This album is immense. Pretty constantly amazed they can continue to put out such dynamic, interesting records. Redeemer Meridional the rest change by the day/mood
Okay yeah Wrongdoers goes hard. That breakdown in "The Potter Has No Hands" had me making stank face.
Wrongdoers is the only album I feel confident is my favorite. OGTA is really the only record I could never get into by them.
I can't fathom listening to Meridional and missing the "harder" stuff when Anthem of the Angry Brides, Bastardizer and Blood Burner are right there The Potter Has No Hands goes so fucking hard
I always tend to like the more melodic and dislike the more chaotic/sludgy so I’m a pretty casual fan but naturally felt the need to defend anti-mother a bit. Got me into them and while it sounds more scene-y I think it holds up well. Deathrattle is probably their most consistent record for me bc I think it straddles the line of super heavy and melodic pretty well.
It's much more in the style of the latter, but there is plenty of dissonance to be enjoyed. :44 in Pretendeavor hits so hard. I love that song too.
I honestly would rank this record right up with there in the top 3. I need more time for the record to settle but as of right now? It’s like.. maybe #2 right behind either Wrongdoers or Polar Similar.
I’m beginning to think Deathrattle is the band’s most well-rounded album. It’s the ideal blend of everything NJ does well. Plus, the track sequencing is almost perfect. DSFM is probably Top 3 NJ for me at the moment, if not longer.
Norma Jean's discography is so big it's always intimidated me. Wrongdoers and All Hail are the albums I'm most familiar with and I'm big into them. What I seem to be getting from this thread is Redeemer is the most worthwhile of their earlier stuff.
Their first album is a metalcore classic, and it’s worth listening to just for that reason (and you really can’t beat Josh Scogin’s vocals). Otherwise yeah I’d recommend Redeemer.
Has anyone been to the Labeled Fest tour Norma is currently headlining? If so, did they have Death Rattle available on vinyl at merch?
Also, I might just be in the honeymoon phase but I’m beginning to think Death Rattle might go down as my favorite Norma Jean record.. Damn.
Even though I've criticized Meridional, that album contains one of my favorite songs from their whole catalogue. It's the contrast between the sludgy parts and the melodic chorus that does it for me. It wouldn't sound out of place on any of the following albums as well.
I'm usually a huge Putney fan, and I did love his work on All Hail, but this record sounds sooooo huge in comparison, and the grit that's brought really suits NJ's sound. EDIT: That guitar solo in W W A V V E (don't love typing this) comes out of nowhere and rules so much
Loved this track and this record. With production as perfect as the one on Death Rattle? Would easily be a top 3 record of their discography.
Redeemer Meridional All Hail Polar Similar Death Rattle (moving up as I type...) Wrongdoers The Anti Mother O' God The Aftermath Bless The Martyr Honestly, what a great discography. Top three switch constantly. Only constant is probably bottom two, but O'God and Bless are the only two I never listen to except for 1-2 songs.
Set was slightly disappointing in San Francisco tonight on the labeled tour. I thought they were headlining but I believe it’s a co-headline with Emery so they only played for like 38 minutes? Only two songs off Death Rattle too.
I threw on O’God for the first time in maybe 5 years (and probably for only like the 3rd time) and while it was mostly just background noise so i wasn’t paying close attention but I don’t think Cory’s vocals changed pitch or tone at all on that record lol definitely see why it’s so low on most peoples rankings