Photo Credit: Rachel Putman<\/p>\n
Review by Jaya Kohol<\/span><\/p>\n It was during my senior year of high school when I first discovered Norma Jean. I had a healthy obsession with post-hardcore music but had only then begun to delve into the wide expanse of music that was metalcore. I perused Spotify, looking for something new to listen to, when I stumbled upon an intriguing album cover. It was an illustration depicting a girl and a crow, and the crow strangely bit the girl. I read the album title with curiosity: \u201cRedeemer.\u201d The sound of the album enraptured me, and soon, I found myself listening to their entire discography. Nearly four years later, Norma Jean has remained a staple in my listening rotation. Having the opportunity to finally see the band live in concert felt like an homage to my seventeen-year-old self, something I couldn\u2019t help but honor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Originally formed in 1997 under the name Luti-Kriss, the Georgia-based band initially released an EP and debut album heavily influenced by the nu-metal of the \u201990s. Shortly after, the band underwent a name change, switching to Norma Jean, which some keen readers may recognize as Marilyn Monroe\u2019s real name. With a new, firmly established member lineup, the band began working on their debut album titled \u201cBless the Martyr and Kiss the Child,\u201d\u00a0 released on Solid State Records. Through the several albums that were to follow their initial release, Norma Jean saw many departures and arrivals of band members and lead vocalists. Despite this rotation of talent, the band managed to remain sonically consistent and develop a growing fanbase within the metalcore community. <\/span><\/p>\n The band\u2019s most recent album, \u201cDeathrattle Sing For Me,\u201d is a natural progression of the sound that the band has cultivated since the early 2000s. The album brings a blend of classic metalcore riffs and chord progressions, as well as incorporating more modern electronic elements. Norma Jean has earned their place among other notable post-hardcore and metalcore bands such as Every Time I Die, August Burns Red, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Today, the band consists of lead vocalist Cory Brandon, Matt Marquez (drums), Jeff Hickey (guitar), Phillip Farris (guitar), Grayson Stewart (guitar), and Clay Crenshaw (bass).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Inside Brighton Music Hall, the crowd trickled in slowly but surely. Openers Mouths For War, Teeth, and Knife Dance put on an amazing performance, quickly energizing the crowd for Norma Jean\u2019s arrival. As the clock hit 9:15, the lights dimmed, and the room began to buzz with inexplicable energy as Norma Jean quickly took up their instruments and positioned themselves on stage. The band didn\u2019t hesitate to get to the music as they dived straight into the opening with a fan-favorite song, \u201cBlueprints for Future Homes,\u201d off their album \u201cRedeemer.\u201d I watched as the row of fans at the barricade lit up and jumped up and down in ecstasy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The stage set was kept simple; a banner reading Norma Jean was draped behind them, while huge sets of amps and pedal boards scattered the stage. The simplicity of the set truly allowed the music to shine, letting the audience connect with the lyrics and riffs. As the band transitioned into the song \u201cMemphis Will be Laid to Waste,\u201d Brandon moved towards the front of the stage, placing one foot on the edge of the barricade and the other behind him on stage, bridging the gap between the band and eager fans. Like most post-hardcore and metalcore bands, Brandon utilized a mix of clean and scream vocals, creating an enchanting dichotomy of sound.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n About halfway through the set, the band took a moment to thank concertgoers for their energy and attention as Brandon asked the crowd who\u2019d seen the band before and who hadn\u2019t. He went on to explain that the band had embarked on this tour in celebration of nearly two whole decades of music, a truly impressive feat and a testament to the strength of the fanbase as well as the determination of the band. The band continued to play a wide variety of songs from all nine of their studio albums but gave special consideration to classics such as \u201cI Used to Hate Cell Phones But Now I Hate Car Accidents\u201d and \u201cSword in Mouth, Fire Eyes,\u201d my personal favorite Norma Jean song.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the show came to an end, the crowd became even more rowdy, and I watched on in amazement as people pushed and shoved each other around by the barricade. The band put on an incredible encore, coming back out to play \u201cSun Dies, Blood Moon\u201d to conclude. I left Brighton Music Hall that evening full of adrenaline and thoroughly pleased that I had finally gotten the chance to see the almighty Norma Jean put on a stellar performance. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo Credit: Rachel Putman Review by Jaya Kohol It was during my senior year of high school when I first discovered Norma Jean. I had a healthy obsession with post-hardcore music but had only then begun to delve into the wide expanse of music that was metalcore. I perused Spotify, looking for something new to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24057,"featured_media":44912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[1128,215,26,97,327,2199,31,25],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44911"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24057"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44911"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44972,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44911\/revisions\/44972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}