"[10] The band later clarified that "roots" didn't necessarily mean that they would write a new album similar to their first record, Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child.

Vocalist Cory Brandan stated that this switch was, "a great idea because we changed the chords and progressions on a lot of songs throughout recording, so we were able to have the bass follow the guitars and be a part of the rhythm section more accurately.

Meridional resulted in the largest number of tracks Norma Jean had recorded in one session to date, with 13 songs and three short interludes.

[9] Meridional is the term used historically in astronomy, generally by countries whose language is rooted in Latin, to describe a southern direction on the celestial globe.

[13] The other three celestial directions: Septentrional (northern), Oriental (eastern) and Occidental (western) make up the album's three interlude tracks.

Meridional was the first release from the band through Razor & Tie since they left Solid State Records after seven years and four studio albums.

[14] Norma Jean also spent additional years with Solid State, and released one album entitled Throwing Myself in 2001 through the label, under their original name Luti-Kriss.

[15] Some music news sites found the label choice odd as Razor & Tie is also home to the blue-eyed soul singer Michael McDonald, The Irish Tenors from PBS and the children's cover album series Kidz Bop.

The artwork was created by Jason Oda (Congregation of the Damned, Hide Nothing) of StarvingEyes, an artist of which Brandon has been a fan of "for years.

Musically, the song was considered similar to Norma Jean's 2008 album The Anti Mother,[27][28] despite previously claiming that Meridional would be a return to the group's roots.

[33][34] The release date coincided with the start of the 2010 Mayhem Festival featuring Norma Jean and headlined by Korn and Rob Zombie.

[36] The ad used clips from the music video for "Deathbed Atheist" in addition to quotes from various professional reviews praising the album.

[39] Originally revealed in an April 2010 studio blog post,[9] the B-side "Distance to Planets" was released as an iTunes Meridional bonus track.

[39] Initial reception has been generally positive, with Norma Jean claiming on their Myspace page that early-listen reviews from Decibel Magazine, Alternative Press, and Revolver have named "Meridional" one of the band's best albums to date.

[45] Norma Jean's previous studio album, The Anti Mother, sold over 16,000 copies and debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 in 2008.