Code Orange
Forever
Release Date: Jan 13, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Heavy Metal
Record label: Roadrunner Records
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Album Review: Forever by Code Orange
Excellent, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Pittsburgh metalcore heavyweights Code Orange set an incredibly high standard with their breakout LP I Am King, yet with their latest offering, Forever, they've surpassed themselves on multiple fronts. By incorporating unconventional dynamics, sounds and structuring, the band have pushed their sound to new and interesting places.One of the techniques used most frequently here is the abrupt, jarring transitions between verses and riffs, a technique that harkens back to their debut, Love Is Love/Return to Dust. Where some might see the lack of conventional transitions as a detriment and a mark of sloppiness, a closer looks reveals that it's the result of meticulous effort.
Based on rating 8/10
Prepare your ears. Following up the bug-eyed, scorched earth fury of 2014’s ‘I Am King’ was never going to be easy, but Code Orange conjure something even more nightmarish on ‘Forever’. It’s another dose of mutant, future-proof metallic hardcore; a patchwork of distorted vocals, industrial beats, spine-chilling drones and fucking massive grooves, suffused with pure disgust.
Based on rating 7.5/10
A warning to the Warped set: The band once known as Code Orange Kids are children no longer. The Pittsburgh savants—musical partners since high school, barely legal at the time of their 2012 signing, long barred from the club circuit due to their age—have certainly paid their dues. They’ve spent the past decade plotting and pummeling their way from the hardcore underground to rock’s MainStage, touring with everyone from Full of Hell and Touché Amoré to Deftones and the Misfits and recording under the guidance of two of the most respected luminaries in their genre.
Opinion: Great
Deservingly heralded as one of today’s most forward-thinking hardcore acts, Code Orange also projects a hyper-seriousness that’s easy to mock. But the band’s lack of self-awareness with lyrics and demeanor is overshadowed by its music. Although the lyrics of Forever sometimes seem like something from an angry teenager’s diary, the LP’s instrumentation is brilliantly structured and, of course, crushing.
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