Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Let's Break Out The Shotguns, We're Going To Town." [4.5 Stars], September 12, 2006
Disturbing cover art? Yep. Song titles that have little or nothing to do with the songs themselves? You got it. Manically driven, chaotic music? Of course. All signs point to a new offering from southern starlets Norma Jean. After 2005's "O God The Aftermath" it seems the band wasted little time in writing and recording their explosive follow up. Enlisting the help of heralded producer Ross Robinson (At The Drive In, Glassjaw, Blood Brothers) to turn the knobs in the studio, "Redeemer" was promised to be one of 2006's most anticipated and interesting listens. And the question that it comes down to is, is it worth the hype? Well to that, I would have to answer most definitely. Following their typical musical direction, Norma Jean have crafted a record which sounds nothing like their previous efforts. That's what is most gratifying about the release. Those looking for a "Bless The Martyr..." pt 2 or a continuation of anything the band had previously been doing need not apply. "Redeemer" is a beast all its own.
While the musical style on "Redeemer" might lean a little more towards "O God, The Aftermath" than "Bless The Martyr...", it really is vastly different from either of the two releases. Where as OGTA sought to take monstrous sound of BTMKTC a bit further, "Redeemer" does a nice job of molding the chaos and competency. Most songs incorporate vast ranges of sonic dissonance, and yet small does of legibility which make a lot of the tracks sound more complete than OGTA. Take "A Grand Scene For A Color Film", the explosive album opener, for example. It starts off in typical tumultuous fashion, but throughout seems to slip into slight bits of coherence. This is the pattern with many song found on the album. But don't worry, most tracks are still overly crushing.
A big plus is that Corey sounds miles better than he did on the last record. The one main problem I had with OGTA was that his vocals were so monotonous and often indecipherable. This has been fully addressed on "Redeemer." Not only does Corey show off some nice range (a wide variety of screams, some subtle rough melody), but you can actually understand a lot of what he's saying! His screams are fierce and rough and sound perfectly in sync with the frantic atmosphere the rest of the band creates. He also manages to slip in a few nice moments of melody, although I'd hardly qualify it as "emo-singing" or selling out. Those familiar with songs like "Bayonnetwork" from the last record should have a general idea of what I'm talking about. And it works well. Very well as seen on tracks like "Blueprints For Future Homes" and "Songs Sound Much Sadder."
As for the rest of the band, they're still keeping up the intensity. Chris and Scottie continue to create discordantly crashing guitar riffs that are crushing, disorderly and catchy all at the same time. There's plenty of moments that recall the vintage fury of "Bless The Martyr..." and "O God, The Aftermath," but plenty that break new ground as well. Danny is still a force to be reckoned with on the drum set, although his patterns are much more focused on groove this time it seems. He does have a few impressive sections though. Jake doesn't see many points to shine on the low end, but in a few selected moments he adds a lot of depth and edge to a song.
I can always appreciate a band which is constantly willing to push themselves to the limit and try new things, and that's exactly what Norma Jean delivers with every record they put out. Is it their best record? Well that of course depends on your own perspective. I'll say it doesn't out do Martyr, but it might be ahead of O God. If you were able to stay with the band after the last release, then you won't have any problem diving right into this record. No one screams beautiful chaos quite like Norma Jean (except maybe Converge), and with "Redeemer" they continue to prove why.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reedemer is Reedemed, September 14, 2006
I have to be honest while I really enjoy this genre of music I find that too many of its bands get stuck sounding the same on every record and every song ends up being the same heavy guitar riff coupled with the inaudible screaming. So when Norma Jean surprised me with another record only one year after thier awesome sophomore record, O God The Aftermath, I was very skeptical and yet I wanted them to prove me wrong.
I really have to say they did prove me wrong. The screaming is varied. The song structures are alot more creative this time around and they do a good job of really making each song stand out on its own. While many of the riffs may sound a little familiar by the end of the song you will see how they managed to break the mold and truly give their fans a record worth owning.
The vocals are actually understandable at times which was something I really missed from the "Bless the Martyr" days. Usually I am wary of a band that releases another record so soon after the last but it doesn't sound rushed at all. The art work is cool but alot more subtle then on the last record. This record is a beast and should be in any fans CD collection.
Props to these southern maniacs for once again proving that all of the hype for this band is justified.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a masterpiece, February 20, 2007
simply said. this record goes a step beyond their previous two and puts the nail in the coffin. a great great record. cory brandon's singing has improved big time compared to wut he did on "oh god, the aftermath". its way smoother and more accessible to the ears if u ask me. so yeah, anybody with a brain should buy this cd cus it WILL overcome and dominate ur fall out boy cd(if u really did, then u just flat out suck and need to re-think ur life) u decided to purchase last week, haha...and thats guaranteed. please support good bands and not these under-talented and over produced bands like FOB and Hawthorne Heights, cus they're just terrible and its a shame that they have such a huge following...its real sad. heres a hint, turn off ur computer, go get ready and put on ur mc hammer pants and go to best buy, target, circuit city, whatever and swipe ur visa to get this sucka cus it rules aight?? peace snout.
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