To put it mildly, Norma Jean have experienced a turbulent past. Fraught with line-up changes, many have considered them has-beens at various stages of their career. Building a reputation on their brand of melodic hardcore, it fast progressed into a genre far removed from their sound – one that became characterised by style over substance.
Enter ‘Wrongdoers’ – a return to form of-sorts, a form they never inhabited at the first place. At its heart, the record is still one filled with clichéd melodic hardcore hooks. The switches from visceral screams to the occasional clean vocal are present and correct, as are the steady breakdowns. Yet rather than find themselves submerged in the sea of the genuinely awful tripe masquerading as metalcore, Norma Jean float above on a vessel made of authenticity.
The flow between musical styles and the unashamed leanings towards turn of the century metal find themselves in similar territory to the most recent Dillinger Escape Plan record. Their increased accessibility doesn’t take away from the depth of the sound, instead offering a refreshingly simple take on an overused style. It is easy to envisage Norma Jean looking at their inferior contemporaries and saying to themselves: “Let’s show these guys how to really do this!”
The balance between calm and riotous is perfect. For every downtempo ‘Sword In Mouth, Fire in Hands’ there is a ‘The Lash Whistled Like Singing Wind’ – one hell of a sucker punch to the stomach complete with dirty sluggish riffing. For every vocal moment in the title track, there is a double bass peddle moment like the ones in ‘If You Got It At Five, You Got It At Fifty’. Then album closer ‘Sun Dies, Blood Moon’ flips things on their head with a fourteen minute progressive epic.
‘Wrongdoers’ not only puts Norma Jean firmly back on the map, but shows that they have a lot of fight left in them. This is an exceptional result, especially when considering what the band endured to reach this point. Through Norma Jean, metalcore lives to fight another day.
BEN TIPPLE