Andrew Danso

I see a contradiction as the second of the headlining acts walks out. Norma Jean’s sound is very familiar within a commercial sphere, yet it’s being lauded as the second coming for reasons unknown to me. The crowd have went crazy for this lot, but the first two, the lesser known ‘hardcore’ aficionado, haven’t had anywhere near this kind of reception. You can see the blatant contradiction, at least in identity: the hardcore guys enjoy the commercial stuff much more. Oh well, maybe Norma Jean are just better and that’s all there is to it. Clap your hands.

It’s true, to an extent, as this is the most complete baby of the night. They’re able to make a real impact, chugging through southern American riffs, the likes of Lamb Of God or even Korn would vein in, and at the same time, go off the wall when needed in their mathcore element.

Fans were easy pleased getting a lot of content from their latest album “Meridional”, as well as material from their debut success “Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child”. In context of the evening, there wasn’t anything particularly spectacular about Norma Jean, and in fact, residing from their commercial sound, they were probably the most simplistic band, when it came down to a mathcore sound.

Yet, the complicated material felt uncomfortable in the set. It was as if the band were drunk within the parameters they had set for their music, doing the math stuff to appease one half of an audience, and commercial licks to groom the other half.

6/10 Powerplay #143