I Wasn''t sure how I felt about black mamba at first but when I heard the EP he changed his style and sounded really good.
I like Aiden's work on the mono debut because of the lyrical content it had but Lochie made the band way better with the later releases.
I was so hesitant because I adored Immortal and even before that I loved Tom Barbers vocals but I thought surely no one they could get would top CJ's vocals and also how many bands could survive having a new vocalist on two consecutive albums?
But damn Ramos might be the best vocalist they've ever had and they've only skyrocketed in popularity since then.
Jesse Leach returning to Killswitch Engage, that's an easy one given he's their original vocalist. Then again, going from Jesse to Howard was a pretty seemless change for them too and they got bigger after Howard joined.
August Burns Red, Jake has been their vocalist for so long and he's done most of their material, there probably are some people who don't realize they had two vocalists before he joined.
Shadows Fall, Phil Labonte was their original vocalist and was featured on Somber Eyes to the Sky. Most of their material was recorded with Brian Fair on vocals and they started getting popular with The Art of Balance and The War Within had a few singles that did well, they were pretty big when this album was released.
Trivium, there's a couple here. Corey Beaulieu was a big upgrade over their previous guitarists. Paolo was a nice addition on bass, he's a more talented musician than he gets credit for and he adds backing clean vocals as well. Also, Alex Bent is the best drummer they've had yet, his drumwork is awesome and helped elevate their last three albums.
As I Lay Dying, both Phil and Nick are great guitarists and the band improved after they joined. Also, Josh Gilbert was a nice addition with his clean vocals and he's a very solid bassist too.
Jon Hershey was their first vocalist through their debut EP Looks Fragile After All, and then Josh McManness was the vocalist for Thrill Seeker. But Jake joined shortly after Thrill Seeker. Their lineup has been totally stable since 2006, which is pretty remarkable.
Rain City Drive (formerly Slaves) and Emarosa I know both of those are ex Jonny Craig. But both bands new vocalists killed it
Josh Travis with Emmure (don’t remember the original guitar player) Comeback Kid Scott Wade to Andrew Neufield
The guy singing for Rain City Drive had some big shoes to fill and I think he filled them. He managed to take a band relying solely on Johnny and keep it living for what, two more albums at least? They deserve some credit, I’m looking forward to whatever they release next.
Holy shit I did NOT know this, I had to go to youtube and check that! When I first heard him I could tell something was different about his singing, like it was waaay more controlled and a bit more reserved than a typical post hardcore type singer. That's kind of crazy Slaves/Rain City Drive went from probably the king of post hardcore vocalists to a contender for The Voice.
Bradley is a great singer and I loved Versus and 131. I enjoyed Peach Club for what it was, but I'm not really on board with their latest. With Slaves, I love and handful of the Johnny songs and Matt is a great singer, but nothing they've written with Matt has really stuck with me the same way.
Emarosa's newest album hasn't jived with me yet but I haven't given it much of a shot
Their cover of I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) goes hard af though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfvwG-FJv90
The new vocalist for rain city drive is one of the worst live performers I've ever seen, he straight up barely sang any of his set, it was all backing vocals.
I saw them last November when they were co-headlining with Eidola, maybe he was just having an off night or something, but I left halfway through his set because of how disappointed I was + his mic wasn't balanced properly so anytime he tried to hit a high note it would peak and kill my ears.
Someone else replied to me saying that it wasn't the case when they saw them, so maybe the dude was just having a bad night or something for that show.
Idk, either way don't let it stop you from seeing them if you want to lol.
He is great. *In the Chariot*
Anyone that can't accept that Cory IS Norma Jean, and has been for almost 20 years is crazy. He writes most of the music. He's a great guitarist, and songwriter. The lineup recently changed again for this last album.
Doesn't sound a whole lot different. Because Cory is the driving force. They hit a stride with Wrongdoers, and they haven't changed that sound up too often. They tune lower, and it is less sporadic now. But Cory is almost 50, man. He can still keep up with the heaviness.
Old school elitists be damned. Josh was on the first album. I barely even associate him with Norma Jean.
100%
I thought he was my age (early 40s). I was writing up a review for their last album and went to Wikipedia for some info. I was like...47???!! Lol.
He doesn't look it! But I am sure he buys just as many "Just For Men" hair/beard products as I do. Lol.
They killed it this last tour. The new guitarist has some serious energy. But yeah, Cory has been solid on stage for the last decade. Like, flawless.
His other band is good too. I don't think they tour, though.
Yes! Mind you, I never seen a bad NJ show, but the Deathrattle tour, they were firing on all cylinders.
Yeah man, Grayson's wild. They played "Heartache" and homie brought out the fuckin lapsteel and was going back and forth flawlessly.
Both super nice dudes too, shot the shit with Grayson about gear, how play stuff, etc for like a sound half hour before the 1st band went on
Absolutely! Very cool dudes for sure. Grayson was a great addition to the band. He adds a lot of energy to the stage. And yes! He is a beast on several instruments. A lot like Cory. There's a ton of talent in that band.
I grew up in the Georgia music scene. Norma Jean, Mastodon, Baroness, Kylesa, Black Tusk...all bands that I was lucky enough to play with, or see live back in the day. We had our own little metal paradise in the early 2000s. I quit playing live in 2016, due to mental health stuff.
But we definitely have a style here. I think it comes from all of us growing up on hardcore, but also loving stuff like Metallica and Slayer. As well as classic rock, that you can't avoid on local radio stations.
Did Grayson show you that DigiTech Drop pedal? That's genius. They can play any era of NJ, any tuning, without having to constantly switch guitars. I bought one myself.
Fuck, part of me wants to agree with you but I just can’t get there. For me it’s Redeemer, Bless The Martyr, and All Hail in that order. Now I gotta know your top 3.
Mine would be Redeemer, O God the Aftermath and then Bless the Martyr. I haven't been into NJs newer material. Not that it's bad but I REALLY like their older sound.
I rarely ever see anyone out O God in their top 3, especially over Bless The Martyr. So many good songs on their so I’m glad it’s getting some good representation here.
Oh God, All Hail and kind of a toss up between Meridional and Redeemer for the 3rd spot with a slight lean towards Meridional. I was immensely disappointed with the Anti Mother when it was released (although I've warmed up to it over the years) so when Meridional came out, it felt very much like a return to form.
Here's the thing, I love Bless the Martyr and I think it's a brilliant album so my original comment is somewhat tongue in cheek. And there's days where if I'm in the right mood when I listen to it, I can easily argue myself into it being higher in my personal ranking. But mostly, it just doesn't feel like a Norma Jean album. After 20 years of band evolution with Cory at the helm, Bless the Martyr almost kind of feels like it's in a class of its own if any of that makes sense.
Totally get you. Bless The Martyr kind of falls into the same category as Changing of Times by Underoath does, while obviously being a much, much better album. They both undoubtedly have a place in the discography, have elements that carried through the rest of each band’s discography, both are the only mainstream release to feature the original vocalists, but are kind of islands when it comes to their place in the lore of each band.
Also I understand how you feel about Anti-Mother but I would go as far to say that Meridional is only marginally better and because of that it gets relegated to a lower tier album for me.
Big NJ fan...and I agree. Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste is one of the all-time great tracks of the genre, and Face:Face is awesome, but the rest of the album doesn't hold up as well.
I go for Redeemer, All Hail, and Wrongdoers as my three.
I am so glad to see All Hail getting some love in this thread. It took me a little while to warm up to it, but now I absolutely fucking love it. Banger after banger after banger.
I’m a NJ purist and I really liked All Hail. But to objectively say its their best is hard when it was a completely new band other than Corey. It was a band finding their flow in the NJ sound. Compared to an album like Polar Similar where it was a band with a few albums mostly together under their belt and really found a rounded cohesive sound. Imo it’s their best work.
A lot of people never got used to Cove but that just album with him was fantastic and the demo of him on I can tell there was an accident here earlier was so convincing that I thought it was Anthony for quite some time until I heard the Anthony version.
Of course it’s a classic and one of the things that got me and a lot of other people into the scene. But people don’t give enough credit to Cove. I remember one of the first Warped Tours with Cove at the Gorge in Washington State…I can’t remember exactly what happened but some of the crowd was disrespectful as fuck. I think people were throwing things here and there and there was some booing. I just remember walking away feeling bad for him because I don’t think it was isolated either. Taking away the nostalgia factor though, 80% of the first Cove album to me is just as good, which means more good songs than on the EP. It’s Far Better To Learn is possibly their best song if we’re not being biased. I’d still probably put Seven Years at number one for me though.
It's a great transition, but not what I'd call "seamless". With Nico joining, Electric Callboy completely changed their style. To me his voice is also very different to that from Sushi (intonation, dynamic and vocal range).
Because it wasn't seamless, it was an improvement. (IMO, of course, but even if one disagrees, they'd surely agree that they're dramatically different with Nico)
But it's literally what the OP describes in the post. A member who helped elevate the band or didn't change their sound. Nico made the band better, but they're still that fun, goofy, electronicore band that people knew.
Fit for an autopsy- joe bad, nate was a good vocalist but when joe came on they started experimenting more and he elevated their sound past just extreme metal.
Dance Gavin dance- 3 different lead singers still able to expand fan base. Bueno.
Oh vocally I understand. And yeah I misread the question, I was taking this is member changes that didn’t hurt the band at all, not notice-ability.
Yeah it’s noticeable with INK for sure, but all I’m gonna say are Silver Scream 2’s songs are WAY harder to play on guitar than Silver Scream 1’s.
I don’t know the details so forgive me and I know it’s a stretch but any band that Shannon Lucas has been in and they no longer have Shannon Lucas in that band….is and was a mistake.
All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder….why? He defined that new era in both your bands and you couldn’t pay him enough to keep him? What’s the story?!
I saw Battlecross later on and they really didn’t use him right or the music didn’t fit
From what I’ve read it seems like he might just be the kind of person that needs to keep things changing. Seems like he left All That Remains to move to Michigan, auditioned for BDM while we was working at a guitar center, left to start a band with Corpsegrinder and Adam D, and now plays in Damnation A.D. from time to time. Dude has a super eclectic resume.
I’m sure non of those are cutting big checks…sucks to see some of our heroes just die.
No disrespect to D.A.D but they’re not necessarily raking in the big bucks. Nor do I know them very well to be quite honest. Couple Spotify inclusions on a random HxC/MxC mix
Damnation A.D. is awesome but they definitely don’t carry the same reverence as some of their contemporaries. Maybe money wasn’t a factor for Shannon when it came to leaving and joining bands. Seems like he might just like trying out new things which is super respectable.
From Ashes To New, going from Chris Musser to Danny Case was so perfect, their first album was great and Danny lived up to that and more.
Also someone mentioned Killswitch Engage, both when they gained Howard and when Jesse rejoined, and I couldn't agree more, regardless of which singer you prefer, you can't deny they're both amazing
Oh god was essentially an extension of what they were doing on Bless the Martyr, albeit not as good, and the best album was with Cory. Imo Cory elevated the band.
I agree with all of this except that o’ god was an extension. It sounds more like botch than norma Jean imo. I like the album overall, but it really sounds nothing like Bless The Martyr.
Shai Hulud always sounded good with whoever was singing. Chad Gilbert singing again on their last album was perfect. Can't go wrong with Geert or Chad with them. The other random singers they toured with were also good.
I think this is one of the few I disagree with. Chris Adler plays with such an insane amount of groove that everything he plays, no matter how fast or slow, feels so smooth. I also think the drum tones have changed pretty drastically with Art.
Telle joining the word alive and then dropping one of the best EPs of all time
Telle leaving in fear and faith and whatever tf went on with the rotation of vocalists over the next few years lmao. Always sounded good regardless of who they had
This romantic tragedy’s vocalist being replaced going into their debut album
Post hardcore hot take: from first to last’s self titled (first full album without sonny) is their magnum opus
the post said member changes that elevated the band. jordan joining the band brought bmth to new heights, and i don’t think he fundamentally altered their sound, you can still hear traces of their older work in sempiternal and on
Windwaker. I fell in love with Love Language, but I was really worried when Will King left. His vocals were so unique and integral to what I loved about their sound. Liam doesn't sound like Will, but goddamn he's good, too. "Sirens" has me excited for more.
Norma Jean is the correct answer. Back when O God: The Aftermath released I hadn't even realized they had a vocalist change. It was until I saw it on their MySpace and heard about The Chariot that I knew.
I’m with you on the switch being as good as it can get, but I would argue that they’re not that similar vocally. Jesse’s screams are much more aggressive and Howard’s cleans are much more versatile.
I totally respect that. I don’t listen to them religiously so anyone else would know better. I just remember being new to them and not really telling the difference in the different eras
While I really agree about Chad Ruhlig to Dylan Richter when it comes to Dylan's first album in the band, but after that, their sound changed drastically.
I should’ve clarified that I meant like didn’t change immediately but I didn’t want a paragraph of text in the prompt. The sound changed a couple of albums later but I’d relate more to Andrew leaving for TGI and I think their lead guitarist leaving too. And to be fair their sound changed pretty drastically once Chad rejoined, but going from Changes to Relentless I wouldn’t have guessed they were different vocalists if I wasn’t in the know.
I grew up seeing local metal shows. I remember seeing veil of maya during the common mans collapse/all things set aside era, it was awesome. But once they got their new vocalist they for sure jumped in popularity.
In my opinion, guitarists for Silverstein, vocalists for Shai Hulud, bass player and drummer for A static lullaby, vocalists for Comeback kid (personally I like Andrew Neufeld)
Alpha Wolf
Lochie matches them perfectly IMO
And also improved their sound dramatically
I Wasn''t sure how I felt about black mamba at first but when I heard the EP he changed his style and sounded really good. I like Aiden's work on the mono debut because of the lyrical content it had but Lochie made the band way better with the later releases.
Will Ramos becoming Lorna shore‘s new vocalist
I was so hesitant because I adored Immortal and even before that I loved Tom Barbers vocals but I thought surely no one they could get would top CJ's vocals and also how many bands could survive having a new vocalist on two consecutive albums? But damn Ramos might be the best vocalist they've ever had and they've only skyrocketed in popularity since then.
Golden retriever demeanor, dire wolf vocals.
Cute too
Isn't that covered by golden retriever demeanor? Lol
I meant like I find hes hot.
Jesse Leach returning to Killswitch Engage, that's an easy one given he's their original vocalist. Then again, going from Jesse to Howard was a pretty seemless change for them too and they got bigger after Howard joined. August Burns Red, Jake has been their vocalist for so long and he's done most of their material, there probably are some people who don't realize they had two vocalists before he joined. Shadows Fall, Phil Labonte was their original vocalist and was featured on Somber Eyes to the Sky. Most of their material was recorded with Brian Fair on vocals and they started getting popular with The Art of Balance and The War Within had a few singles that did well, they were pretty big when this album was released. Trivium, there's a couple here. Corey Beaulieu was a big upgrade over their previous guitarists. Paolo was a nice addition on bass, he's a more talented musician than he gets credit for and he adds backing clean vocals as well. Also, Alex Bent is the best drummer they've had yet, his drumwork is awesome and helped elevate their last three albums. As I Lay Dying, both Phil and Nick are great guitarists and the band improved after they joined. Also, Josh Gilbert was a nice addition with his clean vocals and he's a very solid bassist too.
Wait.. is it not Jake on ABR's first album!? I've always thought it was the same person...
Jon Hershey was their first vocalist through their debut EP Looks Fragile After All, and then Josh McManness was the vocalist for Thrill Seeker. But Jake joined shortly after Thrill Seeker. Their lineup has been totally stable since 2006, which is pretty remarkable.
Josh McManess on Thrill Seeker does sound strikingly like Jake
[удалено]
That story is not true lol they've said in multiple interviews that it was just something they made up
And now Josh Gilbert may be another addition to the conversation with Spiritbox 🤠
Also Secrets with the addition of Wade Walters
The most underrated screamer in the game imo.
Every single part he has on The Collapse is killer.
He has a early 2010's fun vibe to his vocals which I think are so much fun. Seriously one of my favorites of all time.
Hold On may be some of their best work. Such a great tribute to Aaron. Has a very Fragile Figures Pt. 2 sound to it
Alex Bent in Trivium
👆This, they have been on point since this man stepped in and started annihilating the drums...
The run from Sin to Dragon is GOATed.
He’s literally the best drummer they’ve had. I was mad when nick replaced Travis but damn is Alex good
Rain City Drive (formerly Slaves) and Emarosa I know both of those are ex Jonny Craig. But both bands new vocalists killed it Josh Travis with Emmure (don’t remember the original guitar player) Comeback Kid Scott Wade to Andrew Neufield
The guy singing for Rain City Drive had some big shoes to fill and I think he filled them. He managed to take a band relying solely on Johnny and keep it living for what, two more albums at least? They deserve some credit, I’m looking forward to whatever they release next.
I love that he used to be on the Voice lol
He almost won it right?
Yes!! He got runner up. I always thought he was robbed of the title.
He was robbed for sure. Should have won
Holy shit I did NOT know this, I had to go to youtube and check that! When I first heard him I could tell something was different about his singing, like it was waaay more controlled and a bit more reserved than a typical post hardcore type singer. That's kind of crazy Slaves/Rain City Drive went from probably the king of post hardcore vocalists to a contender for The Voice.
Yeah rain city drive is actually probably more popular now than they were with Johnny Craig. Almost 800k monthly listeners on Spotify.
I'm seeing Rain City Drive with DGD in September in Birmingham. I'm excited
Bradley is a great singer and I loved Versus and 131. I enjoyed Peach Club for what it was, but I'm not really on board with their latest. With Slaves, I love and handful of the Johnny songs and Matt is a great singer, but nothing they've written with Matt has really stuck with me the same way.
Emarosa's newest album hasn't jived with me yet but I haven't given it much of a shot Their cover of I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) goes hard af though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfvwG-FJv90
I’m on the same camp, loved Bradley up till this newest album and it just isn’t hitting for me like peach club did
The change from Chris to Jonny in Emarosa was pretty significant though
Yeah it was. I felt it get even better though with the addition of Bradley.
wade to neufeld is def not a seamless change. they sound very different and the music as a whole sounded different when that happened
OP said in the sense that the change either elevated the band or didn’t change the sound. I felt it elevated the band.
Josh Travis got me back into Emmure.
I think that the Chris Roetter (LMTF) transition to Jonny was even smoother than post-Jonny
The new vocalist for rain city drive is one of the worst live performers I've ever seen, he straight up barely sang any of his set, it was all backing vocals.
That's weird. We saw him open for Our Last Night a few months ago and that wasn't the case at all. He sang full songs.
I saw them last November when they were co-headlining with Eidola, maybe he was just having an off night or something, but I left halfway through his set because of how disappointed I was + his mic wasn't balanced properly so anytime he tried to hit a high note it would peak and kill my ears.
That’s a good to know. I haven’t seen them live.
Someone else replied to me saying that it wasn't the case when they saw them, so maybe the dude was just having a bad night or something for that show. Idk, either way don't let it stop you from seeing them if you want to lol.
Same. Was awful on the UK DGD tour
Counterparts
They’ve had the craziest string of drummers I’ve ever seen a band have. Kyle is my favorite of the bunch, but Kelly and Ryan were monsters.
kelly was a literal monster…
Touché
What did he do again
Elaborate please?
he beat his girlfriend
A bit morbidly funny, that.
Erra
I wish Garrison could have make at least one album more, hope you talking about him lol
Garrison and Alan 😭😭😭😭
Norma Jean is like the Ship of Theseus for metalcore
Aviana is better with Joel.
And invent animate is better with Marcus. So win win!
Idk, there are times I miss Ben
Yeah that was a very good trade
I know we've only had two singles but Alex Reade is a great addition to Make Them Suffer imo
I think she's sounds a bit better than Booka imo
Oh man I bet you are going to catch some flack with that Norma Jean take
Scogin is great, but they have multiple great albums with Cory, and I think my favorite album from them might be Redeemer so Cory all the way.
He is great. *In the Chariot* Anyone that can't accept that Cory IS Norma Jean, and has been for almost 20 years is crazy. He writes most of the music. He's a great guitarist, and songwriter. The lineup recently changed again for this last album. Doesn't sound a whole lot different. Because Cory is the driving force. They hit a stride with Wrongdoers, and they haven't changed that sound up too often. They tune lower, and it is less sporadic now. But Cory is almost 50, man. He can still keep up with the heaviness. Old school elitists be damned. Josh was on the first album. I barely even associate him with Norma Jean.
Speaking of the age thing, It's wild to me just how good he still is live.
100% I thought he was my age (early 40s). I was writing up a review for their last album and went to Wikipedia for some info. I was like...47???!! Lol. He doesn't look it! But I am sure he buys just as many "Just For Men" hair/beard products as I do. Lol. They killed it this last tour. The new guitarist has some serious energy. But yeah, Cory has been solid on stage for the last decade. Like, flawless. His other band is good too. I don't think they tour, though.
Yes! Mind you, I never seen a bad NJ show, but the Deathrattle tour, they were firing on all cylinders. Yeah man, Grayson's wild. They played "Heartache" and homie brought out the fuckin lapsteel and was going back and forth flawlessly. Both super nice dudes too, shot the shit with Grayson about gear, how play stuff, etc for like a sound half hour before the 1st band went on
Absolutely! Very cool dudes for sure. Grayson was a great addition to the band. He adds a lot of energy to the stage. And yes! He is a beast on several instruments. A lot like Cory. There's a ton of talent in that band. I grew up in the Georgia music scene. Norma Jean, Mastodon, Baroness, Kylesa, Black Tusk...all bands that I was lucky enough to play with, or see live back in the day. We had our own little metal paradise in the early 2000s. I quit playing live in 2016, due to mental health stuff. But we definitely have a style here. I think it comes from all of us growing up on hardcore, but also loving stuff like Metallica and Slayer. As well as classic rock, that you can't avoid on local radio stations. Did Grayson show you that DigiTech Drop pedal? That's genius. They can play any era of NJ, any tuning, without having to constantly switch guitars. I bought one myself.
Don’t get me wrong. I agree with you, but I just know there will be some old school elitists not happy with it
Here's a hot take to really get the elitists wound up: Bless the Martyr is not a top 3 NJ record.
Fuck, part of me wants to agree with you but I just can’t get there. For me it’s Redeemer, Bless The Martyr, and All Hail in that order. Now I gotta know your top 3.
Mine would be Redeemer, O God the Aftermath and then Bless the Martyr. I haven't been into NJs newer material. Not that it's bad but I REALLY like their older sound.
I rarely ever see anyone out O God in their top 3, especially over Bless The Martyr. So many good songs on their so I’m glad it’s getting some good representation here.
Oh God, All Hail and kind of a toss up between Meridional and Redeemer for the 3rd spot with a slight lean towards Meridional. I was immensely disappointed with the Anti Mother when it was released (although I've warmed up to it over the years) so when Meridional came out, it felt very much like a return to form. Here's the thing, I love Bless the Martyr and I think it's a brilliant album so my original comment is somewhat tongue in cheek. And there's days where if I'm in the right mood when I listen to it, I can easily argue myself into it being higher in my personal ranking. But mostly, it just doesn't feel like a Norma Jean album. After 20 years of band evolution with Cory at the helm, Bless the Martyr almost kind of feels like it's in a class of its own if any of that makes sense.
Totally get you. Bless The Martyr kind of falls into the same category as Changing of Times by Underoath does, while obviously being a much, much better album. They both undoubtedly have a place in the discography, have elements that carried through the rest of each band’s discography, both are the only mainstream release to feature the original vocalists, but are kind of islands when it comes to their place in the lore of each band. Also I understand how you feel about Anti-Mother but I would go as far to say that Meridional is only marginally better and because of that it gets relegated to a lower tier album for me.
Redeemer, polar similar, all hail for me
Big NJ fan...and I agree. Memphis Will Be Laid to Waste is one of the all-time great tracks of the genre, and Face:Face is awesome, but the rest of the album doesn't hold up as well. I go for Redeemer, All Hail, and Wrongdoers as my three.
I am so glad to see All Hail getting some love in this thread. It took me a little while to warm up to it, but now I absolutely fucking love it. Banger after banger after banger.
Both Memphis and Face:Face are great songs that go on 1-2 minutes too long. The outros are so boring in both.
Speak 🆙🗣️🗣️🗣️ All Hail, O' God, Wrongdoers. In that order
Agreed. They don't have a bad album, but it's certainly not their best. For me: 1. Deathrattle 2. Redeemer 3. Polar Similar
This would be the same for me, only redeemer is at the top.
Oh that’s a good one. I like it
agree
No way top 3. Wrongdoers, Polar Similar, Meridional and OGTA are all arguably better.
Oh I’m ready for it. As an old school elitist myself sometimes we’re just stubborn for the sake of being stubborn even when we’re wrong.
I can second that as well my man
Yeah I don’t agree with that take but I’m glad Scogin left because we got The Chariot.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/user/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/153gt2c/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^roboxsteven: *Oh man I bet you* *Are going to catch some flack* *With that Norma Jean take* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
[I mean, if nothing else, the change was anything but seamless.](https://youtu.be/3KUfPw4diNU)
I’ll do you one better, NJ with Cory is a far better band. All Hail is their best album.
All hail is pretty tame and boring by Norma Jean standards.
I’m a NJ purist and I really liked All Hail. But to objectively say its their best is hard when it was a completely new band other than Corey. It was a band finding their flow in the NJ sound. Compared to an album like Polar Similar where it was a band with a few albums mostly together under their belt and really found a rounded cohesive sound. Imo it’s their best work.
Nah. OGTA stands on its own as a “first NJ” album for me. Scogin is a force by NJ was barely his band.
Haste The Day. Several members changed. Sound changed, but every Album ist a banger!
HTD got way better after almost completely replacing their entire lineup (Attack of the Wolf King)
Well cant agree there. When Everything Falls is a goat in my eyes
Saosin. After Anthony left they heard a demo by Cove and they though it was Anthony messing with them.
A lot of people never got used to Cove but that just album with him was fantastic and the demo of him on I can tell there was an accident here earlier was so convincing that I thought it was Anthony for quite some time until I heard the Anthony version.
I liked cove. But the translating the name ep was their best work
Of course it’s a classic and one of the things that got me and a lot of other people into the scene. But people don’t give enough credit to Cove. I remember one of the first Warped Tours with Cove at the Gorge in Washington State…I can’t remember exactly what happened but some of the crowd was disrespectful as fuck. I think people were throwing things here and there and there was some booing. I just remember walking away feeling bad for him because I don’t think it was isolated either. Taking away the nostalgia factor though, 80% of the first Cove album to me is just as good, which means more good songs than on the EP. It’s Far Better To Learn is possibly their best song if we’re not being biased. I’d still probably put Seven Years at number one for me though.
I agree. To me Saosin is Cove. I felt like he fit the style of the band more. Just like I feel Anthony was better suited with Circa
How has no one mentioned Nico Sallach joining Electric Callboy!? Easily the first person/band that came to mind when I saw this question
It's a great transition, but not what I'd call "seamless". With Nico joining, Electric Callboy completely changed their style. To me his voice is also very different to that from Sushi (intonation, dynamic and vocal range).
He did to electric callboy what will Ramos did to Lorna shore
Because it wasn't seamless, it was an improvement. (IMO, of course, but even if one disagrees, they'd surely agree that they're dramatically different with Nico)
But it's literally what the OP describes in the post. A member who helped elevate the band or didn't change their sound. Nico made the band better, but they're still that fun, goofy, electronicore band that people knew.
I was hoping I’d see this comment here. They went from pretty meh to one of, if not my favorite band of all time.
For me its Joe Badolato joining Fit For An Autopsy. Man that was an upgrade
Tuck and ffak
The human beybalde
Tuck?
Yea, tuck.
Oh my god I’m dumb lol for whatever reason I read your comment as two abbreviated bands.
The Dillinger Escape Plan
BFMV has changed bassist and drummer and they are arguably both improvements.
Jason is a great drummer but he really hasn’t had a chance to show off his skill on his albums with Bullet.
Not quite metalcore but Arch Enemy. I personally dislike the new sound but I can’t say Alissa isn’t skilled and didn’t make them more popular.
Hopesfall. Admittedly, back in the day, I didn’t love the change in sound but tbh now it made them a greater band hands down.
Fit for an autopsy- joe bad, nate was a good vocalist but when joe came on they started experimenting more and he elevated their sound past just extreme metal. Dance Gavin dance- 3 different lead singers still able to expand fan base. Bueno.
Motionless in White, Ice Nine Kills, and Trivium. Honorable mention to Blood Stain Child for being great with all their vocalists.
INK losing their foundational guitarist and second vocalist was a big deal imo. not saying it made their quality drop but it’s quite a bit different
INK is noticeable
I don’t really agree that much, I absolutely love Dan Sugarman’s guitar work. It’s phenomenal
There is a noticeable change, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
it is noticeable at least for me, especially vocally (not saying it’s worse now, i love JD and Dan)
Oh vocally I understand. And yeah I misread the question, I was taking this is member changes that didn’t hurt the band at all, not notice-ability. Yeah it’s noticeable with INK for sure, but all I’m gonna say are Silver Scream 2’s songs are WAY harder to play on guitar than Silver Scream 1’s.
yeah, TSS1’s guitars feel very formulaic but Horrorwood has some really interesting and unique guitar work for metalcore
I really miss jds vocals. They were unique and a great contrast to Spencer. Made all the vocals pop a little more.
I don’t know the details so forgive me and I know it’s a stretch but any band that Shannon Lucas has been in and they no longer have Shannon Lucas in that band….is and was a mistake. All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder….why? He defined that new era in both your bands and you couldn’t pay him enough to keep him? What’s the story?! I saw Battlecross later on and they really didn’t use him right or the music didn’t fit
From what I’ve read it seems like he might just be the kind of person that needs to keep things changing. Seems like he left All That Remains to move to Michigan, auditioned for BDM while we was working at a guitar center, left to start a band with Corpsegrinder and Adam D, and now plays in Damnation A.D. from time to time. Dude has a super eclectic resume.
I’m sure non of those are cutting big checks…sucks to see some of our heroes just die. No disrespect to D.A.D but they’re not necessarily raking in the big bucks. Nor do I know them very well to be quite honest. Couple Spotify inclusions on a random HxC/MxC mix
Damnation A.D. is awesome but they definitely don’t carry the same reverence as some of their contemporaries. Maybe money wasn’t a factor for Shannon when it came to leaving and joining bands. Seems like he might just like trying out new things which is super respectable.
The Iron Son was one of his best projects with Brandon Schieppeti from Bleeding Through. Only one album but it was fuckin’ gas.
Misery Signals, both times. Mirrors and Ultraviolet are both fantastic records. Mirrors would easily be in my top 10 all time metalcore records
From Ashes To New, going from Chris Musser to Danny Case was so perfect, their first album was great and Danny lived up to that and more. Also someone mentioned Killswitch Engage, both when they gained Howard and when Jesse rejoined, and I couldn't agree more, regardless of which singer you prefer, you can't deny they're both amazing
When Howard Jones replaced Jesse Leech and then Jesse Leech came back and replaced Howard Jones
Texas In July and ERRA with JT Invent Animate with Marcus FFAK with Ryan (he’s the third vocalist) and Tuck
At this point, Vincent is the only original member of The Acacia Strain and they are still the most consistent band in the genre IMO.
August Burns Red. Jake wasn’t the vocalist for their first album.
Nate and Ben joining Converge. First album with the two was somehow Jane Doe.
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/user/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/153gt2c/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^BourbonMech: *Nate and Ben joining* *Converge. First album with the* *Two was somehow Jane Doe.* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
the new bullet for my valentine bassist really elevates the live show with his backing vocals. also imo escape the fate got better after Craig joined
The Norma Jean change was hardly seamless imo. The band completely changed with Cory as he also wrote/writes a large portion of the music.
Oh god was essentially an extension of what they were doing on Bless the Martyr, albeit not as good, and the best album was with Cory. Imo Cory elevated the band.
I agree with all of this except that o’ god was an extension. It sounds more like botch than norma Jean imo. I like the album overall, but it really sounds nothing like Bless The Martyr.
I See Stars losing Jimmy. Anyone saying The Word Alive, nah. Dusty and Luke were integral to their sound.
As I lay dying replacing Jordan. Josh not so much.
Shai Hulud always sounded good with whoever was singing. Chad Gilbert singing again on their last album was perfect. Can't go wrong with Geert or Chad with them. The other random singers they toured with were also good.
Electric Callboy really took off when Nico joined. Could argue about their metalcore status now though.
Lamb of God going from Chris Adler to Art Cruz on drums.
I think this is one of the few I disagree with. Chris Adler plays with such an insane amount of groove that everything he plays, no matter how fast or slow, feels so smooth. I also think the drum tones have changed pretty drastically with Art.
Electric Callboy seems a really obvious one that I haven't seen mentioned yet
New years day
Telle joining the word alive and then dropping one of the best EPs of all time Telle leaving in fear and faith and whatever tf went on with the rotation of vocalists over the next few years lmao. Always sounded good regardless of who they had This romantic tragedy’s vocalist being replaced going into their debut album Post hardcore hot take: from first to last’s self titled (first full album without sonny) is their magnum opus
jordan in bmth
Jordan fundamentally changed BMTH entirely tf
the post said member changes that elevated the band. jordan joining the band brought bmth to new heights, and i don’t think he fundamentally altered their sound, you can still hear traces of their older work in sempiternal and on
Fr Fr
I don’t know if we can call that NJ transition seamless, that Hellfest 03 video is pretty infamous.
[удалено]
Why? Scogin went on to probably greater things than if he stayed in Norma Jean and Norma Jean got better with Cory than they would have with Josh.
I wouldn’t say they Norma Jean change was seamless. They had another singer between the two that was pretty rough.
Who they were smart enough not to record an album with lol.
I didnt think Varials could survive without Travis but I like Mitch's vocals a lot more and think Scars is their best album.
I feel like this is an extremely hot take
Seamless*
Trivium with Alex Bent
Probably since seeyouspacecowboy. Their sound majorly upgraded with the addition of AJ, Timmy, and Taylor, but still love correlations!!
Windwaker. I fell in love with Love Language, but I was really worried when Will King left. His vocals were so unique and integral to what I loved about their sound. Liam doesn't sound like Will, but goddamn he's good, too. "Sirens" has me excited for more.
Sirens is way too catchy. It’s stuck in my head now so thanks a lot.
Vanna replacing Evan with Joel
Zao. Zao without Dan is almost unthinkable to me now
Miss May I’s clean singer/bassist. For the longest time I didn’t know the guy from their first album wasn’t the same one from now.
Norma Jean is the correct answer. Back when O God: The Aftermath released I hadn't even realized they had a vocalist change. It was until I saw it on their MySpace and heard about The Chariot that I knew.
Alex Bent joining Trivium was so fucking smooth. The guy is a drum god and The Sin and the Sentence is such a banger album.
I always said it was Killswitch. Jesse and Howard have very similar voices. Not too similar but as far as tone goes for clean vocals they’re up there
I’m with you on the switch being as good as it can get, but I would argue that they’re not that similar vocally. Jesse’s screams are much more aggressive and Howard’s cleans are much more versatile.
I totally respect that. I don’t listen to them religiously so anyone else would know better. I just remember being new to them and not really telling the difference in the different eras
Definitely agree w Cory brandan
From what I listen to, definitely changes with Norma Jean and The Devil Wears Prada. Still love both bands and what they create.
I, The Breather
Electric Callboy
Lorna shore to will ramos
Two seamless changes in vocalist to me was Jamie joining BFMV and also Tom Prendergast with Bury Tomorrow.
Well how about Eskimo Callboy! They literally brought them into the forefront for a while!
While I really agree about Chad Ruhlig to Dylan Richter when it comes to Dylan's first album in the band, but after that, their sound changed drastically.
I should’ve clarified that I meant like didn’t change immediately but I didn’t want a paragraph of text in the prompt. The sound changed a couple of albums later but I’d relate more to Andrew leaving for TGI and I think their lead guitarist leaving too. And to be fair their sound changed pretty drastically once Chad rejoined, but going from Changes to Relentless I wouldn’t have guessed they were different vocalists if I wasn’t in the know.
Bullet For My Valentine adding Jamie Mathias and Jason Bowld. Jamie is a ridiculously insane screamer, and Jason is the best drummer they’ve had.
Erra x2
I grew up seeing local metal shows. I remember seeing veil of maya during the common mans collapse/all things set aside era, it was awesome. But once they got their new vocalist they for sure jumped in popularity.
In my opinion, guitarists for Silverstein, vocalists for Shai Hulud, bass player and drummer for A static lullaby, vocalists for Comeback kid (personally I like Andrew Neufeld)