UMUR
"Forever" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US hardcore act Code Orange. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in january 2017. Since the release of "I Am King (2014)", Code Orange have switched from Deathwish Inc to Roadrunner Records, which will pretty surely provide the band with better opportunities to be heard by a wider audience. The lineup who recorded the predecessor are intact, so it´s still Eric Balderose on guitar and vocals, Joe Goldman on bass, Reba Meyers on guitar and vocals, and Jami Morgan on drums and vocals.
While some artists "soften" their sound or try to write more accessible music, when they get a chance to reach a wider audience, that´s certainly not the case with Code Orange. Quite the opposite in fact, as the material on the 11 track, 34:54 minutes long album is generally very harsh, unconventional in structure, über aggressive, and inaccessible in nature. It´s a continuation of the sound Code Orange initiated on "Love Is Love // Return To Dust (2012)" and further developed on "I Am King (2014)", so fans of those releases won´t be surprised to find raw shouting and aggressive hardcore vocals, ultra heavy breakdowns, loads of feedback, and adventurous songwriting ideas. They won´t be surprised either when the band travel down slightly more melodic roads and add female vocals to a track like "Bleeding in the Blur" and clean male vocals to a track like "Ugly". Although those moments are slightly more melodic than the otherwise very raw and aggressive album, they don´t add any light to the album, which is overall bleak, bleak, bleak...
...it´s the kind of album that´ll leave you with the feeling that everything is lost, that nothing you do will ever matter, or in other words that the world has gone down the drain. Deep bleak depression and hatred. It´s just overall a really mean album. Not all artists are able to create an atmosphere like that and make it sound believable, but Code Orange skillfully execute their plan. They are incredibly skilled musicians, and even more accomplished composers, and when you add to that a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, "Forever" comes off as a high quality release. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.