Norma Jean

ALBUM DUE OUT IN JUNE, 2013

(New York, NY) – Atlanta’s Norma Jean have recently completed tracking their new album which will be released
this coming June on Razor & Tie. The album was recorded at Covenant Recording Studios in Kansas City with
producer Josh Barber (XX) and is being mixed by Jeremy Griffith. The new studio album will be the band’s sixth
full length album and second release with Razor & Tie, following 2010’s critically acclaimed Meridional.

Norma Jean will hit the road next week playing a series of dates including shows at SXSW in Austin TX as well as
the SXSWhat Festival (dates below).

“We had a lot of fun writing this record. We moved our space to a secluded area and wrote off and on for about
two years. We really pushed ourselves to do something really different while expanding on what we’ve done in the
past. We also slapped some old school classic Norma Jean nastiness on it. We really struggled between wanting to
have the fastest songs we’ve ever written to having the most groove driven songs, so the record is about half and
half. We originally thought we would have been in and out of the studio by February 2012. We set the bar really high and once that time came around we discovered that the record wasn’t ready. We felt it was best to push it
back and make sure we didn’t put out something that we were going to be less satisfied with. We experimented
with strings, piano, organ, percussion and tons of live tracks that all will be present on this record,” explains lead
vocalist Cory Brandan.

Norma Jean released their fifth album, Meridional, to critical acclaim in July 2010. The five-piece metal band from
Atlanta has previously released four records prior to Meridional, selling over 415,000 albums. The Grammy-
nominated band is known for their aggressively artful sound which was once again delivered in their seethingly
raw album, Meridional. Alternative Press called the album “Norma Jean’s first true masterpiece” and named it one
of the Top 10 Essential Albums of 2010 along with naming Brandan Best Vocalist in their MVR’s (Most Valuable
Rockers) of 2010.

We have been in the studio for 13 days now tracking our 6th full length record at Covenant Recording Studio in Kansas City. We love Kansas City! What a great place to live. Good people and definitely a LOT of good food.

At this point we have 7 songs tracked on drums and 7 more to go. We are looking at a 11 or 12 song track listing with a few left over for other special releases. We have been working very closely with producer / engineers Joshua Barber and Aaron Crawford. Awesome dudes with a lot of great ideas. They’ve definitely helped us push ourselves to do more with the record.

Our days have pretty much consisted of going from the apartment to the studio and back. We’ve been fairly isolated in the sounds of the studio. Because of that, we have found a new enthusiasm in and old past time… sitting in the back of our van late at night and having a few drinks. We spend most of the time talking about the record but it’s also a good way to get away and hang. We call it “Van Hanglin.”

We really like the idea of talking about the songs and all getting connected to them emotionally / psychologically. It’s something we learned while working with Ross Robinson. It’s a great way to get all of us on the same page and fused in a common vision, even though we may have different interpretations. We believe that if we all know what every song is about then we WILL play the songs differently and with more passion. Van Hangs has been our way of achieving all that on this record and it’s been a lot of fun too. Yeah, we’re kind of hippies when it comes to writing and recording a record.

We aren’t ready to release the record title just yet. I think we just want to make sure it’s the best fit. It’s coming soon.

We spent almost 2 years writing this. We have definitely found so many ways to expand on what we’ve done before and progress into making something new. This is definitely something new, but don’t misunderstand. It’s heavy! We’re metal heads! Born and raised.

See you all soon enough.
CB

We will begin our last block of writing in 7 days, and will enter the studio in December. Norma Jean will be recording our next record with Joshua Barber out of Kansas City and will be in the studio all of December and January, save for the holidays.

We’ve already met with Josh to go over ideas and have been keeping in contact with him regularly. He came down and sat in on our last writing sessio
n in September. We worked really well together and had tons of ideas.

I’ll leave a link in the comments of something he’s done if anyone wants to check out some music. Thanks to all of you that have supported Norma Jean over the years. We still have a lot of momentum and can’t wait for you guys to hear these new songs. – Cory

Complete list of shows coming up this Summer. EUROPE / RUSSIA

NORMA JEAN

EUROPEAN SUMMER 2012

04.08.12 UK Port Lympne Wild Animal Park @ Hevy Fest
05.08.12 Greece Athens @ Seven Sins
07.08.12 Ukraine Kiev @ Bingo
08.08.12 Russia Moscow @ Plan B
10.08.12 Belgium Ieper @ Ieper Fest
11.08.12 Czech Rep Jaromer @ Brutal Assault
12.08.12 Germany Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof
13.08.12 France Paris @ Batofar w/ Darkest Hour
14.08.12 France Nantes @ Le Ferrailleur w/ Darkest Hour
15.08.12 Switzerland Basel @ Sommercasino w/ Darkest Hour
16.08.12 Germany Dinkelsbühl @ Summer Breeze
17.08.12 Holland Bussloo @ Xnoizz Flevo Festival
18.08.12 Germany Krögis/Dresden @ Manifest Fest
19.08.12 Germany Lüdinghausen @ Area 4

See you at the show. Help spread the word in your town.
NORMAL JEANS

Back in August of 2011 we announced that we were beginning to write a new record. We had originally planned to record in January 2012, but as Jan grew closer we decided to push the recording back to July 2012. We had way more ideas than we expected and wanted to make sure we did everything we wanted. To put it simply.

After that, we moved recording to July. When March rolled around we started to get Summer offers for shows and tours. Including playing this years final Cornerstone Festival, and Lifest. (Check out the Tour Page) So we decided to push back our recording again, and we continued to write.

We set our sights for recording in Sept, but since recording that late in the year wouldn’t allow enough time for a proper 2012 release,  we have decided to take a tour in Sept/Oct (To be announced) and record the new record THIS FALL/WINTER. Yes. We are definitely recording this Winter. Stop asking us to play shows, because we have a hard time saying no.

Other than that, we will continue to write and build something we think is going to be great. We are VERY excited for this record.  It will not disappoint and will have some interesting collaborations coming with it. It WILL be heavy and it will be something new. We are pouring everything into it.

In the meantime. Listen to MERIDIONAL. Did you know it has two B-sides? (Distance to Planets & Kill More Presidents) ALSO, did you know that if you stack Occidental, Oriental and Septentrional that is actually one song? Just line up the clicks at the beginning in Garageband or something. Have fun.

We are also working on a DVD.  The DVD will tell the story of Norma Jean and have lots of behind the scenes footage and interviews. Past and present members included.

Check out the shows and fests coming up in the USA and Europe/Russia and come hang at a show. You may hear a new song…

Tourma Jean.

This is where we get loud.

This has ended. Thanks to everyone that contributed. We’ll contact the winners and this week.

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Hey Normachine…

We are trying to raise money for a good cause. We know a good couple from our home town that recently lost a child  We are raffling a signed guitar to help them raise money for funeral costs.  If you’d like to contribute, you can donate to our PayPal account at asknormajean@gmail.com (triple check your spelling, Click personal, select GIFT).

Each dollar you donate will enter you to win the guitar.  We will also send you some other goodies too (a poster, NJ picks, Dunlop Strings etc…)

We recommend that you donate more than a dollar since Paypal adds fees. It’s up to you.

2nd and 3rd place will win shirts, picks, posters etc… We’ll make it legit. Please help us by spreading the word to your friends on Twitter and Facebook.

The guitar is an ESP LTD shown here. Donated by Monster Energy Drink.

Donate now on PayPal at asknormajean@gmail.com. Raffle ends this Saturday the 19th. Thanks & Blessings!

Derr and Jake, standing in our practice space, holding a signed ESP LTD F series guitar.

So far 2012 is ruling. We had such a good time in Europe and Russia. Thanks to everyone that came out to a show.

We have some big announcements coming very soon.  We can’t wait to tell you everything we are planning. SOON!

Normal Jeans.

The good people of PureVolume.com have put together one hell of a FREE MP3 sampler featuring all the kick-ass bands on the Pizza Riot Tour.  They’re also giving away a pair of tickets to all the remaining Pizza Riot Tour shows.  Find out more about the sampler featuring Close Your Eyes, Stray From the Path, Lower Than Atlantis, Memphis May Fire,  Oh, Sleeper and US, plus how to get your hands on those free tickets at: http://www.purevolume.com/news/Win-Norma-Jean-Tickets

After a long stint of writing for a new record, we’re ready to play some shows. We have added the last USA shows until next Summer on the TOUR page.  Pizza Riot 2011 is with Oh Sleeper, Stray from the Path, Memphis May Fire, Close Your Eyes, and Lower Than Atlantis (from the UK).

Check those dates out and get your tickets in advance!! We tried to hit as many cities as we could that we haven’t visited this year.

PIZZA RIOT 2011 DATES
Savannah, GA
Montgomery, AL
Austin, TX
Corpus Christi, TX
Odessa, TX
El Paso, TX
Tempe, AZ
Lancaster, CA
Anaheim, CA
Fresno, CA
Bakersfield, CA
West Hollywood, CA
Oklahoma City, OK
Memphis, TN
Chattanooga, TN
Atlanta, GA
Columbia, SC
Asheville, NC

If you don’t see your city, it might be time for a road trip with your friends! See you soon.
Norma Freakin Jean!