved in the lyrical process. “We write lyrics together,” Cory says proudly. “I know it’s unusual, but we all want to know what every song is about. I can’t tell you how many bands there are where you ask the guitarist what the lyrics mean, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know… Some girl?’ We all know what every one of songs is about and I think it’s the best way to go. And I firmly believe it gives our live performances an emotional sincerity.”
Whether it’s the aggressive, hardcore tack of “Self Employed Chemist”, the Fugazi-inspired “Discipline Your Daughters” (which counts elements of a second song the band worked on with Moreno) or the grand, expansive guitar opus “There Will Be A Swarm of Hornets” - replete with a breathtakingly quiet outro - Norma Jean crafts and delivers its music with conviction. And it willingly acknowledges Robinson’s contribution to The Anti Mother’s successful outcome.
Three weeks of pre-production at the producer’s Venice Beach compound helped the band bring its “A” game to the recording studio. “Being familiar with [Ross] going into it made it that much easier to get down to work,” Scottie explains. “The way he is as a producer, he’s always digging deep inside of us for a fire. It’s about finding something that makes the song come alive. We’re more interested in the song having feeling as opposed to have a perfect studio product.”
“I wanted it to be the best thing I’ve ever done, and from At the Drive-In to Korn, Ross is about getting the best vocal performances,” Cory says. “He finds a button and keeps pushing it. He gets under your skin, but he does it for a reason. He’s doing whatever he can to get the best out of you. He’s pretty awesome. His whole thing is sing it like you mean it. You have to mean it. It’s about the song. And it’s something that carries over to the stage.”
From “Vipers Snakes And Actors” to “Murphy Was An Optimist” to “Death Of The Anti Mother” that ferocity comes alive. “It’s a release,” Scottie says of the band’s cathartic roar. “This record is a lot more personal. Even lyrically, we kind of went for it writing metaphorically.”
That approach feeds into the title and the album art - which portrays a heart manifested with bees. “The Anti Mother is an image of something that’s nurturing and motherly and beautiful on the outside, but is deceitful and hurtful on the inside,” says Scottie. To which Cory adds, “When you make a decision, there’s always a part of you that knows what you should do and what you shouldn’t. I feel like we kind of mother ourselves in a way, we take care of ourselves. And The Anti Mother goes against that.”
The resulting disc is easily the artistic and creative high point of Norma Jean’s career. And if it’s up to Brandan, his hope is that listeners will get something out of the The Anti Mother that’s unique and personal to them. “I want them to make our music their own,” the singer says. “That’s how I’ve always gone about it. That dates back to when I was a kid in my bedroom listening to Helmet or Fugazi or Deftones. I want to lend that kind of experience to people who hear our band.”
A fusion of Norma Jean’s most tuneful and aggressive material yet, Cory concludes, “We’ve never been this excited about anything we’ve done. It’s exactly the record we’ve always wanted to make.”
NORMA JEAN is:
CORY BRANDAN: Lead Vocals/Guitars
SCOTTIE HENRY: Guitars
JAKE SCHULTZ: Bass
CHRIS DAY: Guitars
CHRIS RAINES: Drums
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