Release Date: Aug 5, 2008
Label: Solid State Records
Genres: Metalcore
Number Of Tracks: 10
The Anti Mother ultimately boasts the best of both worlds: heavy riffage with manic, tortured shrieking, and aggressive melodies sung with equal parts passion and grit.
The Anti MotherFeatured review by: UG Team, on august 06, 2008 4 of 8 people found this review helpful
Sound: Okay, this is a straight up metalcore album. If you’re a fan of metalcore, you’ll like it; if you aren’t then this isn’t for you. Interestingly enough, upon the first listen and with no previous information, I could hear elements of n¸ metal work, like the Deftones; incidentally enough, Chino Moreno co-wrote some of the songs on this album. As I was thrown right into the first track, Vipers, Snakes, and Arrows, I could hear the evident minors as expected with metal, and yet the song, as well as the rest of the album, had a certain melodical sense to it that I found to be very interesting. As the album continued, I delved deeper to see past the metalcore face and found out that Norma Jean had indeed, as they wished, created a different sound from the norm, past the expected metalcore I was anticipating. I found myself enjoying the track Surrender Your Sons very much, so much in fact that I went back and heard it twice more. Again, Norma Jean has definitely put a lot of thought into this album in order to break free from the metalcore mold. And this is coming from someone who usually doesn’t dive much deeper in metal past Dream Theater. Although I can’t see this album as one of the greatest of 2008, it’s definitely getting a couple of more plays in iTunes with me. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: I’m not a huge fan of screaming; many people like it, but it’s just not my bag of chips. Most of the lyrics to me were unintelligible, as lead singer Cory Brandan is screaming not only from his throat but also his gut. However, the band manages to incorporate a couple of slower passages within the music, allowing for pleasant lyrical content, both in the actual lyrics and in the melodical content of the vocal line. Not the best thing I could imagine, but still good nonetheless. // 7
Impression: I have a feeling that if I listened to more metalcore, I would have appreciated this album a little more than what I take it for now. The Anti Mother will definitely find itself lodged in the brains and hearts of metalcore fans, but it’s going to have trouble finding an audience past there. I definitely give props to Norma Jean, though, for putting together a good album that will get a decent amount of occasional plays from me. // 8
The Anti Mother
Reviewed by:
plague_runner, on december 22, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: This album definitely has a sound all of it's own. Norma Jean had always been described a huge Botch rip-off with all the dissonant technicality that they stole from them back in 1999. Norma Jean's "The Anti-Mother" is a fresh of breath air for the band, and is probably the best Post-hardcore, Mathcore, Christian Metal album released this year. Gone are the Both elements with a more 90's grunge metal sound. This band knows how to get brutally heavy while retaining real emotion, beautiful melodies, and catchy hooks. The guitarists easily find those chords that no one has ever stumbled upon. They still retain some of the Mathy guitar work that Norma Jean had always preformed, but it's more sludgier and less chaotic than on previous albums. I personally don't mind because we have lots of bands that sound like that anyway. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Norma Jean is a christian band, but the lyrics aren't directed specifically to those of the christian faith. They write their songs to appeal to just about everyone. On this record however, the lyrics get personal, Cory Brandon the vocalist specifically. You can really feel the pain and emotion that comes with Cory's lyrics and vocal activities. A couple songs however (Murphy was an optimist, Left of Wrong) have some dumb lyrical content but the songs are executed well. The vocals are Screamed, Yelled, and Sung. Cory really has some pipes, he has some of the best vocals any hardcore singer has ever had. Cory's best performance though is on the song "Robots3 Humans0" were Cory really stretches his voice for some top-noth Trice style vocals. And to top it all off there is guest spots on this record. Def-Tones Chino Morino, and Helmet's Page Hamilton apear on this record. Not only do they sing but they help write the record. // 9
Impression: This is some of Norma Jean's best work. I like Norma Jeans old material, but this really takes the cake. I haven't heard a good record like this in a long time, Norma Jean really steped up their game this time, but I do sort of miss the techy Botch style guitar work, but Cory's vocals make up for that. Check out songs like Robots3 Humans0, Birth of the Anti-mother, Self employed Chemist, Surrender your sons(w/ Chino Morino), and Opposite of Left and Wrong(w/Page Hamilton). If this lost or stolen I would buy it again or kill the S.O.B who stole it. // 10
The Anti Mother
Reviewed by:
pyritmann, on august 26, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Sound: One thing that never ceases to amaze me about Norma Jean is how they manage to progress their sound in every album without selling out or writing the same sound twice. That being said, I still believe this Album was a step down from their previous effort Redeemer. Chris Day and Scottie Henry as always were amazing in the guitar parts, bring their unique style of playing up a level in this album. Bass was one thing that I thought really was a bit more lacking in this album. For one thing The tone of Jake's Bass was not as striking and brutal as "Redeemer" and "O'God the Aftermath", it wasn't bad, but after hearing such an amazing bass performance in their last album I was dissapointed not to hear a step up. And last but not least, drums. This was the area I was most concerned with coming into the antimother as this was NJ's first album without the epic presence of their former drummer Dan Davison. Chris Raines had big shoes to fill, and though I think the production and sound of the drums was really lacking, Raines did an excellent job on The Antimother. // 7
Lyrics and Singing: Corey Brandon is by far my favorite vocalist in the Metal, Screamo, Metalcore, Mathcore, (call it what you want)scene, and there was many doubters to whether or not he would be able to pull off the clean vocals in more parts than in previous albums. I believe the track Robots 3 Humans 0 was his best vocal performance to date, but some other clean vocals such as Self Employed Chemist were not quite up to par. Corey's screaming is impressive as always and is his best screaming I've heard from him. He is a singer that always is progressing. The Lyrics in this album are amazing also as NJ Flee's from Cliche and writes something similar to a concept album with the whole theme of the album circulating around "the Antimother" which is a representation of everything evil. Most of the songs are directly related to this theme but others such as "robots 3 humans 0" and "murphy was an optimist" are a little bit harder to find the connection in.
Another highlight of the album was the guest vocal performances of The Deftones Chino Moreno, Saosin's Cove Reber, and Helmet's Page Hamilton. Moreno and Reber were an excellent mix with Corey's voice, however I honestly though Page Hamiltons performance was hard to listen to on Opposite of Left and Wrong. The song itself was excellent but Hamiltons vocals just were not all there. // 7
Impression: A very interesting album to say the least, kept me guessing all the way. Me being a long-time fan of NJ, this album took me off guard a little bit at first as it was extremely different from their albums before, but it is a very unique, truly facinating album. It will never be a classic or top any charts, but a strong album none the less. The best tracks were Robots 3 Humans 0, which was incredible and shows that corey really can sing as well as scream. Opening track Vipers, Snakes, and Actors takes us back in time a little bit with just a straight up brutal song and a great way to start the album. Great album. // 8
The Anti Mother
Reviewed by:
yokosaki39, on august 07, 2008 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sound: So I just got the CD and I have to say I like it, a lot. It really got me back into Norma Jean, after their last two cd's (which were good but not that good to me). Their sound has evolved even more and they sound unique as ever. Roaring dual guitar leads and Cory's vocals give me chills. Recently many bands have been trying to expand their sound and most have failed, but I'd have to say the Anti Mother is a good example of it. Job well done. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: My one complaint about the CD. I've always loved Norma Jeans lyrics but on their newest CD they seem a little worn out. Much of it seems very simple and tired. And usually simple lyrics are clever, but not the case here. Decent, fits the riffs and what not, but not their best. // 7
Impression: Overall, I believe this is my favorite CD from Norma Jean besides "Bless The Martyr". I'd have to say my favorite tracks are "Self Employed Chemist", "Birth Of The Anti Mother", "Death Of The Anti Mother", "Surrender Your Sons", "Discipline Your Daughters", and my favorite track from the CD was definaltely "And There Will Be A Swarm Of Hornets". If you're a fan of Norma Jean, get this CD. // 9
How can you give the lyrics a 7 because you don't like screaming.... and the overall album an 8 because you are not a huge metalcore fan..... holy bad team review batman....
metalcore = august burns red, killswitch, and such
norma jean does not sound like that, their sound is much deeper, grittier, unrefined but hammered to perfection. i agree with the deftones touch and i am glad for it. i think this is the sound they were trying to reach on redeemer (also amazing). it sounds a great deal more mature than their previous albums. The Anti Mother is amazing. plain and simple. 10 out of 10 for me.
alright to set the record straight, norma jean is NOT METALCORE. there sound used to be defined as Rock/Hardcore/Noisecore/Progressive, and all i can say is this album floored me, its an evolution from redeemer and i was hoping these guys would go back to the o'god the aftermath sound, but this stuff is definately an appreciative change, all i can say is listen to the brilliance of "Robots 3 Humans 0", lyrics, riffage, and the little things that they do, make it amazing
cannot wait for my pre-order to come in. i heard the album on myspace and thought it was excellent but not as good as redeemer... redeemer was a genre definer, whatever genre you want to classify these guys as. great band
Agree with soho... is not metalcore. Maybe, old Norma Jean fans like Bless the martyr times might be disappointed, but this is Norma Jean music evolution. Sounds more melodic, but also sounds complex and different. Sounds cool to me. Chino rules!! good for Norma Jean
nah norma jeans first 2 albums were metalcore, in its orginal sense (like the way it was back in the late 90's...around the time of botch...and zao...two bands they ripped off) then they made redeemer which i was happy to see they weren't making shitty botch covers, but then now on anti mother they are makeing shitty thrice covers, man if botch got this kind of exposore they would still be doing this today...norma jean is starting to piss me off, the way a trust fund kid does, hasn't done anything wrong but gets all the breaks in life
If you do consider Norma Jean metalcore, they are definitely one of the better ones out there.. even though they still have those breakdowns, there's just something different about them. I'm kinda surprised the Chino helped out, Deftones being one of my favorite bands.
i sure hope nobody takes this review seriously, this guy seems to not even be a norma fan....the album is def their best since o' god, and whoever said norma is a DEP rip off, you should figure out the difference between genres instead of talking smack about something you obviously know nothing about....
jesus h christ if you don't like this kind of music then why not let someone else handle the review? A very solid effort by NJ, a step in the right direction from Redeemer IMO
jumping jesus on a pogo stick its music eventually its gonna sound like someone else's song you hear a riff or a beat or a melody and expand on it in your own way you make it yours thats what NJ has done from day one even back in the luti days hey bacon stop hate'n and enjoy the ****ing music
jumping jesus on a pogo stick its music eventually its gonna sound like someone else's song you hear a riff or a beat or a melody and expand on it in your own way you make it yours thats what NJ has done from day one even back in the luti days hey bacon stop hate'n and enjoy the ****ing music
Except that Norma Jean actually had the intention of sounding like Botch's WATR on OGTA, even hiring the same producer. They meant to rip off Botch, which I don't really have a problem with.
Album's not their best work at all, and I'm pretty disappointed in them.
seriously, get a grip. how can you get a subjective review from someone who is in love with a band? this guy's an outsider to the scene and wrote an unbiased review of what everyone thinks is a good album. if it's not master of puppets/vulgar display of power/Led zep two, it shouldn't get above an 8 and a half. good review man. kinda makes me wanna listen to norma jean, when i'd normally rather gargle dog shit.
seriously, get a grip. how can you get a subjective review from someone who is in love with a band? this guy's an outsider to the scene and wrote an unbiased review of what everyone thinks is a good album. if it's not master of puppets/vulgar display of power/Led zep two, it shouldn't get above an 8 and a half. good review man. kinda makes me wanna listen to norma jean, when i'd normally rather gargle dog shit.
Exactly what I was trying to do. It's true, I don't listen to a lot of this music. I was given the CD, and I reviewed it from a subjective perspective.
Forget it, I'm not even going to argue, there are too many people who aren't mature enough to accept this simple fact.
Personally, I love this album. I liked "Redeemer" a little more; it seemed more brutal.
I generally rate things based on how much I enjoy the album, not how it stacks up to "Master of Puppets". Not everything needs to be compared to Led Zeppelin, Wizard of Anus.
Personally, I love this album. I liked "Redeemer" a little more; it seemed more brutal.
I generally rate things based on how much I enjoy the album, not how it stacks up to "Master of Puppets". Not everything needs to be compared to Led Zeppelin, Wizard of Anus.
The reviewer has the right impression, from whether you look at it from my side or not. It wasn't a classic album, not a particuarly impressive album. I'm not comparing it to a classic album as such, I'm saying it doesn't have the qualities to deserve anything above an 8.5, while better albums would. but there's always a single minded scene bitch who doesn't understand. Listen to suffocation, if you want a bit more brutal. I don't like Led Zeppelin anyways, i was just using that as a medium to explain to the brainwashed metalcore kids, because surely they'd have heard of that.
jumping jesus on a pogo stick its music eventually its gonna sound like someone else's song you hear a riff or a beat or a melody and expand on it in your own way you make it yours thats what NJ has done from day one even back in the luti days hey bacon stop hate'n and enjoy the ****ing music
jumping jesus on a pogo stick its music eventually its gonna sound like someone else's song you hear a riff or a beat or a melody and expand on it in your own way you make it yours thats what NJ has done from day one even back in the luti days hey bacon stop hate'n and enjoy the ****ing music
metalcore my nuts
please
WIKI PEDIA metalcore for me... then write a second review
this was a great album
much more beter song structure wise then redeemeer
9/10
metalcore my nuts
please
WIKI PEDIA metalcore for me..then write a second review
this album was amazing
9/10
much more beter then redeemeer song structure wise
It was really hard to try to write an unbiased review for these guys, I just love them so much and this new album was sick, but i know they can do better. They are still my favorite band or close to it at least and i hope my review wasnt too biased
ok, i expected a LOT from this album. but it wasnt what i thought it would be. i dont really like how there are guest vocals on the majority of the tracks. its no where near as good as Redeemer.
but dont get me wrong, i still really like this album. but its not their best.
the antimother could of grew into a metaphor for everything evil but if you read into the singers life you realize that it's obviously directed to the mother of the singers kids who ended up with custody after lying during their divorce and while hiding in the bushes (to make sure his kids were ok) he saw her leave his kids at home with 2 random druggies while she went out and bought more drugs so he stole his kids back and got custody. this album has alot of hatred towards his ex.
Metalcore, mathcore, hardcore, noisecore, whatever word you want to use core. Who gives a shit what kind of "adjective"-core you call it. Either they rock or they suck. Norma Jean rocks. "Core"-heads suck. (you know who you are)
It really isn't necessary to break things down so much. (What the hell is mathcore anyway)I remember when it was Rock, Metal, Death Metal, or Industrial. (Punk too)
Metalcore, mathcore, hardcore, noisecore, whatever word you want to use core. Who gives a shit what kind of "adjective"-core you call it. Either they rock or they suck. Norma Jean rocks. "Core"-heads suck. (you know who you are)
It really isn't necessary to break things down so much. (What the hell is mathcore anyway)I remember when it was Rock, Metal, Death Metal, or Industrial. (Punk too)
Metalcore, mathcore, hardcore, noisecore, whatever word you want to use core. Who gives a shit what kind of "adjective"-core you call it. Either they rock or they suck. Norma Jean rocks. "Core"-heads suck. (you know who you are)
It really isn't necessary to break things down so much. (What the hell is mathcore anyway)I remember when it was Rock, Metal, Death Metal, or Industrial. (Punk too)
Idk whats with all the terms and crap but I guess "CORE" seprates itself from real metal. Mathcore by the way is metalcore with odd time signitures, poly rythmic drumming, and progressive style of guitar. I'ts a really chaotic genre. It's not exactly real metal though.
Great album.
Everyone needs to shut their mouths and open their ears. Does it really matter what genre they are?
They're different. Accept it like that.
This album was pretty bland to be honest. I'm glad I didn't buy it because there wasn't a single song that jumped at me.
I really don't see how this could get an 8 considering how much better O'god was, let alone Bless the Martyr. unless of course it was "reviewed" by scene fanboys.
I never really liked Norma Jean a whole lot until I heard this one. I thought it was pretty awesome. I actually really like his singing. its gritty and raspy but melodic. its different and cool. they definitely dont sound like your average band. as far as genres i refer to them as southern metal/hardcore. i believe it is in the metalcore family, just a different style which i like to call southern because its more gritty and raspy soundy. just my opinion.
Metalcore, mathcore, hardcore, noisecore, whatever word you want to use core. Who gives a shit what kind of "adjective"-core you call it. Either they rock or they suck. Norma Jean rocks. "Core"-heads suck. (you know who you are)
It really isn't necessary to break things down so much. (What the hell is mathcore anyway)I remember when it was Rock, Metal, Death Metal, or Industrial. (Punk too)
Idk whats with all the terms and crap but I guess "CORE" seprates itself from real metal. Mathcore by the way is metalcore with odd time signitures, poly rythmic drumming, and progressive style of guitar. I'ts a really chaotic genre. It's not exactly real metal though.
I personally believe that all the "core" genres are actually metal. I think people got tired of how broad of a genre metal became and started creating sub-genres in order to easily figure out what type of music something is. Unfortunately it backfired and everyone jumbles the characteristics around from genre to genre. Cuz before metal was pretty much anything with heavy guitar and fast drums.
Anyways I think this cd rocks. I can't believe the team review (what a novice). How can you say that the lyrics are unintelligible because of the way he screams? That is just a stupid statement. And I also believe that Norma Jean is more like progressive rock/Hardcore. Cuz before Redeemer they were more Hardcore than anything but then Corey started showing his singing voice off more (which I like). The band in general has a very unique way of playing. This is a solid effort from NJ and I hope to see more solid efforts coming from them.
Meh.