Metal Underground.com

It’s hard to come across an album that truly defines what a record is meant to be. Too many bands fall into the trend of slapping together some songs without any purpose, direction, or meaning and expect it to be the their “Master of Puppets.” Douglasville, Georgia’s Norma Jean breaks this trend with their latest offering, “Meridional,” an epic collection of progressive metalcore compositions that demonstrate the true art of creating a complete album.

“Meridional” showcases the absolute best Norma Jean has to offer. Brutal complexity often finds itself woven into moments of subtle beauty and creativity, which leave a lasting impression on the listener. Songs like “A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse” and “High Noise Low Output” are perfect examples of the band’s ability to combine both technical, and occasionally time signature bending, metalcore with enough melody and passion to keep things sounding fresh. Whereas past Norma Jean albums bled together and followed the same vibe throughout, “Meridional” offers something new to experience with every spin.

Even the heavier tracks such as “Bastardizer” contain innovative guitar work, moving past the generic metalcore sound by leaps and bounds. Norma Jean have stepped up their songwriting and it shows throughout the album’s thirteen tracks. “The Anthem of the Angry Brides” is a dizzying song with aggressive and intricate lead guitar work that would make fans of Psyopus, Genghis Tron or any other math-metal band salivate. With all of its hidden potential, “Meridional” is surely to become the comparison for all future metalcore albums.

The essence of the genius that is “Meridional” comes from the album’s flow. From the first track to the last every song builds off one another, becoming better and better as the album crashes further onwards. Through the bludgeoning opener “Leaderless and Self Enlisted” to the ultra melodic “Falling From the Sky: Day Seven” there is always something new around the corner, which makes for a fantastic and captivating end to end listen. “Meridional” is best served up as one entire experience in order to enjoy all of the subtle and not-so-subtle nuances properly. Separately the songs may not seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but together as one cohesive force it is truly something special.

“Meridional” marks the long awaited return of the album and what it means as an art form. Those expecting a batch of radio ready singles and easily accessible tunes have come to the wrong party. “Meridional” moves far beyond the simplistic notion of thirteen songs on a disc, creating its own world with its own textures and emotions. Simply put, this album is a monster.