Search - Norma Jean :: The Anti Mother

Norma Jean: Revisited

Joseph A. Guthrie | London, England | 08/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of people said that this band would fall by the wayside after Josh Scogin, Daniel Davison and a couple of other members decided to move along and pursue other interests. Still Cory Branden and co. managed to bring about a very strong release in 'Norma Jean vs. The Anti-Mother.' Fueled by a loose concept and collaborations (not just guest appearances), strong lyrics and a newly-discovered experimental edge, it's easy to see why most scene kids would bad mouth NJ's latest release: Norma Jean finally stepped out of their comfort zone... but not without taking some of their tried-and-true formulas with them and concocting some insane, new material.



What surprises me the most is not how Norma Jean has matured musically but how MUCH they've matured and how open-minded they've become. Their decisions to not only work with Chino Moreno, Cove Reber and Page Hamilton but to make it appear that they temporarily joined the band. The outcome is superb, best seen over the track 'Opposite of Left and Wrong,' where Page and Cory trade lyrical punches back and forth like two prizefighters going twelve rounds.



On their own, their just as unrelenting. The band continues to make clean transitions in time signatures and seamlessly bring you from clear skies to violent storm clouds; Cory's decision to sing may be considered a stretch or controversial by some NJ fans, but in my mind, it picks up where Redeemer and O God, The Aftermath left off. You could hear him lightly experiment with singing in The Aftermath and Redeemer, and now he has finally found some melodic confidence without saturating his guttural screaming presence. Clearly, it works and it's not overdone, which is what makes it so inviting to listen to.



'The Anti Mother' will almost certainly be the album that redefines and revisits Norma Jean's musical style. While most will continue to try and pigeon hole bands like Norma Jean for doing something different, it shouldn't detract from the fact that 'The Anti Mother' is a breath of fresh air compared to the 80s revival garbage that most people are listening to these days; the same ol' same that most bands just can't tear away from or even the tired 'we idolize our favourite bands by trying to be just like them but were our own separate entity' charade.



'Anti Mother' is all killer, no filler. Each of the ten tracks brings about another facet of Norma Jean's visceral and cunning personality and, quite frankly, if kids can't understand why 'The Anti Mother' is what it is, they're better off listening to Cobra Starship."

Solid Effort

James Brazzle | Baltimore, MD | 08/06/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a heavily biased Jean fan but except for a few jems on The Anti-Mother, I think the well is starting to run dry. That's not to say that the band shouldn't be damn proud of this album. The journey this band has taken production wise is night and day, I almost wish they would go back and re-record "O' God The Aftermath" with this sound !! Vipers, Snakes and Actors is brutal classic Jean and if Robots 3 Humans 0 doesn't get stuck in your head I'd suggest to check if you are still breathing. I respect the fact that they aren't afraid to journey to new places but some places they aren't meant to go. This album is definitely worth a listen but overall will only end up adding a few great tracks to their live show.



Notable tracks:



Vipers, Snakes and Actors

Birth Of The Anti-Mother

Robots 3 Humans 0

Surrender Your Sons

And There Will Be A Swarm Of Hornets"

Stop singing and scream

Metalhooksman | 08/15/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Norma Jean is amazing. I can't believe the heaviness and the stuff they play in wierd time signatures. This album keeps up the good work on the tracks that feature scream vocals. Birth of Anti Mother and Death of Anti Mother are great. But there is also a lot of singing on this album which is out of character for these boys. I wouldn't mind if the singing was good, but good grief, this is terrible. Think emo. This is one of the first things Chino of the Deftones has contributed to that I didn't care for. And this is the only Norma Jean album so far that I wouldn't give 5 stars."