{"id":2596,"date":"2017-04-06T10:16:50","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T10:16:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/"},"modified":"2017-04-06T10:16:50","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T10:16:50","slug":"interview-code-orange-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Code Orange"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band”<\/h1>\n

\u201cTook the crown and now we break it\u201d<\/i> – a particularly powerful line from the title track of ‘Forever’<\/i>, the breakthrough album from Pittsburgh hardcore rule breakers Code Orange<\/b>. Already a frontrunner for album of the year, it\u2019s a chilling, exhilarating experience that takes the metallic hardcore blueprint established on earlier releases ‘Love Is Love\/Return To Dust’<\/i> and ‘I Am King’<\/i>, and distorts in in increasingly imaginative ways, bringing in dark ambience, pulsing synthesisers and even elements of grunge. The result is an almost cinematic experience, standing at the forefront of hardcore, and taking a huge step to the left.<\/p>\n

Indeed, this new record is taking Code Orange<\/b> into new territories, and after a US headline tour, the first step of bringing their sound to new places begins with a European run with Roadrunner label mates Gojira. On paper, it might seem like a bit of an odd couple, but both bands are expanding their audiences and moving further and further away from the genres that spawned them. Sitting down with guitarist\/vocalist Reba Meyers, she muses on the tour thus far.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been good, I love Gojira\u2026 they’ve worked super hard and that\u2019s the exact kind [of band we want to work with]. They reach a lot of metal fans that don\u2019t know who we are, but I think we\u2019ve been able to get to some of them at least, it\u2019s always hard to tell right when you\u2019re in it. We knew when they offered us this tour it would be good for us, we click with them I think and in a way that makes sense.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Although the band share values on paper, one of the biggest talking points of this tour is Code Orange<\/b>\u2019s ability to win over such this new audience, and indeed, how ‘Forever’<\/i>\u2019s more challenging material would translate live. With many stop\/start moments to keep the listener on their toes, making these moments work in a live environment was key for the band. \u201cWe practised every day after recording,\u201d<\/i> explains Myers. \u201cWe were thinking about that the whole time like \u2018ok this will be really hard, how do we figure out?\u2019 Sometimes you have to figure out different ways of doing things but, we always make sure the way we figure it out is if not cooler, just as cool as the record.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

‘Forever’<\/i> marks a dramatic sonic shift in the band\u2019s live operation, and has resulted in a slight personnel change as a result. With such a dramatic expansion to their sound, Eric \u2018Shade\u2019 Balderose\u2019s [guitar\/vocals\/synths] role became less guitar focussed and more about making the new electronic elements present on the album just as big a part of their live show. As a result, guitarist Dominic Landolina of Code Orange<\/b> alt-rock side project Adventures (of which Meyers performs lead vocals) came in to fill in the gaps; with the band being such a tight unit, it was only logical to bring in someone so close to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been our friend since forever, I\u2019ve known him since I was 4 years old,“<\/i> Meyers tells us. "We weren\u2019t sure how we wanted to go down with it, but it just happened. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen in the future, who knows what will change. We change things all the time and do whatever we want basically, but he\u2019s in it right now and he\u2019s killing it.”<\/i><\/p>\n

Lending a hand with the writing process, Landolina\u2019s inclusion in the band\u2019s touring line-up made perfect sense. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome,\u201d<\/i> continues Meyers. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want there to be any teething process. We knew if there was one it wouldn\u2019t work, we never want to go up there with it half figured out.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2018Half figured out\u2019 isn\u2019t a phrase Code Orange<\/b> have associated with for some time. On previous record ‘I Am King’<\/i>, Meyers showed plenty of melodic vocal potential, as the creepy, dirgey chorus of ‘Dreams In Inertia’<\/i> amply displayed. As great as this record is though, the dramatic leap in quality in ‘Forever’<\/i> displays enormous personal improvement for each member. \u201cI think every person in the band had things [they wanted to improve on], which is why everything got better. Jami [Morgan, drums, vocals] has a big vision for the band, it\u2019s always been his thing but every person has their part. For me, I wanted to sing and for it to be powerful, much more powerful than on ‘I Am King’<\/i>, and I think with ‘Bleeding In The Blur’<\/i> it was like \u2018now\u2019s my chance to do this right\u2019, it wasn\u2019t just some little weird parts. Everyone had their piece and I think that\u2019s what makes it all fit together well.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Undoubtedly a standout moment on the record, ‘Bleeding In The Blur’<\/i> best represents the grungier side of Code Orange<\/b>\u2019s sound, and for that reason alone, it’s the most likely to really cut into the mainstream. Meyers\u2019 powerful but vulnerable vocal performance sees the band take a shot at processed, industry darlings who are there for no other reason to \u201cfill the void\u201d and \u201coil the machine\u201d. Yes, the chorus is one of the biggest you\u2019re likely to hear on a heavy record this year, but when layered with the odd death growl, feedback and a gnarly hardcore guitar tone, it\u2019s apparent that this is less about shooting for the mainstream and more about corrupting as much ground with their sonic darkness as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had that in our sound for a long time, we\u2019ve always had songs like that. You could even say we practised that with ‘Adventures’ in a different way, just writing more of a \u2018song\u2019 that\u2019s a standard structure. The vibe of the song fits with the record and we\u2019ve always tried to fit that in with Code Orange<\/b> too. It\u2019s just another part of us and people can say what they want about what we\u2019re \u2018trying\u2019 to do, but we\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true you can\u2019t be all things to all people (and albums that attempt to, usually fail miserably), one can\u2019t help but feel Code Orange<\/b> have a little something for everyone, while maintaining their distinct attitude and presence. Despite this, being as musically challenging as they are, saying \u2018see this band now before they blow up\u2019 would be overly optimistic. This summer however, the band will embark on a European arena run with System Of A Down, a band who were once just as much the outsiders, if not more so. Just like Code Orange<\/b> themselves, you can count on what happens from here on out to be nothing, if not fascinating, to watch.<\/p>\n

‘Forever’<\/i> by Code Orange<\/b> is out now on Roadrunner Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Code Orange<\/b> links: Website<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Josh Graham (@jollyboyjosh_<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band” \u201cTook the crown and now we break it\u201d – a particularly powerful line from the title track of ‘Forever’, the breakthrough album from Pittsburgh hardcore rule breakers Code Orange. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[1496,1544,1543,35],"class_list":["post-2596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-code-orange","tag-forever","tag-reba-meyers","tag-roadrunner-records"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterview: Code Orange - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band” \u201cTook the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview: Code Orange - Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band” \u201cTook the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Already Heard Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-06T10:16:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_oczgq9lfGb1r8no6so5_r23_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@alreadyhearduk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@alreadyhearduk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Interview: Code Orange - Already Heard Staging","description":"“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band” \u201cTook the","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Interview: Code Orange - Already Heard Staging","og_description":"“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band” \u201cTook the","og_url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/","og_site_name":"Already Heard Staging","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/","article_published_time":"2017-04-06T10:16:50+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_oczgq9lfGb1r8no6so5_r23_1280.jpg","width":1,"height":1,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@alreadyhearduk","twitter_site":"@alreadyhearduk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/508ed29771f8c5b56fdcf4695f22a2a3"},"headline":"Interview: Code Orange","datePublished":"2017-04-06T10:16:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/"},"wordCount":1242,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_oczgq9lfGb1r8no6so5_r23_1280.jpg","keywords":["Code Orange","Forever","Reba Meyers","Roadrunner Records"],"articleSection":["Interviews"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/","name":"Interview: Code Orange - Already Heard Staging","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_oczgq9lfGb1r8no6so5_r23_1280.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-06T10:16:50+00:00","description":"“We\u2019re just writing music that we love and we want it to all make sense together. We\u2019re trying to not just be a one colour band” \u201cTook the","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-code-orange-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_oczgq9lfGb1r8no6so5_r23_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_oczgq9lfGb1r8no6so5_r23_1280.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/","name":"Already Heard Staging","description":"Covering the best in alternative music as best as we can","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#organization","name":"Already Heard","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AH-relaunch-logo-white-bg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/AH-relaunch-logo-white-bg.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Already Heard"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlreadyHeard\/","https:\/\/x.com\/alreadyhearduk","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/alreadyheard\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/already-heard\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/AlreadyHeardMusic","https:\/\/tiktok.com\/@alreadyhearduk","https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@alreadyheard"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/#\/schema\/person\/508ed29771f8c5b56fdcf4695f22a2a3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcf4d491c971b5225a3e3c450225c0ae6ba0217be8f6ecb776a9506d4aa5595f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcf4d491c971b5225a3e3c450225c0ae6ba0217be8f6ecb776a9506d4aa5595f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bcf4d491c971b5225a3e3c450225c0ae6ba0217be8f6ecb776a9506d4aa5595f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}