Concertwire.com

NORMA JEAN--who deliver the most furious, and yet melodic, music of their career with their new album THE ANTI MOTHER--will headline “The Anti Mother Tour” presented by Solid State Records. The six-week nationwide U.S. tour--with additional sponsorship from Hot Topic and Monster Energy Drink--kicks off Friday, October 3 in Knoxville, TN. NORMA JEAN will be joined by fellow labelmates Haste The Day, The Showdown, MyChildren MyBride, Children 18-:3 (October 3--October 26) and Oh Sleeper (October 28--November 15).

NORMA JEAN’s explosive fourth album THE ANTI MOTHER--which Alternative Press magazine hailed as “…the best record of their career” (September 2008)--was just released last week on Seattle indie Solid State, debuting at #29 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, with over 16,000 copies sold in the first week alone. Critical reaction continues to pour in for the group. In the current Hails & Horns August cover story, writer Reyan Ali explains: “Whether you want to classify them as metalcore, hardcore, screamo or simply ‘heavy,’ NORMA JEAN will always remain a band more interested in chasing their own instincts and ideals than genre limitations, meshing a vicious crush of guitars with purposefully non-expository lyrics that rake deep into questions about personal and social insecurity.” Revolver writer Tim Grierson claims that standout tracks “’Death of the Anti Mother,’ ‘Self-Employed Chemist,’ and ‘Vipers Snakes and Actors’ have a swinging, furious urgency…” (September 2008). In the group’s Alternative Press September feature story, writer Andy Kelham notes: “…amazing and potentially a standard-bearer for an entire genre, THE ANTI MOTHER is an unexpected record for Norma Jean: It’s heavy without being dense; melodic, but not basely so…the crunching ‘Opposite of Left and Wrong’ (with Page Hamilton of Helmet) and the lush (Chino) Moreno collaboration ‘Surrender Your Sons,’ are not only musical firsts for the band but two signposts to their bright future…” Elsewhere Decibel magazine writer Jeanne Fury gave the album an 8-out-of-10 rating, "...with THE ANTI MOTHER, the band truly realized that they don't have to play into the hands of the brutal-is-better mentality in order to make heads roll. Just as important as the coveted hardcore breakdown is the tempered wind-up that precedes it, psychologically setting you up to blow your top. When that shit hits, its like gorilla knuckles going through a concrete floor. You wanna get down? 'Self-Employed Chemist' is a frantic jig that sounds like a thousand rabid children hacking away at a piñata packed with explosives" (October 2008).

In other news, NORMA JEAN----CORY BRANDAN (lead vocals, guitars), SCOTTIE HENRY (guitars), JAKE SCHULTZ (bass), CHRIS DAY (guitars) and CHRIS RAINES (drums)--just shot a video for their debut single “Robots 3, Humans 0,” now buzzing at commercial radio. The band picked Daniel Chestnut (Hurley Entertainment) to direct the conceptual video that delves into the song’s themes of jealousy, confusion and rage. Expect to hear news of the video debut soon.

For more information on NORMA JEAN, visit www.normajeannoise.com.