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Norma Jean

Deathrattle Sing For Me

Written by: KW on 24/10/2022 17:23:20

Norma Jean continue their unreal consistency, with another hard hitting punch to the face in the form of their newest release “Deathrattle Sing for Me”. While the band obtained their now legendary status in the metalcore sphere already back in the early ‘00s, this last decade has seen the band truly come to full fruition with one banging release after the other. Admittedly, this most recent one might be my least favourite by this modern iteration of Norma Jean, but this only speaks to the unbelievably high quality of the previous three releases, rather than any ill will towards their newest material.

Indeed, the band is not running out of ideas anytime soon; this is the most progressive and least accessible music Norma Jean has produced since "Meridional". A lot of weird ideas have crept their way onto this album, something that is evident right from the start with the fractured "1994”, which abandons any semblance of standard songwriting structure to produce a roaring, noisy kick in the teeth, with sludgy guitars falling in and out focus haphazardly alongside Cory Brandan's signature, flawless screaming. "Call for the Blood" might contain catchy choruses, but it is still is far from the average metalcore banger due to the pitch-shifting and electronics added to the soundscape. Meanwhile, the Indian-sounding intro to "Aria Obscura" is a new flavour to their music, later developing into an excellent chorus that succeeds in sounding both dissonant and melodic at the same time, by virtue of the screeching guitar slides and Brandan's fantastic, raspy vocals. The track ends up being the most successful experiment here, exploring new facets of the Norma Jean sound without losing its core identity.

But I have to admit that I still prefer the more straight heavy side of Norma Jean, which luckily is still present here in a few savage cuts. "Spearmint Revolt" joins "Landslide Defeater", "Everyone Talking over Everyone Else" and "Wrongdoers" as one of the catchiest, most memorable Norma Jean tracks in their discography — a ferocious banger, which takes the band’s trademark melodic power and mathcore-style riffs, and combines them with an absolutely ridiculous wall of low tuned guitar sound that crumbles into ear-shattering distortion in the final breakdown. "Any%" turns the tempo up in a cacophony of sporadic dissonance, while the brutal chugging in the breakdown to "Sleep Explosion" makes you vividly imagine the thunder dome this track will inevitably turn the pit into in a live setting. "A Killing Word" oozes southern style in one of the strongest tracks of the album, which includes a lot of moving parts without ever sounding messy — even evolving into an almost At the Gates-esque barrage of double pedal drumming and evil dual guitar harmonies.

So while the album still contains some incredible highs, not every experiment comes together as successfully as others. For one, I don't think the last track "Heartache" reaches the same satisfying conclusion as other Norma Jean closers have; it's beautiful and melancholic in its last minutes, but the climax never really hits the explosiveness you're expecting out of the band, and instead sits in a middle ground of not being grand enough or subdued enough, if that was the intended purpose. Additionally, there's a few throwaway interlude tracks that don't contribute much to the album, and will probably always be a skip in the track list for me.

Still, “Deathrattle Sing for Me" is without a doubt a worthy addition to the Norma Jean discography, and while the attempts to expand their sound didn't all work for me, there is so much that does. The riff-writing remains stellar, the drumming tasteful, and Brandan's legendary vocals are still among the very best in the genre at the age of 46. I applaud the band for trying out new things while keeping their core sound intact — this is how you evolve your band and I hope they keep pursuing new horizons and hopefully reach new highs in their career, if that's even possible at this point.

Download: Spearmint Revolt, Any%, A Killing Word, Sleep Explosion
For the fans of: Botch, Every Time I Die, He Is Legend
Listen: Facebook

Release date 12.08.2022
Solid State Records