As a long time Norma Jean (and Luti-Kriss) fan I’m always excited for anything Norma Jean. As any follower knows they’ve gone through some big changes since Josh left in both the members and their sound. Some may say it’s progressed, some may think it’s digressed. Well, I still love ‘Bless the Martyr, Kiss the Child’ more than any of the following cd’s, but I’ve been on board with the changes up until now.
‘The Anti-Mother’ doesn’t even sound like Norma Jean anymore. Some songs are close to the sound that ‘The Redeemer’ brought. But only a handful. One of these is the first song (Vipers, Snakes, and Actors) which gives you high hopes for the CD. However, it goes downhill fast when you start hearing a lot of Cory singing and more melodic beats than dirty breakdowns. Maybe it’s the type of sound that has to grow on you? Personally, that’s no excuse for a band of Norma Jean’s caliber.
Aside from Cory breaking out into singing way more than I’d like him to there is a new drummer. The old drummer was a one of a kind man. His beats were always amazing in this weird off tempo sort of way. I think he was a big part of the Norma Jean sound just because his drumming style was very unique and I always thought his drums had a unique sound as well; they were almost empty sounding, but still nicely solid. With our new guy though you’ll get a lot of standard beats and steady flow.
Now, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that their first CD with Cory (O’ God, The Aftermath) was not as good as the Redeemer and I definitely understand that it takes time to get used to a new guy and get in the flow of how you were. But I’ve also seen Norma Jean change so much over the years that I think this may be what they want. I don’t think it’s the right way to go especially with the huge fan base they’ve acquired. But at the same time 75% of these people will probably follow like sheep just because (not trying to insult their fanbase, but that’s how people are).
I say, sorry Norma Jean, but this is the beginning of the end of our friendship. I’ll surely give it a few more listens to see if it does grow on me. But when I got to the last 2 songs I didn’t even care to be listening to it anymore. So, it’s not looking good.
