By: Anders

Posted: Feb 14, 2006

I was expecting a good slap of metal'up'yer'ass'core when I threw this disc in the player, of that one reason, which was the label that had released it. Luckily my prejudice often raps my ass and proves me wrong, it certainly did this time. Not that Norma Jean hasn't a base in metalcore, though it is not shown that well, the band is tipping more to a heavy and sludgy style at times, filled with frustration and at times even hate, and the nice melodies are almost kept out of the game, instead we are treated distorted disharmonic leads instead. The amount of musical madness is enormous and the music can to a certain extent be hard to handle, as the heavy distorted mainriffs are thrown slowly at us, while a noisy twisted lead is on top of it, the heavy bass rumbles besides the mainriffs and pounds one mind to pieces. The drumming is breaking the rhythm all the time, one twisted beat after the other, seldom keeping the same pace or pattern for a long time. Musically the album can be a test in endurance.

The compositions are well-written even though the music is noisy and sludgy, with a clear technical bordering to mathcore-inspired edge, the songs are fairly catchy and gripping, and do most of the time keeps the listener in a hard grip. Though there are elements of more listener-friendly moments, with easy eatable riffs, calm melodies and a vocal that is delivered slowly, even though the raspy screamed growl isn't that much of an ear-catcher. But mostly the music is very noisy and technical, usually mid-paced and crushingly heavy.

Production-wise the album is pretty good as well, the sound is heavy and as crushing as the music. There is a slight muddy edge to the sound, which fits the heavy distorted guitars very good, and it keeps the at times dominant drums in their place. If you like the style of metalcore, though find a lot of it a bit too generic and boring, this might be your band. Even fans of traditional sludge can hit it out with this album I think. And lastly fans of technical and heavy metal can enjoy it as well, a good album appealing to a wide array of people without making to many compromises.

Rating: 8/10

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