Norma Jean - Redeemer (Solid State)

For those who are looking for this review to compare Norma Jean’s latest effort Redeemer to their last release O’ God the Aftermath stop reading now for I still haven’t heard O’ God. Besides seeing Norma Jean live two times recently I had not heard any material with new vocalist Cory Brandan. To be quite honest, I am very impressed with this album. Although this is noticeably not as heavy as earlier material, Norma Jean does not lose their intensity with Redeemer. The songs have much more structure and the production is very solid. Blending their style of metal core with a southern tinge works, especially with the little bit of actual singing on this record. My only complaint is that Redeemer doesn’t have any of the long epic songs that previous releases did. Despite the epic lengths, this is eleven solid tracks of Norma Jean that clocks in just under forty two minutes. Starting off with the blistering “A Grand Scene For A Color Film” this album never slows down. Norma Jean have stayed true to their roots and not changed their sound after gaining a large fan base. So go get yourself some barbeque and listen to this record.

Nick Zimmer