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Album Review: Norma Jean ‘Meridional’

Published

16 years ago

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‘Meridional’, the fifth studio album from Norma Jean, is a musical journey: There isn’t really any other way to put it. It’s also an album that needs to be listened to in it’s entirety as the start and the end of the album do not exactly see eye to eye. But is this necessarily a negative aspect? Well, read on to find out!

normajeanmeridionalcover

The album starts off with ‘Leaderless and Self Enlisted’, a ‘in-your-face’ attack of aggressive guitars and intricate riffage that ends with screaming, intense vocals and a full on musical assault. Subtly mixing in melody that will become more and more apparent as the album progresses with tight songwriting, ‘Leaderless and Self Enlisted’ is perhaps the best way to start off an album that grows and matures with each track. 
The production of the album is near impeccable. My only real complaint was that the vocals were just ever so slightly buried in the mix, but minutely so. The vocal harmonies are very neatly mixed. The drums have a sharp attack and the bass drum cuts through the mix at just the right volume. The cymbals could have a slight bit more ‘sparkle’ to them, but otherwise were fine. The guitars are panned to create a thick guitar tone that is articulate yet heavy. The bass is an interesting creature as it shifts subtly from a round, deep tone that holds down the low end to a sharp, almost Motorhead-esque sound that is easily heard at the beginning of ‘The Anthem Of The Angry Brides’. Extra little effects, such as manipulation of the tones of instruments by software methods, add spice and zest to many of the tracks. And yet, the moment where I truly loved the production and engineering of this album was at the end of the penultimate track, ‘Innocent Bystanders United’: The piano is recorded beautifully and the listener can hear the creaks of the pedals and the key lid being closed. These little things add an atmosphere to the album that helps make it stand above other releases.
Two tracks that stood out to me as being especially fun to listen to are ‘A Media Friendly Turn For The Worse’ and ‘Falling From The Sky: Day Seven’. However, the bonus track, ‘Oriental’, seems more like an afterthought that was thrown on for shits and giggles. It doesn’t exactly serve much purpose in connection with the album or as a standalone for that matter. After almost 15 minutes of silence, I don’t feel that it adds anything. 
I have to take a second to write about the artwork of the album, as it really is something beautiful to look at. The cover perhaps is a bit too busy but the booklet has some gorgeous art inside. The only thing is that it as a bit too dark for me. If it were brightened up a little, more details would have emerged and I would have been able to appreciate the intricacies all the more. 
In conclusion, Norma Jean’s ‘Meridional’ is an amazing album that demonstrates the band’s growth not only over the years, but also in the space of one album. This is an album that will not easily be leaving my car stereo for quite a while and is something that I highly recommend. 
4.5 out of 5 skulls
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Music

‘The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live’ Concert Event to Make Streaming Debut Next Month

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1 day ago

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July 14, 2026

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The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live

AMC has announced that The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE, the standing-room-only performance celebrating AMC’s premiere of its newly-released The Vampire Lestat at New York City’s iconic Beacon Theatre last month, will debut on streaming.

The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only LIVE begins streaming on AMC+ on August 23.

Ahead of its streaming premiere, fans can preview the concert event, featuring original songs from series composer Daniel Hart and performed by Sam Reid, in Hall H at Comic Con International on July 24. 

Our own Daniel Kurland attended the special event, highlighting how electric the Immortal Vampire is on stage: “It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.”

Based on Anne Rice‘s The Vampire Chronicles book series, The Vampire Lestat is the rock and roll-centric third season of AMC’s “Interview with the Vampire” created by showrunner Rolin Jones.

The Vampire Lestat goes on an electric multi-city tour while being haunted by “muses” from his wild and rebellious past. As his band’s popularity and star power rises, so does Lestat’s influence over vampires and humans alike, leaving others to contend with Lestat’s power in the face of the Great Conversion, an unnatural surge in the vampire population.

Jacob Anderson, Assad Zaman, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles and Jennifer Ehle star with Reid. Executive producers include Jones, Mark Johnson, Hannah Moscovitch, the late Anne Rice, and her son Christopher Rice.

The series finale airs this Sunday, July 19, on AMC and AMC+.

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