Based on other corners of the internet it seems it’s cool to hate on this band now, but you certainly couldn’t accuse them of playing it safe. New song is stupidly heavy.
The internet thinks their live presence is too “tough” but they 100% deserve that moniker, always put everything they have into every show
enjoying watching reaction vids on youtube and knowing im not the only one with the shit eating grin on my face. this record gonna be special.
Based on what I've seen, there's a few different schools of thought towards the criticism. If people are complaining about them being too tough live, hardcore has had bands cosplay toughness as long as the genre has existed. Ditto towards hardcore kids who are bitter they're moving away from an entirely hardcore sound. Bands change their sound all the time, and you don't have to listen. The singles from this album aren't any different than they should have expected based on the band's career trajectory. Now where I do think there's some valid criticism is some of the backlash that Jami got from the interview he did with Kerrang around the time the first single came out. I think the headline speaks pretty well, but you can dig into the interview for some further context: Code Orange: "Our New Record Is More Relevant Than Anything That’s Coming Out In Rock And Metal This Year" — Kerrang! If we're talking about the mainstream, I could see how you could make that argument. A lot of mainstream rock/metal has stagnated over the last decade. If we're talking about underground heavy music, there's a bunch of bands doing things that are just as relevant as Code Orange. Heck, they've got a couple of them on tour with them on their headliner in the spring (Show Me The Body, Jesus Piece). I could see how that would rub a lot of people the wrong way depending on where you're coming from when reading this. For the record, I'd love for them to put their money where Jami's statement suggests. The new song is my favorite of theirs they've put out since I Am King so I'm more hyped for this record than I was Forever.
I think it’s great bands that are getting more popular are giving more attention to the hardcore scene. Good for Code Orange. They have a vision and they are in it and being successful at what they do.
I'm still not a big fan of the production on the tracks so far. Makes them feel smaller (that's the only word I could think of to describe it).
Someone else in the thread alluded to the guitars not having enough bite and I think that’s spot on. I think the Ballou/Yip partnership was really helpful. That moment at 2:45 when they bring back the main riff could sound so mean