Norma Jean -- now in the studio with producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, The Cure, Deftones, At The Drive In, Glassjaw) and engineer Ryan Boesch--will deliver their fourth album The Anti Mother late this summer on indie Solid State Records (exact release date TBA). For a few of the album's songs, the band wrote in collaboration separately with Page Hamilton of Helmet and Chino Moreno of Deftones.
The Anti Mother marks the follow-up to the Atlanta-based post hardcore group's critically lauded 2006 Redeemer album, hailed by Revolver magazine as "a menacingly brutal slab of noisecore with just the right hint of melody, while Kerrang! declared it to be "a cauterizing kaleidoscope of earth-clawing turmoil and brutalized sonic adventure..." Fans will get to experience The Anti Mother live this summer when Norma Jean -- Cory Brandan (vocals), Scottie Henry (guitars), Jake Schultz (bass), Chris Day (guitars) and Chris Raines (drums)--hit the road as one of the headlining main-stage acts on the Vans Warped Tour '08.
"The Anti Mother is a character we created which represents anything that is deceptive, and yet possesses an outwardly beautiful nature," lead singer Cory Brandan says of the album title and theme. Musically, he points out "this record is the most melodic album we've ever created, but it's definitely the heaviest record Norma Jean has done as well--and furious at that."
The spirit of collaboration highlights The Anti Mother. "We were able to work with Page and Chino on two separate occasions, and as two of our biggest influences musically, it was definitely a moment having them here in the studio." Cory notes, "Page came to our practice space and for the first hour he was just showing us cool guitar chords, teaching us new things technically. The song we wrote with him is heavy as crap and full of energy--you'll notice his influence. For Chino, the writing was more impulsive. We were already in pre-production with Ross, but the song we wrote with Chino came out so diverse and anti-traditional. Chino ended up hanging out for a few days and we wrote two songs with him."
Adds Cory: "Many bands have guest vocalists on their records, but we were inspired by the idea of collaborative songwriting with some of our favorite musicians. In a collaboration, no one is beyond reproach, and there is always something we can learn and someone to learn it from."
Norma Jean deliver live, and have performed on both the Vans Warped Tour and Ozzfest festivals--a distinction only a few bands can claim. Writing in the LA Weekly, Greg Burk remarked, "The first thing I noticed about Norma Jean...was...the quality of the noise--two guitars crashing out dissonant hi-lo chords in compellingly hurtful ways. The second thing was the rhythm--instruments vying back and forth in bazooka volleys rather than locking into standard metal's united riff-and-hammer; it was post-doomsday white funk."
On the Vans Warped Tour '08 all summer long, Norma Jean will join Against Me!, Angels and Airwaves, Bouncing Souls, Gym Class Heroes, Jack's Mannequin, Motion City Soundtrack, Paramore, Pennywise, Rise Against, Say Anything, Street Dogs, The Academy Is..., The All-American Rejects and The Vandals, among many others.
Tour dates are below:
06/20 - Pomona, CA, Pomona Fairgrounds
06/21 - San Francisco, CA, Pier 30/32
06/22 - Ventura, CA, Seaside Park
06/25 - Phoenix, AZ, Cricket Pavilion
06/26 - Las Cruces, NM, N.M.S.U. Practice Field
06/28 - Salt Lake City, UT, Utah State Fairgrounds
06/29 - Denver, CO, Invesco Field
07/01 - St. Louis, MO, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/02 - Kansas City, KS, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/03 - Dallas, TX, Superpages.com Center
07/05 - San Antonio, TX, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
07/06 - Houston, TX, Sam Houston Race Park
07/09 - Atlanta, GA, Lakewood Amphitheater
07/10 - Orlando, FL, Central Florida Fairgrounds
07/11 - Tampa, FL, Vinoy Park
07/12 - Miami, FL, Bicentennial Park
07/13 - Jacksonville, FL, St. Johns County Fairgrounds
07/14 - Charlotte, NC, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
07/15 - Virginia Beach, VA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
07/16 - Washington, DC, Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/17 - Cleveland, OH, Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre
07/18 - Detroit, MI, Comerica Park
07/19 - Toronto, Ontario, Downsview Park Allen Road
07/20 - Montreal, Quebec, Parc Jean Drapeau
07/23 - Boston, MA , Tweeter Center
07/24 - Buffalo, NY, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
07/25 - Camden, NJ, Susquehanna Bank Center
07/26 - Uniondale, NY, Nassau Coliseum
07/27 - Scranton, PA, Toyota Pavilion
07/28 - Englishtown, NJ, Raceway Park
07/29 - Pittsburgh, PA, Post Gazette Pavilion
07/30 - Cincinnati, OH, Riverbend Music Center
07/31 - Indianapolis, IN, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
08/01 - Milwaukee, WI, Marcus Amphitheatre
08/02 - Chicago, IL, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
08/03 - Minneapolis, MN, Canterbury Park
08/05 - Saskatoon, SK, Credit Union Centre
08/06 - Calgary, AB, Race City Speedway
08/08 - Boise, ID, Idaho Center Amphitheatre
08/09 - Seattle, WA, George Amphitheatre
08/10 - Portland, OR, Columbia Meadows
08/13 - Fresno, CA, Save Mart Center
08/14 - San Diego, CA, Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
08/15 - San Francisco, CA, Shoreline Amphitheatre
08/16 - Sacramento, CA, Sleep Train Amphitheatre
08/17 - Los Angeles, CA, Home Depot Center
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