Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child — Norma Jean

Norma Jean's Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child came out on Solid State on 13 August 2002. Adam Dutkiewicz produced it with the band at Zing Studio in Westfield, Massachusetts. Josh Scogin sang on it, and it was his only Norma Jean album. It was also the band's first under the Norma Jean name, after the Luti-Kriss years. It runs close to an hour, which Cross Rhythms summed up as an hour of unrelenting guitar noise. The band recorded it live with very few overdubs.

Who they were in 2002

In 2002 Norma Jean was a Christian metalcore band on Solid State, fresh from changing its name. The faith is right there on the lyric sheet, without any youth-group gloss. musicOMH and Jesus Freak Hideout both pointed to the line "Christ is not a fashion" on "Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste."

What the critics keep saying about this album

Jason D. Taylor's AllMusic review sums up the chaos. He called it bludgeoning, macabre hardcore and metal, as confusing as it is cataclysmic. He said few bands could put a song of more than fifteen minutes in the middle of an album and keep the momentum going, and that Norma Jean pulls it off with "Pretty Soon, I Don't Know What, but Something Is Going to Happen." His main complaint was that the band sometimes gets lost in the carnage and lets songs drag on. Still, he called it an intimidating album of gargantuan proportions, and said Dutkiewicz captured the mayhem without letting it turn to mud.

Mike Rimmer at Cross Rhythms gave it 9 out of 10 and called it an hour of unrelenting guitar noise from the band that used to record as Luti-Kriss. Andy Kelly at Jesus Freak Hideout heard a hardcore revolution, technically and musically astounding, with gritty production that still rose above most similar bands. He noted that "Face:Face" was inspired by Proverbs 30, and that "Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste" features mewithoutYou's singer. His downsides were some repetition and a second half that's weaker than the first. Even so, he said hardcore doesn't get much better than this.

musicOMH heard Converge in the riffs but didn't call the record a copy. It praised riffs that slow down, speed up, stop and start, called the guitars on Dutkiewicz's production jaw-dropping and said Scogin sounded like he gargled sulphuric acid for breakfast.

Four tracks from this LP

The Entire World Is Counting on Me, and They Don't Even Know It opens the album. musicOMH heard gargantuan riffs that stop and start, and Kelly heard Scogin's vocals improve with less reliance on effects.

Face:Face draws on Proverbs 30, according to Jesus Freak Hideout. It's one of the two songs from the album that got a music video, along with "Memphis."

Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste has the guest vocal from mewithoutYou's singer and the "Christ is not a fashion" line. It's the song people name first.

Pretty Soon, I Don't Know What, but Something Is Going to Happen is the fifteen-minute centrepiece that Taylor said doesn't kill the album's momentum. Most metalcore albums still wouldn't try it.

"I Used to Hate Cell Phones, but Now I Hate Car Accidents" and "Organized Beyond Recognition" are worth hearing too. Taylor's point about the band getting lost in the carnage and Kelly's point about a weaker second half both still stand.

The score

It scores a 9/10.

What keeps it off a ten? Taylor said the band gets lost in the carnage, and Kelly heard repetition and a softer second half. What keeps it above an eight? Cross Rhythms gave it 9 out of 10 and Jesus Freak Hideout called it a hardcore revolution. Dutkiewicz kept the mayhem in focus, and "Memphis" and "Face:Face" have outlasted the lineup that recorded them. It was Scogin's only Norma Jean album, and it's a landmark.

Where this album sits on Loud Faith

This is Christian metalcore on Solid State in 2002 with nothing held back. It meant sessions at Zing, riffs that owed a debt to Converge, Proverbs on the lyric sheet and a fifteen-minute song in the middle of the record. Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child is the album that marked the new name, with Scogin out front for one record only and Dutkiewicz keeping the chaos in focus.

Where to buy: Norma Jean sell their music directly on their official Bandcamp page. We don't earn anything from this link.