Atlanta's post-hardcore outfit NORMA JEAN--along with producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, The Cure, Deftones) and engineer Ryan Boesch--have put the finishing touches on their fourth studio album THE ANTI MOTHER, due out August 5 on Solid State Records.

NORMA JEAN--CORY BRANDAN (lead vocals, guitars), SCOTTIE HENRY (guitars), JAKE SCHULTZ (bass), CHRIS DAY (guitars) and CHRIS RAINES (drums)--are debuting songs from THE ANTI MOTHER live to fans all summer long as main stage headliners on the Vans Warped Tour. In his live review for the Los Angeles Times, August Brown noted of the new material: "Atlanta metal-core quintet Norma Jean made a convincing case for rock's potency, as the riffs from its forthcoming album, 'The Anti Mother,' lived up to singer Cory Brandan's claim that it's 'so heavy, it'll make you want to punch a dolphin in the blowhole'" (6/23/08). In addition, NORMA JEAN are also performing a handful of dates with As I Lay Dying that are weaved through June and July, including stops in Omaha, New Orleans and Birmingham (complete tour dates below).

Fans can check out two songs from THE ANTI MOTHER-- "Robots 3, Humans 0" and "Birth of the Anti Mother"--now on NORMA JEAN's Myspace (www.myspace.com/normajean) and Purevolume (www.purevolume.com/normajean) sites. And the band is already receiving early buzz for THE ANTI MOTHER. Scott Heisel of Alternative Press noted on Altpress.com, "And even though it's only two [NORMA JEAN] tracks, I'm sufficiently impressed. One song, 'Death Of The Anti Mother,' is slow and sludgy (a fair comparison could be Baroness or ISIS), and the other, 'Self-Employed Chemist' is very uptempo and strangely melodic, with semi-clean vocals throughout that, in a bizarre way, sound sort of like Jason Shevchuk (Kid Dynamite/None More Black). Neither are what people have come to expect from Norma Jean...and both songs are making me wonder why it took me until right now to realize this band kind of totally rules. They will definitely be on my bands-to-watch list when I'm on Warped this summer. "

Featuring separate collaborations with Page Hamilton of Helmet and Chino Moreno of Deftones, THE ANTI MOTHER will equally deliver NORMA JEAN's most melodic, heaviest and furious material to date. "We've never been this excited about anything we've done," says CORY BRANDAN. "It's exactly the record we've always wanted to make. We also got to work with some of our favorite musicians as well, particularly Page on 'Opposite of Left And Wrong.' We learned so much from him and he dedicated himself to that song, and Chino Moreno on the song 'Surrender Your Sons.' That song was written in a very spontaneous way and came out so unique. Cove Reber from Saosin came in and did some vocals on the song as well; we also wrote lyrics together--Cove was such a huge part of that song. Cove also did various background vocals throughout the record."

CORY adds: "Working with Ross [Robinson] on this record was the best possible scenario. It doesn't matter how much we think we know about making albums, Ross always pushes us to do something greater. We are completely animated about The Anti Mother and can't wait for people to hear it." THE ANTI MOTHER follows the band's critically lauded 2006 release Redeemer that the Omaha Reader described as "a smeared amalgam of evangelism, scorching rhythm, tangled lead guitar work and violent vocal strokes across a hard-rock canvas," with Alternative Press raving that "Redeemer's angst and fury are undeniable."

THE ANTI MOTHER will be available August 5, 2008 from Solid State Records. Check out the full track listing here:

1.) "Vipers, Snakes, And Actors"
2.) "Self-Employed Chemist"
3.) "Birth Of The Anti Mother"
4.) " Robots 3 Humans 0"
5.) "Death Of The Anti Mother"
6.) "Surrender Your Sons"
7.) "Murphy Was An Optimist"
8.) "Opposite Of Left And Wrong"
9.) "Discipline Your Daughters"
10.) "And There Will Be A Swarm Of Hornets"

The complete tour dates for NORMA JEAN are as follows:

DATE CITY VENUE

w/As I Lay Dying
Mon 6/30 Omaha, NE Sokol Auditorium

Vans Warped Tour 2008
Tue 7/1 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Wed 7/2 Kansas City, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Thu 7/3 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
Sat 7/5 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sun 7/6 Houston, TX Sam Houston Race Park

w/As I Lay Dying
Mon 7/7 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Tue 7/8 Birmingham, AL Matthew's Bar and Grill

Vans Warped Tour 2008
Wed 7/9 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheater
Thu 7/10 Orlando, FL Central Florida Fairgrounds
Fri 7/11 Tampa, FL Vinoy Park
Sat 7/12 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park
Sun 7/13 Jacksonville, FL St. Johns County Fairgrounds
Mon 7/14 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Tue 7/15 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Wed 7/16 Washington DC Merriweather Post Pavilion
Thu 7/17 Cleveland, OH Time Warner Cable Amphitheater
Fri 7/18 Detroit, MI Comerica Park
Sat 7/19 Toronto, ON Downsview Park Allen Road
Sun 7/20 Montreal, QC Parc Jean Drapeau
Wed 7/23 Boston, MA Tweeter Center
Thu 7/24 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Fri 7/25 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Sat 7/26 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sun 7/27 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion
Mon 7/28 Englishtown, NJ Raceway Park
Tue 7/29 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
Wed 7/30 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Thu 7/31 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
Fri 8/1 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
Sat 8/2 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sun 8/3 Minneapolis, MN Canterbury Park
Tue 8/5 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
Wed 8/6 Calgary, AB Race City Speedway
Fri 8/8 Boise, ID Idaho Center Amphitheatre
Sat 8/9 Seattle, WA George Amphitheatre
Sun 8/10 Portland, OR Columbia Meadows

Norma Jean headlining show with Devil Wears Prada, A Day to Remember and Pierce the Veil
Tue 8/12 Chico, CA Senator Theatre

Vans Warped Tour 2008
Wed 8/13 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Thu 8/14 San Diego, CA Cricket Amphitheatre
Fri 8/15 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sat 8/16 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
Sun 8/17 Los Angeles, CA Home Depot Center

Norma Jean
Sat 8/30 Frenchtown, NJ Revolution Farms

 

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