Polar similar

The group was originally supposed to start recording a new release back in May 2015, but on July 9 of that year, the group announced that they would go on a North American tour in honor of the 10th anniversary of O 'God, the Aftermath ^[10] ; Norma Jean also reported that groups such as Sleepwave , '68 and The Ongoing Concept ^[10] participate in the tour.

After a long tour, the group began recording a new album. Polar Similar was recorded in January 2016 at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Pachyderm Studios is best known for the fact that such famous artists as Nirvana , Failure , PJ Harvey and Explosions in the Sky were once recorded in this studio:

The producers of the album were Josh Barber and the group itself, mixing was done by Jeremy Griffith, who earlier participated in the recording of the album Meridional as a producer:

The album was recorded by the new guitarist of the group Phillip Farris, who replaced the departed Chris Day - the last member of the original Norma Jean band.

Album Theme

According to Corey Brandan, the group worked very hard to match the emotions of all the songs with the content, and try to evoke a special feeling in each track of the new album. In general, the record turned out in gloomy tones and this is an example of what came out of the cooperation of each group member:

The main features of Polar Similar Corey Brandan highlighted a common theme, idea and direction that were new to the group. Norma Jean recorded a new album, clearly knowing which song will be the first and which will be the last. This recording process, according to the vocalist, was something new and special for the group ^[13] .

Songs

• Title song "I. The Planet ” begins with the words I hope you burn! ( Rus. You burn! ), Which sounds very scary. Corey Brandan commented as follows:

• The next song is “Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else” , the title of which is definitely Lemmy’s merit (a hint at the 1999 concert of the album Everything Louder Than Everyone Else ). This song, as Corey Brandan said, is very personal for him and occupies a central place in his personal experience, after being in a tough, offensive relationship when the vocalist was young.

• The song “Forever Hurtling Towards Andromeda” , as guitarist Jeff Hickey explains, is one of the earliest songs at the time of recording the album. The recording of this composition was attended by the vocalist of the metalcore group Coalesce Sean Ingram ^[14] .

• In the recording of “1,000,000 Watts,” Corey Brandan first pronounces the word “fuck.” Corey Brandan himself commented on the fact that in his 40s, the word “fuck” can be pronounced, like his 22-year-old children:

• Composition "II. The People ” consists of a synthesized female voice reading groups of 5 digits:

, the last number was pronounced higher in each group. This is a direct reference to the so-called Lincolnshire poacher ( English The Lincolnshire Poacher ) - a powerful short-wave numbered radio station that used an excerpt of the eponymous English folk song as a call sign. Stations like the Lincolnshire Poacher began to appear during the Cold War , when states such as the USSR and Great Britain needed to send messages directly to their agents in other countries.

• “Synthetic Sun,” according to Corey Brandan, is the band’s favorite song. This song is an observation of one very close person who destroys himself and feels helpless in his path ^[15] .

• The instrumental composition "Nebula" , performed in the genre of blues, is entirely the merit of the new guitarist Phillip Farris:

• In "An Ocean of War," it is said about the separation of the engaged, where the protagonist tries to maintain friendship, wants to end relations in a civilized manner despite the struggle inside.

• The song "A Thousand Years a Minute" on the fight against depression and self-harm ^[16] .

On March 25, 2016, an announcement was posted on the group’s YouTube channel that the new album would be released on Solid State Records on September 9, 2016 ^[24] .

The release date and the name of the studio album, “Polar Similar,” were posted on the band’s official website. On June 14, the single “1,000,000 Watts” was released, which became available for listening on the site, then on July 13 the second single from the upcoming album, “Synthetic Sun”, was released. The last third single, “Forever Hurtling Towards Andromeda”, recorded by Sean Ingram, vocalist for the metal band Coalesce, was released on August 11. On August 17, 2016, the group officially announced that it was already possible to pre-order the new album on iTunes , Amazon Music or Google Play .

On August 18, a making-of teaser titled LUMINÆRIES ^{[25] is released} , and soon on December 13, the entire LUMINÆRIES ^[26] was published.

Polar Similar was released on September 9, 2016 via Solid State Records; for the first time, 8 years later, the band released a new album on this label. On September 19, the YouTube channel of the label published streams for each track from the album, each of which contains a video sequence containing the ignition of dead mice, flowers (presumably dahlias, chrysanthemums, peonies or saffron) and dead birds (presumably carduelis or blackbirds) ^[27] .

On September 13, 2016, a video was released for the song “Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else” ^[28] . March 10, 2017 clip for the song "1,000,000 Watts" ^[29] .

Words and music of all Norma Jean songs.

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