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Up-front admission:  I am not a fervent hardcore fan.  I say this only to make it understood that I do not have a wide frame of reference in regards to bands like Norma Jean, Underoath or Spitfire.  I can respect the ideas behind hardcore and the punk-like ethos of many of these bands, but I do not know the "scene."  Because of this, I thought I'd ask my good friend Andrew Hall, a huge Norma Jean fan, some questions I had no answers to.

"Is Norma Jean doing something unique in hardcore?  Are they doing it well?  Is Redeemer better or worse than their prior work?"

Some of his thoughts:  "Their songwriting is really coming together, as well as their skills on their respective instruments.  They aren't doing anything too unique, no.  But they are doing it a lot better than some bands."  Mr. Hall recently attended a Norma Jean live show in Edmonton, AB.  From the sounds of it, I wish I could have gone simply to see Andrew go crazy to an unreal performance by one of his favorite bands. 

So what do I think of the band?  They're very good, and Redeemer is easily one of the best hard music releases of 2006.  Producer Ross Robinson (KoRn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Soulfly, The Cure) captures a raw, ferocious chaos on tape.  The strength of the album is that it sounds live, gritty and intense - not layed down piece by piece.  It may have been, more than likely it was, yet for all intents and purposes it sounds more like these five guys were stuck in a tiny, claustrophobic room and told to go nuts. 

Frequently when I hear/see a hardcore/screamo band doing the unpredictable time changes/spastic stage movements I'm not a fan.  I think it's often forced and unnatural.  Not the case with Norma Jean.  The quality of the music (and not just quality as in "good or bad" but as in a characteristic) is that it I actually begin to visualize what the men would look like playing it.  Laden with imagery both lyrically and sonically, in my mind Norma Jean looks wild, chaotic, with freaking out of the best kind.  It brings to mind less "hardcore" and more the grunge scene, particularly some of Nirvana's more famous recorded performances.  I get a real grunge vibe from Norma Jean, a sense that these guys are just going out and playing their music they way they want to play it, as hard as the possibly can play it, and in doing so are creating something very special.  It's admirable and even to my limited hardcore knowledge, must set them apart from their peers. 

Vocalist Corey Burton is a breath of fresh air.  His shouting growl is rough and unrefined but not unlistenable.  When he does occasionally sing, he does not slip into the "pretty boy" screamo sound, but continues to be rough and tumble tough sounding.  The guitars are what you'd expect:  Razor-edged  staccato chops and almost random but fitting squealing on the high strings.  The drums are probably my favorite part of the disc, probably because they strongly remind me of my friend Andrew Hall's drumming style.  They're loose and just slightly sloppy - but they're not poor.  Pounding.  Tribal.  Improvisational and in tune with the sharp and sudden curves the songs navigate.  In short, the drums are perfect and push Norma Jean's sound over the top.  Just unbelievable stuff. 

Song-wise, the tracks occasionally blend together but there's a fair amount of diversity over the course of _Redeemer_ to keep things from getting repetitive.  With song titles like "The End Of All Things Will Be Televised" and "A Tempermental Widower" you expect and are delivered dark, strangely poetic, sometimes random lyrics that would unnerve anybody unprepared for the Jean.  Anthems are present, with repeated lines just begging to be screamed/sung along to.  "Cemetery Like A Stage" is a stand-out with it's chorus of "All the colors rushing back / Restoring frail life / We're broken here / We're ruined here" and deeply anguished vocals.  "Amnesty Please" screams with rock MUSIC power as Burton screeches "The sun has gone dry / So we can sleep forever". 

A quality record.  But there are two songs, two songs that just blew my freaking mind.  The album closer is "No Passenger:  No Parasite." Slowly it builds, slowly, Burton singing "Wake up, wake up" in an eerie harmony repeatedly over persistent drums until it goes quiet to palm-muting and the beautifully sung vocals "No passenger, no parasite."  For four minutes it builds, and builds, and then it explodes --- not in a wild frenzy of cacophonic sound, but a beautiful, primal deeply passionate and captivating orchestra of "WAKE UP" screams, veins throbbing at the throat while the musicians strain their beings to channel what they're feeling into what they're playing...

That's the finish.  Earlier in the record, track three.  "A Small Spark Vs. A Great Fire."  They build for one minute, hypnotic, carried by worthy-of-Sepultura tribal drumming until the song begins.  And then?  It's a march.  A military march.  An anthem.  The drums, oh the drums, wow.  Chaos and distortion.  And it goes and goes for so long, so powerfully, and then, briefly:  Silence.

Except for Burton screaming "FIGHT FAIR/FIGHTFAIR/FIGHTFAIR/FIGHTFAIR".  Scream.  Scream.  Scream.  "LET THERE BE GRACE/FIGHTFAIR." 

I've never listened to Norma Jean before Redeemer.  Their HM interview and the cd's cover art intrigued me.  If, like me, you like hard music but aren't a big "hardcore" fan... don't let Redeemer pass you buy.  If you know Norma Jean and don't have the disc, what are you waiting for?  In an age of corporate and uninspired hard music, Redeemer - even if it's  not completely "unique" - is everything you've been looking for.  "FIGHTFAIR/FIGHTFAIR/FIGHTFAIR."

Ryan Ro / hollandrow.wordpress.com