Already having achieved the modern equivalent of “the greatest thing since sliced bread” for a hardcore and metal band, Code Orange are not content to just rest on their laurels and coast. With the incredible game-changing release Forever (Roadrunner) under their belts, the band continues to work tirelessly to cave in the ear-holes and souls of every single fan. Still, they mean business and just in time for their summer tour with Twitching Tongues, the band has dropped a new EP that is the same straight fire they have been spewing, The Hurt Will Go On (Roadrunner).
The three songs just smash you, as hard and unforgiving as one would expect. The opener ‘3 Knives’ has the same frenetic bunch of styles squeezed together. This track is most like Forever, so if you love that album, it is like the next logical progression of a song from that album. Ridiculously brutal and fierce, but tight. Props for the Duran Duran sample that plays off perfectly from the bands signature artwork and wolf logo.
The real surprise of this EP is ‘The Hunt’. Featuring lead vocal turn by the one and only Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour, this track sounds like almost like a lost early era Slipknot track. The song has a catchy beat and a great breakdown, but it also has some industrial metal flair, nu-metal’s dissonant guitars, and a hardcore harshness that really surprises. Another slick sample, an iconic line lifted from the movie Seven punctuates things perfectly. This track is immense and I’d love to see it performed live someday.
The titular track is actually a remix, complete with samples, freaky vocals, crazy sound design effects, and turntable scratches. Code Orange is the first band in ages to come along, wear all their influences on their sleeves and tell you to go fuck yourself if you have shit to say. Maybe only Turnstile is as good as synthesizing many different sub-genres into a cohesive, yet crushing track.
If this is what this band can do for just an EP to support a tour, I have a feeling Code Orange has yet to hit the ceiling of how brutal or versatile they can possibly be.
8.5/10
KEITH CHACHKES