To say that Pittsburgh’s Code Orange is having a good year would be a criminal understatement.
Since we last spoke to the band’s drummer/vocalist Jami Morgan, the group has graced the covers of Revolver and Kerrang!; have put out collaborative tracks with members of Megadeth; and had a hand in creating a ToonTrack Doom/Core midi pack. In addition to packing rooms on headlining tours, CO has performed in Europe, with System of a Down; supported Gojira on a full U.S. tour; and is currently on tour with hardcore legends Hatebreed.
Code Orange’s Forever landed on Rolling Stone‘s Top 50 Albums of the Year List, and the band performed “Bleeding in the Blur” live to open up WWE’s highly anticipated NXT Takeover III: Brooklyn, in addition to performing Aleister Black’s entrance music live. Code Orange is the first band to perform live at a WWE event.
If all of these impressive accolades were not enough, the band has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance for its titular track off 2017’s Forever. This makes Code Orange the first rock band from Pittsburgh nominated for a Grammy, and arguably the first hardcore band nominated for a Grammy.
Anyone who has been paying attention to Code Orange since its inception in 2008 knows that this success is not a fluke. The band has been tirelessly hustling since day one to make moves and push musical boundaries, always pushing to be the best band possible. From playing shows at the original Mr. Roboto Project and 222 Ormsby and touring on high school breaks to easily selling out the Rex Theater on Jan. 13 this year, the band has been burning a clear path to success, a road lined with blood and sweat and fierce dedication.
This is Code Orange’s world, after all. We’re just living in it.
This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2017.
Hatebreed was nominated in 2004. They might be the first hardcore band nominated.
I love code orange kids, but how are they hardcore and metal pioneers exactly? Do people realize that hard-core has been around since the early 80s, and metal obviously even longer. I mean I want to give them their praise and due too, but lets not revise history here. Pittsburgh has had a history of awesome hardcore bands, its just that we didnt have a digitally empowered alternative media that was capable of giving them any amount of recognizable attention. Now we have a much more expanded and accessible Internet that allows for other people stories to be told, and social media that allows for other kinds of interests to be discovered by larger and larger groups of people. But lets not pretend that these kids arent stepping in the footsteps of people that came before.
Keep journalism alive not fluff pieces.