Underneath

In rock, technical brilliance can sometimes impede immediacy, but Code Orange use it to achieve total and thrilling omnipotence. They are a reminder that visionary music never wears a genre tag.

This is an album that will still stand as a monument to just how scaldingly intense music can be.

Code Orange’s aim is not to upset the status quo but to rob it. Are they delusional? Absolutely, but the sheer, clear-eyed ambition they exhibit in pursuing the impossible is compelling enough to make ‘Underneath’ an absolute must-hear for anyone who dares to dream differently.

For the most part, Code Orange leans upon evocative writing that pairs heaviness to thoughtful lyricism. While there are a handful of phrases that feel sloppy or obvious (“The digital knife's edge that cuts us all” on In Fear, or Cold.Metal.Place’s “The fire burns down our 3D world”), Code Orange’s self-seriousness almost entirely works because of how badass they are.

You never know quite what’s about to happen, but no matter which sonic mask the band slip on, they sound terrifyingly comfortable wearing it. This unpredictability is what makes Code Orange and ‘Underneath’ such a thrilling listen.

If the Grammy-nominated Forever was their blistering hellscape, Underneath is a glitchy, industrial wasteland.

It's an experimental, fitful listen that rewards concentration. [May 2020, p.103]

Mostly, Underneath is confrontational and exhilarating - just as metal should be when it's doing its job properly. [Jun 2020, p.87]

Code Orange usher in a new era with Underneath that will alienate sections of their audience, and bring their us-against-you might to places no Pittsburgh band have gone before. They've become masters of numbingly heavy and world-expanding metalcore, but operate within rock music more than they probably ever intended to.