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It could be argued that the greatest thing Nora have achieved with their new record, "Save Yourself," is the simple fact that they even managed to craft the damn thing at all.



But that would be missing the point.



Because through all of the misfortune, anguish, heartache, false starts and agonizing stops that plagued New Jersey's ever defiant chaotic heavy music mainstays as they embarked on the journey between 2003's critically-lauded "Dreamers and Deadmen" and this one, despite innumerable distractions, Nora has attainted their greatest artistic achievement. This is their "Master of Puppets," their "Reign in Blood," their "London Calling." Nora is reborn.



Celebrating their tenth year, Nora is the only one of Alternative Press magazine's "bands you need to know" to name themselves after a character in the classic Christian Slater vehicle "Pump Up the Volume." Lifelong hardcore scene veterans (the band's members have played in countless projects, with bass player Mike Olendar still pulling double-duty as vocalist for Burnt By The Sun) committed to the most-forward thinking end of the heavy music spectrum, Nora infuses their material with dark humor and creative energy ("Dreamers" was entirely inspired by a surprisingly profound quote from "Willy Wonka"). It's amazing what they have been able to accomplish since the late 90s without ever truly being a full-time band.



"We never did this because we had designs of becoming a band we can make a living from," offers vocalist Carl Severson, whose day-job as Ferret Music label president puts him side-by-side with art-director guitarist Matt "Portland" Hay. "I work with bands every day who do make a living off of it and I make a living off of those bands, which is awesome. But for us, with Nora, it's never stopped being what it was when we started bands in high school -- we just want to play shows, be a part of the hardcore scene, travel the world. We're still doing it just because we want to. We're lucky that people have been receptive to us for ten years doing this thing."



What's helped to foster that fanbase of course is the band's careening chaotic noise which veers from sickeningly heavy and dark to fast, energized and thrashing. Add to that the fact that Nora was infusing their hardcore ruckus with Southern friend Crowbar and 'Tera parts long before name-checking Skynyrd became fashionable, and you've got quite a resume for a part-time band.



And yet despite the casual and lo-tech approach toward the band, things could not have been any more complicated. Tragedy hit them hard when drummer (and beloved east coast hardcore icon) Chris Ross lost his daughter in a terrible accident, which affected every single person in Nora profoundly and the reverberations of which rippled throughout their friends. "A lot happened to everybody around that. A lot of this record came from that," Carl says with numbed resignation. "And a lot of it came out of what people can do to push something like that."



Scrapping nearly a full album's worth of material after they regrouped, Ross channeled his grief into a couple of songs on the album, including the gut-wrenching album closer "Lighthouse." Guitarist Steve Chladnicek, who joined the band shortly after the release of "Dreamers," has become an integral part of the songwriting as well, making for an even more fully realized outfit.



The sound of Nora reclaiming themselves, to some extent saving themselves, through their art is evident throughout, and summed up brilliantly by the album's title and title track.



"'Save Yourself' is all about finding the desire to keep going," Carl says, pointing out that in addition to the tragedy, lineup changes, creative writers block, busy schedules, marriages and other life events nearly derailed the band for good. "Nora was definitely up and down for a while. You have to just look in the mirror and just decide to be better. You just have push on."



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