by Greg Prato

On their third release overall, 2006's Redeemer, the Atlanta metal quintet Norma Jean hook up with Korn/Limp Bizkit producer Ross Robinson, and the results are just what you'd expect. With the right amount of angst, rubbery riffs, and brief detours into tranquil bits, all of Robinson's trademarks are present. And truth be told, the "Robinson approach" seems to work well for the group, as singer Cory Brandan seems to live to scream his head off, and guitarists Chris Day and Scottie Henry can't wait to detune their guitars to "death metal D" (or is it C?). Burning anger is the name of the game here, as heard on (or more fittingly, assaulted by) the likes of "A Grand Scene for a Color Film" and "A Small Spark vs. a Great Forest." But Norma Jean have a surprise or two up their sleeve, as they trod oh so gently upon prog metal territory on "Songs Sound Much Sadder." Some may argue that the tunes on Redeemer sound akin to the majority of the bands spotted on your average episode of Headbanger's Ball. Yet Norma Jean manage to add a conviction to their performances that appears to be lost in the shuffle by some similarly styled bands.