Code Orange (band)
Code Orange (formerly known as Code Orange Kids)[fn 1] is an American metalcore band that formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2008, while the members of the band were still in high school.
Code Orange
Code Orange Kids (2008–2014)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
2008–present
- Blue Grape Music
- Roadrunner
- Deathwish
- Jami Morgan
- Eric "Shade" Balderose
- Reba Meyers
- Joe Goldman
- Dominic Landolina
- Max Portnoy
- Bob Rizzo
- Greg Kern
The band currently consists of vocalist Jami Morgan, guitarist and vocalist Reba Meyers, keyboardist/programmer, guitarist, vocalist, and visual artist Eric "Shade" Balderose, bassist Joe Goldman, guitarist Dominic Landolina, and drummer Max Portnoy. Their touring lineup also formerly included drummer Ethan Young (of Thirty Nights of Violence) between March 2020 and October 2021, with Portnoy serving as touring drummer thereafter until his induction into the band as an official member in 2023.
The band originally signed to Deathwish Inc. for their first two studio albums: Love Is Love/Return to Dust, which was released in November 2012 under their original name, and I Am King in September 2014. Their third album, Forever was released in January 2017 through Roadrunner Records, and fourth album, Underneath, was released in March 2020, also on Roadrunner Records. The band's latest album, The Above was released on September 29, 2023. The band has also released three EPs, one live album, thirteen music videos, three live DVDs, and six other shorter releases (splits/singles).
The band started as a hardcore punk band - under their original name of Code Orange Kids - and started to shift to metalcore on the release of their debut full-length album Love Is Love/Return to Dust, before incorporating more wide-ranging influences on their more recent albums, such as Forever and Underneath, as they began to incorporate elements of grunge, nu metal, electronica, and industrial.
They have received one Kerrang! Award for Best International Breakthrough (2018), have been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance (2017 and 2020), have been nominated by Loudwire Music Awards for Metal Album of the Year and Metal Artist of the Year (2017), and been nominated twice by Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards for Breakthrough Artist (2017 and 2018) which they won in 2018.
In 2012, Meyers, Morgan, Goldman and Landolina formed the rock band Adventures; this project lasted until 2016.
Musical style and influences[edit]
Code Orange has been described as many different genres throughout their discography including metalcore, hardcore punk, alternative metal, industrial metal, alternative rock, metallic hardcore, industrial hardcore, post-hardcore, nu metal, heavy metal, sludge metal, noise, industrial, and grunge.[note 1]
Since formation, the band's punk style has gradually grown more abrasive and heavy metal-influenced, moving into metalcore territory by the release of their 2012 debut album Love Is Love/Return to Dust.[126]
In a review of their 2014 second album I Am King, Ryan Bray of Consequence placed them within the "American metalcore underground" and noted that their music stood out in exhibiting influences not just from hardcore and metal but also from indie rock, post-punk and shoegaze.[127] In 2015, Brian Leak of Alternative Press celebrated Code Orange as being "at the top of their game, not to mention the hardcore scene".[128]
In reference to their 2017 third album Forever, Lars Gotrich of All Songs Considered described their style as "nightmarishly chaotic hardcore", stating that "there's always been an experimental underpinning to Code Orange that toys with noise and melody (and some '90s grunge)."[129]
According to Scott Tady of Kill Your Stereo, "Code Orange takes...hardcore/metalcore and bleeds them over with modern industrial and bleak electronics, with the occasional alternative-rock detour...creating an almost-experimental sound that's both familiar yet futuristic."[116]
The band has also used elements of electronica, industrial, groove metal, and hip hop.[130] They cite Disembodied, Martyr A.D, Deadguy, Morbid Angel, Hatebreed, Converge, Pantera, Sepultura, Fear Factory, Deftones,[131] Nine Inch Nails,[132] Depeche Mode,[133] Earth Crisis,[134][135] Minor Threat, Black Flag[136] Ministry,[137] Type O Negative[138] Bjork, Tori Amos,[139] Chapterhouse, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Alice in Chains,[140] and the Smashing Pumpkins[141] as influences.
Eric Balderose
Reba Meyers
Jami Morgan
Joe Goldman
Dominic Landolina
Timeline
Studio albums