{"id":23369,"date":"2020-04-02T12:49:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T16:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=23369"},"modified":"2020-03-27T22:54:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T02:54:12","slug":"album-review-code-orange-underneath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2020\/04\/02\/album-review-code-orange-underneath\/","title":{"rendered":"ALBUM REVIEW: Code Orange – Underneath"},"content":{"rendered":"

By:\u00a0James Rivers <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ARTIST: Code Orange<\/span><\/p>\n

ALBUM: Underneath<\/span><\/p>\n

GENRE:\u00a0Metalcore\/Industrial Hardcore<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE: 3\/13\/2020<\/span><\/p>\n

RATING: 8.5\/10<\/span><\/p>\n

ALBUM REVIEW<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh metalcore band Code Orange had a tough challenge ahead of them.\u00a0 In 2017, they released their album, \u201cForever,\u201d to critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for best metal performance.\u00a0 They now had to try and follow it up and outdo it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Forever saw a metalcore band experimenting with industrial elements and testing their waters a bit.\u00a0 It still sounded metalcore, but it had a little something extra. They won numerous opening slots from this heavy and experimental sound.\u00a0 This album was really the first in what will probably be their classic albums. So, it\u2019s only fitting that their new album, \u201cUnderneath,\u201d starts with the familiar musical motif that was on Forever.\u00a0 This is sure to send chills up the listener\u2019s spine before the synth gets even more distorted and dramatic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This eventually leads into the track, \u201cSwallowing the Rabbit Whole.\u201d\u00a0 This song kicks off with the band exploring more of their industrial side before launching into a signature Code Orange heavy groove.\u00a0 This song melds the heavy and the industrial flawlessly and explores more of the industrial elements from Forever, such as killing the track mid groove.\u00a0 This was the second single, but it really deserved to be first. Not only is this a fantastic first track, but it gives you a taste of everything that\u2019s to come.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you thought that was heavy, wait until \u201cIn Fear\u201d comes to kick your teeth down your throat.\u00a0 This is one of the heaviest songs on the album and is the first to feature Reba\u2019s vocals leading.\u00a0 The band messes more with distorting not only the sound, but also their voices as some vocal spots may be compressed.\u00a0 This song is followed up by another heavy hitter in, \u201cYou and You Alone.\u201d This song features some of the good ol\u2019 signature Code Orange sound dating back to \u201cI Am King.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s hardcore and it\u2019s got the added industrial element to make something heavier than both. It\u2019s abrasive, unrelenting, and features a really cool industrial middle section with Reba\u2019s vocals hauntingly calling out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another of the standout tracks is \u201cCold.Metal.Place.\u201d\u00a0 This song features a type of heavy djent riff sprinkled onto a hardcore song.\u00a0 This song emphasizes some of the more dissonant elements on the album and really is a great industrial hardcore song.\u00a0 It features some more of the abundant industrial samples and effects without overdoing it. The reason it does is because this has been adopted into the sound.\u00a0 It accounts for the fact that there\u2019s going to be all this craziness going with it. The following track, \u201cSulfur Surrounding,\u201d is more of a straightforward clean-cut song.\u00a0 Reba is on lead vocals here and does a fantastic job of matching the tone of the somber, haunting melody. While it is less experimental than some of the other songs, it does still bring up some of the industrial elements for a dramatic, intense breakdown.\u00a0 It sounds like a more heavy, experimental \u201cBleeding in the Blur,\u201d which seems to be what the band is going for on the album. It takes Forever and pushes it further. This song is one of the best examples of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the band doesn\u2019t abandon their hardcore roots in search of a totally original sound.\u00a0 \u201cErasure Scan\u201d is a great example of this. It\u2019s very hardcore and reminiscent of \u201cKill the Creator\u201d without being self-plagiarizing.\u00a0 It later seamlessly slows into a nice sludgy groove. This is probably the most hardcore sounding song on the album and doesn\u2019t feel out of place because the band knows not to dial the industrial parts up too much or too little.\u00a0 It\u2019s just right so that it\u2019s still cohesive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLast Ones Left\u201d is sure to make any metalhead lose their minds.\u00a0 This is another of the more straightforward songs on the record and it\u2019s got an absolutely anthemic chorus that anyone can shout at the top of their lungs.\u00a0 This song is heavy all the way throughout before launching into a sort of half-time slow groove. People can accuse metalcore bands of getting into breakdowns too much.\u00a0 But this song goes with the old, \u201cif it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d approach. The breakdown makes the song that much more fun to go crazy on and is sure to be a staple for pits, should we ever have them again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with Last Ones Left, \u201cAutumn and Carbine\u201d is another personal favorite.\u00a0 This song features Reba with some of her most slick, punk sounding vocals. The chorus is infectious and is chock full of attitude.\u00a0 There\u2019s a really nice dreamy, distorted section before getting into an almost stoner-esque solo. This is definitely a song you can blast while driving around.<\/span><\/p>\n

On this album, some people may get turned off by the use of industrial elements.\u00a0 While there is a lot there, it doesn\u2019t really take away from the actual music. With that being said, killing the music mid groove is sure to piss off some listeners.\u00a0 I would understand getting mad at it if it was in a kind of sloppy or transitional place. But the band is aware of the fact that killing the music could turn some people off.\u00a0 So, they usually kill the song in these places mid-groove where you know what\u2019s coming next based on what was before. It\u2019s something that\u2019s done on a couple of songs, but nowhere where it\u2019s a mystery what\u2019s coming next after the song comes back in.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very calculated place to kill the music so that it doesn\u2019t totally derail the song.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that some of the more 2000s rock was an influence on this record.\u00a0 Especially on a song like, \u201cThe Easy Way.\u201d It\u2019s definitely one of the weaker songs on the record but the infectious chorus and double bass definitely make up for it.\u00a0 Also, this song displays the biggest influence on this record: Nine Inch Nails.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the whole album, it\u2019s clear that the band is taking inspiration from Nine Inch Nails.\u00a0 Some songs more than others, the band walks a fine line between ripping off and being inspired by.\u00a0 The Easy Way is a song where the band clearly has that influence but still makes it out sounding like themselves.\u00a0 \u201cWho I Am\u201d is another great song, but it also walks this very fine line as well. They come dangerously close to sounding too much like Nine Inch Nails.\u00a0 They eventually cross this line on the final track, \u201cUnderneath.\u201d Jami and Reba take turns trading off on vocals and the song just sounds too much like Nine Inch Nails.\u00a0 It sounds like the kind of song a Trent Reznor cover band would have made. It\u2019s a shame that they named the album after this track and made it the first single because it\u2019s probably the worst track.\u00a0 If you took this track off the album, it would be a stellar, damn-near perfect album. But it leaves a sour taste in your mouth in spite of some of the greatness that preceded it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, this is still a great album.\u00a0 I highly recommend this album for any Code Orange or metalcore fans looking for some groundbreaking sound.\u00a0 Did Code Orange manage to outdo Forever? I think they matched it but it\u2019s debatable whether they beat it or not.\u00a0 One thing\u2019s for sure, this is definitely one of their best albums to date.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By:\u00a0James Rivers ARTIST: Code Orange ALBUM: Underneath GENRE:\u00a0Metalcore\/Industrial Hardcore RELEASE DATE: 3\/13\/2020 RATING: 8.5\/10 ALBUM REVIEW The Pittsburgh metalcore band Code Orange had a tough challenge ahead of them.\u00a0 In 2017, they released their album, \u201cForever,\u201d to critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for best metal performance.\u00a0 They now had to try and follow it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17442,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1524],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23371,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23369\/revisions\/23371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}