[IMGLEFT]http://www.russell.ultimatemetal.com/Interview/norma.jpg[/IMGLEFT]By Jason Jordan
Contrary to popular belief, Louisville is not a metal haven. In fact, we rarely have metal shows come to town at all so when I heard that Atreyu, Unearth, Norma Jean, and Scars of Tomorrow were including us in their trek I knew I had to go. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to sit with Daniel Davison (drums) of Norma Jean, and talk about the bands sophomore record, the latest effort, and granola bars.
I was reading earlier in the HM spread about how Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child was recorded live in the studio, and O God, the Aftermath was recorded an instrument at a time.
Yeah, we did individual tracks. We would all play together but just be focusing on recording the drums, but they would all be in there playing. Thats the conventional way of going about it. You can focus more on each instrument individually. So thats the advantage of doing that. But, I feel on this one we were able to still capture the raw energy that we wanted to, and have a quality-sounding recording. Its a lot different than recording live, but Im totally happy with how it turned out.
Someone that doesnt know anything about how music is actually recorded will think that some guy is playing his instrument while hes listening to headphones of what the other people are playing. So, thats not it at all.
Theyre in there just like if we did record it live, but were only focusing on each instrument at a time.
So, how does the songwriting work for you guys? Was it different on Bless the Martyr versus O God ?
Yeah, there were similarities and differences. When we are writing for a record, we just straight-up practice everyday for a couple months. In between records we dont ever really practice. We just tour a lot, and thats basically our practice every night. When we take time off to write the record, we work every single day for hours and hours. On this one it was a little different than Bless the Martyr , because we have a couple new dudes in the band, like Cory [Brandan] who lives in Arkansas. He would come to Atlanta for a couple weeks at a time, and wed work our butts off and then he would fly home for a couple weeks, and then come back. In between him going back home and to Atlanta, we would continue practicing most every day, and just continue working on those songs. He would also go home, write, and come back. We would show each other what we had written, and what we had come up with while we were away, and then work it all together. It was definitely a fun, writing process.
I noticed there are a lot of clean vocals on this new album. Do you think that was a natural progression?
Yeah. Its not that we said, Hey, we really want to having singing on the record. Its just what Cory was feeling, and we all love it. I love the way it sounds, and it wasnt some marketing ploy or anything like that. We dont care about that. We wrote the record we wanted to write, and wrote the music that we want to play. Hopefully people like it, but were more concerned with us being happy with it. Were not ashamed if thats on there. If we were, we wouldnt have put it there. We love it, and its something that like you said naturally came out. We didnt talk about wanting it. It just seemed to fit well.
I really like the juxtaposition between the two. Some bands, with one vocal style, get boring. It can get boring really quickly.
I feel the same way.
I want to talk a little bit about the song titles. Its really creative that you all melded two words together. You want to explain how you came about doing that?
Cory had the idea to do that, which its been done before. Were not the first people to do it. We put a lot of meaning into it, and a lot of thought into each one. Each one is a small summary of that song, of the lyrics, and what its all about. Im really happy with the outcome of those too. When we were in Seattle recording, Cory and Scottie and I would stay up until six in the morning every night looking up words, reading over the lyrics, and seeing what that song was trying to say, and coming up with words that kind of described it. And then we had come up with words that described it, but could also be pieced together. It was a long process, but again I couldnt be happier with em.
Yeah, its cool how it works out. Im not sure if theres a correct answer to this, but since the title is O God, the Aftermath, is there an explanation for what its the aftermath of?
No, not really. Its funny because there was never any big explanation or meaning behind the name. It was actually inspired by one of our friends in Atlanta. He had wanted to have a band called that for some time, and then we were, like, Dude, we should use that for our record title. It came with no meaning, but thats one of the reasons I like it, cause theres not some big thought-out meaning behind it. Which, usually I love for everything to have so much meaning and a lot of thought put into it, but with this one it seems like there would be, but theres not really. One of the reasons I really like it is because we can each have our own meaning for it. This isnt speaking for the whole band, but I like to look at it in a more positive light than the aftermath of something terrible, which is the general assumption. Why does that have to be? Its just because that word is usually associated with the aftermath of a terrible accident or tragedy. But, there can also be the aftermath of something good like a good change in your life or things like that.
Yeah, thats a good point.
I just like that cause its a different way of thinking. Its a cool, little spin on the word aftermath.
Part of the appeal of the album is the artwork. I want to say its eclectic. Does it have anything to do with the themes on the album?
Yeah, every single one of the images has meaning that ties into the songs, and thats one of the main things we knew that we wanted to do with the artwork from the very beginning. Five or six months ago, we decided that we wanted to have an image that represents each song. So, there are eleven songs and there are eleven different images. Much like the song titles, theres another roundabout way that could explain that song. All the song titles, the meanings, and the lyrics are all tied in, and the images too.
Who actually did the artwork?
A guy named Ryan Clark.
Demon Hunter.
Yeah, and he works at Asterik Studio, and he did the last one and were good friends with that dude. So, we worked hand-in-hand on it. As far as the meanings go, we told him what we wanted to portray. I even sent him some artwork I had done, that we had been thinking about using for the record, but then we decided to go this route.
(Daniel takes a phone call)
Sorry about that.
No, thats all right.
Im wasting your tape.
(Laughs) I have plenty of time on that. Do you guys have any video plans?
We did a video for Bayonetwork the third song on the record. Its actually debuting this Saturday, which I guess is tomorrow, on Headbangers Ball.
You all had hosted that before, right?
We did. Its weird that we didnt do this one. They had said, Yeah, when your new record comes out, you can totally come back. I imagine well go back in the next couple months, which would be cool. Atreyu is actually on tomorrows episode. They have a new video as well.
How did that go?
How was being a guest on the show?
Yeah.
It was awesome. Its just unbelievable that it even really took place. It was a lot of fun. Its shot in the same studio as TRL, so we were just walking around
Kind of surreal?
Yeah, it was awesome, though. It was a really cool experience.
Cool. You guys are still on Solid State, and youve been with them ever since you were known as Luti-Kriss.
A little over five years.
How is it working with them?
Its good. Were happy with where were at together, and thereve been a lot of changes in the label in the past five years. Theyve grown leaps and bounds. Theyve gotten behind our band too, with this new record, and they are really happy with it and believe in it. Our last record, Bless the Martyr , did 2200 copies the first week, which we were amazed with. That was insane back then. That was three years ago, I guess. But this one, we just found out a couple days ago, did just under 20,000 in the first week.
Thats amazing.
Yeah, it totally blew our minds. Its number 62 on the Top 200 Billboard charts. A lot of that is due to touring and also the label has gotten much more out there, and they know how to get the word out about the record and make sure all the stores have it. Theyre doin a good job.
Id heard that Bless the Martyr had sold really well, upwards of 20K.
Now, its over 60K.
Yeah, 20K was the last statistic I had heard. Are you guys getting offers from other records labels?
No, not really. Were totally happy being on Solid State right now. Were kind of tied down to them for a little while, which is not a problem with us. Were happy being there. If that option arose, somewhere down the road, then if it seemed like a better place to go then we would do that. As of now, we have no complaints.
Are you guys tied down as far as years or albums?
It goes by records.
So you have a few left in you
Which is cool. Were happy with them, and theyre growing. Theyre doing a good job.
They are. I think thats about it, man.
Cool.
Thanks a lot.
Yeah, thank you. If you want a granola bar or something
No, Im good. Thanks though.
All photographs copyright Amanda Roberson 2005.
Ultimatemetals Review of Norma Jean O God, the Aftermath
Official Norma Jean Website
Official O God, the Aftermath Website
Official Solid State Records Website
Contrary to popular belief, Louisville is not a metal haven. In fact, we rarely have metal shows come to town at all so when I heard that Atreyu, Unearth, Norma Jean, and Scars of Tomorrow were including us in their trek I knew I had to go. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to sit with Daniel Davison (drums) of Norma Jean, and talk about the bands sophomore record, the latest effort, and granola bars.
I was reading earlier in the HM spread about how Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child was recorded live in the studio, and O God, the Aftermath was recorded an instrument at a time.
Yeah, we did individual tracks. We would all play together but just be focusing on recording the drums, but they would all be in there playing. Thats the conventional way of going about it. You can focus more on each instrument individually. So thats the advantage of doing that. But, I feel on this one we were able to still capture the raw energy that we wanted to, and have a quality-sounding recording. Its a lot different than recording live, but Im totally happy with how it turned out.
Someone that doesnt know anything about how music is actually recorded will think that some guy is playing his instrument while hes listening to headphones of what the other people are playing. So, thats not it at all.
Theyre in there just like if we did record it live, but were only focusing on each instrument at a time.
So, how does the songwriting work for you guys? Was it different on Bless the Martyr versus O God ?
Yeah, there were similarities and differences. When we are writing for a record, we just straight-up practice everyday for a couple months. In between records we dont ever really practice. We just tour a lot, and thats basically our practice every night. When we take time off to write the record, we work every single day for hours and hours. On this one it was a little different than Bless the Martyr , because we have a couple new dudes in the band, like Cory [Brandan] who lives in Arkansas. He would come to Atlanta for a couple weeks at a time, and wed work our butts off and then he would fly home for a couple weeks, and then come back. In between him going back home and to Atlanta, we would continue practicing most every day, and just continue working on those songs. He would also go home, write, and come back. We would show each other what we had written, and what we had come up with while we were away, and then work it all together. It was definitely a fun, writing process.
I noticed there are a lot of clean vocals on this new album. Do you think that was a natural progression?
Yeah. Its not that we said, Hey, we really want to having singing on the record. Its just what Cory was feeling, and we all love it. I love the way it sounds, and it wasnt some marketing ploy or anything like that. We dont care about that. We wrote the record we wanted to write, and wrote the music that we want to play. Hopefully people like it, but were more concerned with us being happy with it. Were not ashamed if thats on there. If we were, we wouldnt have put it there. We love it, and its something that like you said naturally came out. We didnt talk about wanting it. It just seemed to fit well.
I really like the juxtaposition between the two. Some bands, with one vocal style, get boring. It can get boring really quickly.
I feel the same way.
I want to talk a little bit about the song titles. Its really creative that you all melded two words together. You want to explain how you came about doing that?
Cory had the idea to do that, which its been done before. Were not the first people to do it. We put a lot of meaning into it, and a lot of thought into each one. Each one is a small summary of that song, of the lyrics, and what its all about. Im really happy with the outcome of those too. When we were in Seattle recording, Cory and Scottie and I would stay up until six in the morning every night looking up words, reading over the lyrics, and seeing what that song was trying to say, and coming up with words that kind of described it. And then we had come up with words that described it, but could also be pieced together. It was a long process, but again I couldnt be happier with em.
Yeah, its cool how it works out. Im not sure if theres a correct answer to this, but since the title is O God, the Aftermath, is there an explanation for what its the aftermath of?
No, not really. Its funny because there was never any big explanation or meaning behind the name. It was actually inspired by one of our friends in Atlanta. He had wanted to have a band called that for some time, and then we were, like, Dude, we should use that for our record title. It came with no meaning, but thats one of the reasons I like it, cause theres not some big thought-out meaning behind it. Which, usually I love for everything to have so much meaning and a lot of thought put into it, but with this one it seems like there would be, but theres not really. One of the reasons I really like it is because we can each have our own meaning for it. This isnt speaking for the whole band, but I like to look at it in a more positive light than the aftermath of something terrible, which is the general assumption. Why does that have to be? Its just because that word is usually associated with the aftermath of a terrible accident or tragedy. But, there can also be the aftermath of something good like a good change in your life or things like that.
Yeah, thats a good point.
I just like that cause its a different way of thinking. Its a cool, little spin on the word aftermath.
Part of the appeal of the album is the artwork. I want to say its eclectic. Does it have anything to do with the themes on the album?
Yeah, every single one of the images has meaning that ties into the songs, and thats one of the main things we knew that we wanted to do with the artwork from the very beginning. Five or six months ago, we decided that we wanted to have an image that represents each song. So, there are eleven songs and there are eleven different images. Much like the song titles, theres another roundabout way that could explain that song. All the song titles, the meanings, and the lyrics are all tied in, and the images too.
Who actually did the artwork?
A guy named Ryan Clark.
Demon Hunter.
Yeah, and he works at Asterik Studio, and he did the last one and were good friends with that dude. So, we worked hand-in-hand on it. As far as the meanings go, we told him what we wanted to portray. I even sent him some artwork I had done, that we had been thinking about using for the record, but then we decided to go this route.
(Daniel takes a phone call)
Sorry about that.
No, thats all right.
Im wasting your tape.
(Laughs) I have plenty of time on that. Do you guys have any video plans?
We did a video for Bayonetwork the third song on the record. Its actually debuting this Saturday, which I guess is tomorrow, on Headbangers Ball.
You all had hosted that before, right?
We did. Its weird that we didnt do this one. They had said, Yeah, when your new record comes out, you can totally come back. I imagine well go back in the next couple months, which would be cool. Atreyu is actually on tomorrows episode. They have a new video as well.
How did that go?
How was being a guest on the show?
Yeah.
It was awesome. Its just unbelievable that it even really took place. It was a lot of fun. Its shot in the same studio as TRL, so we were just walking around
Kind of surreal?
Yeah, it was awesome, though. It was a really cool experience.
Cool. You guys are still on Solid State, and youve been with them ever since you were known as Luti-Kriss.
A little over five years.
How is it working with them?
Its good. Were happy with where were at together, and thereve been a lot of changes in the label in the past five years. Theyve grown leaps and bounds. Theyve gotten behind our band too, with this new record, and they are really happy with it and believe in it. Our last record, Bless the Martyr , did 2200 copies the first week, which we were amazed with. That was insane back then. That was three years ago, I guess. But this one, we just found out a couple days ago, did just under 20,000 in the first week.
Thats amazing.
Yeah, it totally blew our minds. Its number 62 on the Top 200 Billboard charts. A lot of that is due to touring and also the label has gotten much more out there, and they know how to get the word out about the record and make sure all the stores have it. Theyre doin a good job.
Id heard that Bless the Martyr had sold really well, upwards of 20K.
Now, its over 60K.
Yeah, 20K was the last statistic I had heard. Are you guys getting offers from other records labels?
No, not really. Were totally happy being on Solid State right now. Were kind of tied down to them for a little while, which is not a problem with us. Were happy being there. If that option arose, somewhere down the road, then if it seemed like a better place to go then we would do that. As of now, we have no complaints.
Are you guys tied down as far as years or albums?
It goes by records.
So you have a few left in you
Which is cool. Were happy with them, and theyre growing. Theyre doing a good job.
They are. I think thats about it, man.
Cool.
Thanks a lot.
Yeah, thank you. If you want a granola bar or something
No, Im good. Thanks though.
All photographs copyright Amanda Roberson 2005.
Ultimatemetals Review of Norma Jean O God, the Aftermath
Official Norma Jean Website
Official O God, the Aftermath Website
Official Solid State Records Website
