Forever (Code Orange album)

Forever is the third studio album by the American hardcore punk band Code Orange and its first on a major label, Roadrunner Records, following a stint on the indie label Deathwish Inc.. It was released on January 13, 2017.

Forever
Studio album by
Code Orange
ReleasedJanuary 13, 2017 (2017-01-13)
Genre
Length34:54
LabelRoadrunner
Producer
Code Orange chronology
I Am King
(2014)		 Forever
(2017)		 Underneath
(2020)

Promotion and marketing

Promotion for Forever began with the release of a music video directed by Max Moore for the title and opening track, "Forever", in October 2016.[1] Presented entirely in black, white and red like the album's cover art, the video for "Forever" rapidly cuts between scenes of Code Orange performing and other violent or abstract imagery, often with shaky camera footage. Of the video, Jami Morgan said, "I think the visuals match what we're about. It's definitely brutal and it's dark, but I think we have our own specific brand of it that includes a lot of dynamics of dark and a lot of shades of that."[2] In December 2016, Code Orange released a digitally created "visualizer" for the track "Kill the Creator". Created by Brandon Allen Bolmer, the video shows a naked man in a chamber being tortured by a "hellish force that he created from all the wrong he has done".[3] In the weeks leading up to the album's official release date, Code Orange also released online streams of the tracks "Bleeding in the Blur" and "Ugly" in January 2017.[4][5]

Touring in support of Forever began with a January–February 2017 US tour with Youth Code, Gatecreeper, Nicole Dollanganger, Lifeless and Disgrace.[4] The tour was noted for its wide variety of music genres among the bands on the bill. On the subject of the variety of bands, Morgan said, "I don't think it's something people are going to get to see every day. It's gonna be a very jarring experience. And our set's going to be a jarring experience. And the whole show is going to be a jarring experience, so that's what we're all about."[2] The guitarist Eric Balderose collaborated with Drumcorps to create a mixtape under the name Shade, titled It's Almost Forever, that was played between sets and exclusively sold on cassette on the tour.[6] A music video for the track "The Mud", directed by Balderose and Dmitry Zakharov, was premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on September 30, 2017.[7]

Music

Described as a metallic hardcore album,[8] Forever has influences from various styles in metal and hardcore, including industrial metal and nu metal.[9][10] The album also employs "pitch-shifted vocal samples, glitched-out effects and dissonant layers of screeching noise".[11] The track "Bleeding in the Blur" has alternative rock-influenced choruses, clean vocals[11] and stoner metal riffage whereas "Hurt Goes On" attributes influences to Nine Inch Nails's musical output.[9][12] The album has also been described as industrial hardcore.[13]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year83/100[14]
Metacritic87/100 [15]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubB[9]
Distorted Sound9/10[16]
Exclaim!9/10[11]
Gigsoup87%[17]
Metal Hammer[18]
Metal Injection8.5/10[19]
MetalSucks[20]
Pitchfork7.5/10[12]
Punknews[21]
Rock Sound8/10[8]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on six reviews.[15]

The A.V. Club critic J.J. Anselmi wrote, "Despite its ridiculous lyrical moments, Forever advances the trend of mashing together disparate styles in metal and hardcore."[9] Branan Ranjanathan of Exclaim! thought that "Code Orange have put together a record that few others in the genre would have the nerve to attempt making, and have found a number of ways to stay engaging across the set without losing any of their previous weight or momentum."[11] Metal Injection's Michael Pementel noted the "great use of structure, heaviness, surprises, and pure energy from beginning to end in this album".[19] Pitchfork critic Zoe Camp wrote that the band "offers up compelling, caustic, and occasionally even catchy evidence that they have earned their alpha-dog scene posturing".[12]

Stephen Hill of Metal Hammer wrote that "this is resolutely hardcore punk, while remaining completely unique" and called it "a stone cold modern classic".[18]

Accolades
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2017LoudwireUnited States "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017"3[22]
2017RevolverUnited States "20 Best Albums of 2017"1[23]
2017Rolling StoneUnited States "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017"1[24]
2017Exclaim!Canada "Top 10 Metal and Hardcore Albums of 2017"3[25]
2017LoudwireUnited States "Top 25 Metalcore albums of all-time"25[26]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Forever"3:07
2."Kill the Creator"2:26
3."Real"3:07
4."Bleeding in the Blur"4:04
5."The Mud"4:10
6."The New Reality"2:03
7."Spy"3:22
8."Ugly"3:09
9."No One Is Untouchable"2:23
10."Hurt Goes On"4:00
11."dream2"3:03
Total length:34:54

Personnel

Code Orange

  • Eric Balderose – guitars, vocals, synthesizer
  • Reba Meyers – vocals, guitars
  • Joe Goldman – bass guitar
  • Jami Morgan – drums, vocals

Additional musicians

  • Dominic Landolina – additional guitars
  • Arthur Rizk – solo guitar on "Bleeding in the Blur"
  • AJ Borish (Too Pure To Die) – additional vocals on "Real"
  • Justin Ogden (Wrong Answer) – additional vocals on "Bleeding in the Blur"
  • Jeremy Tingle (Lifeless) – additional vocals on "Kill the Creator" and "No One Is Untouchable"

Production

  • Kurt Ballou – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Will Yip – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Vlado Meller – mastering engineer
  • Kimi Hanauer – artwork, layout, photography
  • The Kliq – A&R
  • Arthur Rizk – additional recording
  • Matt Very – additional recording
  • Robert Cheeseman – assistant engineer
  • Jami Morgan – art direction
  • Jimmy Fontaine – band photography

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[27] 62
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[29] 15
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[30] 7
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[31] 12

References
  1. Fischer, Reed (October 31, 2016). "Watch Code Orange's Harrowing New 'Forever' Video". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  2. Markarian, Taylor (January 2, 2017). "Code Orange are brutal, outspoken and unapologetic". Alternative Press. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  3. New Noise Staff (December 16, 2016). "Code Orange Streams New Song 'Kill The Creator'". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  4. Toney, Jordan (January 5, 2017). "Code Orange debut new single 'Bleeding in the Blur'". Alternative Press. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  5. Irizarry, Katy (January 9, 2017). "Code Orange Premiere New Song, 'Ugly'". Revolver. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  6. "Shrum" (Staff) (January 5, 2017). "Code Orange Stream New Song 'Bleeding in the Blur'". Noise Noise Magazine. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  7. "Code Orange drop freaky new video for "The Mud" via Adult Swim". Alternative Press. October 3, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  8. Sayce, Rob (January 13, 2017). "Code Orange - 'Forever'". Rock Sound. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  9. Anselmi, J.J. (January 13, 2017). "Intensity overshadows corniness on Code Orange's Forever". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  10. Krovatin, Chris. "11 Bands Who Single-Handedly Launched Genres". Kerrang!. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  11. Ranjanathan, Branan (January 11, 2017). "Code Orange – Forever". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  12. Camp, Zoe (January 9, 2017). "Code Orange: Forever Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  13. "Watch Code Orange Play A Truly Badass Wrestling Entrance Theme". August 21, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
    - "The 11 best albums of 2017 (so far)". Alternative Press. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  14. "Code Orange - Forever - Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  15. "Reviews for Forever by Code Orange". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  16. Helyes, Perran (January 9, 2017). "Album Review: Forever – Code Orange". Distorted Sound. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  17. Scharr, Conor (January 19, 2017). "Code Orange 'Forever'". Gigsoup. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  18. Hill, Stephen (January 31, 2017). "Code Orange - Forever album review". Metal Hammer. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  19. Pementel, Michael (January 12, 2017). "Album Review: Code Orange Forever". Metal Injection. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  20. "Code Orange, Forever: Die Like a King". MetalSucks. January 12, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  21. Power, Maximillian (January 15, 2017). "Code Orange Forever (2017)". Punknews.org. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  22. "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Loudwire. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  23. "20 Best Albums of 2017". Revolver. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  24. "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  25. "Exclaim!'s Top 10 Metal and Hardcore Albums". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  26. Loudwire top 25
  27. "Code Orange Kids Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  28. "Code Orange Kids Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  29. "Code Orange Kids Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  30. "Code Orange Kids Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  31. "Code Orange Kids Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
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