Wrongdoers does good!

Norma Jean has been through a lot– and each time they encounter an obstacle they prove ever vigilant in prevailing. Regardless of your taste in music, respect the name Norma Jean: it cannot be stopped. Norma Jean brings it forward again with clear songs, strong words, power cords, expert percussion and near flawless delivery. From original song composition to the magic that happened in the studio, the synergy that is Wrongdoers earns Norma Jean “High Fidelity”– a high honor for albums here at mxdwn.

Wrongdoers is an exceptional album! Almost perfect. With “Hive Minds” opening heavy with a near 7-minute span, the listener is introduced to an array of human emotion. The title track is a wonderful song of frustration and hope(lessness).  With bands of such distinct material it’s hard to place where metal music makes true attempt in areas of personal nature. An example of said range would be “Potter Has No Hands” which opens with some lyrics that scream ‘Making love!! Just making love!!’ – not a calling everyone would respond to but in comparison with the slight drop in momentum with “Neck in the Hemp” just at the halfway count of the track, sometimes it is the absence of sound that speaks volumes.

The band always puts so much substance in their song composition. Unlike many of the bands out today, it’s more than just the vocals carrying the music. The music carries itself and the vocals happen to be a piece of that. There is something behind this band that is almost angelic. Maybe that’s because Norma Jean is one of those “God fearing” bands, or maybe it’s just because they are so damn good at what they do. In either case, Wrongdoers beams energy through every outlet.

Finally, we end up at “Sun Dies, Blood Moon” with just over a 14-minute count. The artistic decision to allow the lingering pitch was fair to end the journey that is Wrongdoers. While it’s not pleasant, anything subtracted from the time format would have distracted the nature of the final track, and therefore the album as a whole. At under an hour, the album is worth every minute invested, multiple times over.