Code Orange : "the Above"

 I have been pretty invested in this band's career since being blown away by their 2017 album "Forever".  They broke away from the conventions of hard core , which they continued to perfect with "Underneath". This set pretty high expectations for this album. The nu-metal elements have been dialed up . On a song like "Theater of Cruelty" this is exaggerated by the band moving in a more Deftones like direction. I prefer that to the more Ghostmane like feel of the opening track. There is plenty on this album that might take getting use to before I formalize my feelings about it. There is a delicate balance of not wanting them to recycle songs, but also not wanting them to abandon what made them who they are. 

"Take Shape" was one of the lead singles from the album. At first, there is an almost Korn-like feel, until you get to the chorus and they stomp into a more authentic take on their brand of industrial strength anthems. Billy Corgan's contribution is more of an exercise in vanity than adding value. "the Mask of Sanity Slips" works off more of a 90s alternative rock feel, just pumped up when it needs to be. The soft-to-loud dynamic flows well, and colors things in a Marilyn Manson-like hue .  When they hit the right grooves they really get them right. By my third listen to the Reba Meyers fronted "Mirror" that it connected with me. It is more like the female-fronted alt-pop of the 90s, like a less sexy version of Garbage. They remind you that they have not forgotten how to hit you with crushing heaviness on " A Drone Opting Out of the Hive" , which also reminds me of Deftones. 

Reba brings her voice back to the spotlight on "I Fly" .  "Splinter the Soul" works off a similar 90s rock vibe that we have heard earlier in the album.  They bring back their brand of heavy on "the Game".  They used "Grooming My Replacement" . The programmed drums of "Snapshot" creates a greater sense of motion, while embracing many of the nu-metal like elements they have flirted with already. While Billy Corgan was already on "Take Shape" they bang out something that sounds more like Smashing Pumpkins than the band Corgan parades around as the Pumpkins on "Circle Through". This might be the band's most rock n roll moment to date. 

I think what I wrestle with on this album, is how it is not as dark as the past two albums. This is not to say there is not a shadow cast by "But a Dream". A great deal of this is thanks to the bass line. They remember the band they use to be as the song progresses. The title track closes the album. This starts off with a more electronic pulse before building into something more like 30 Seconds to Mars, than the industrial menace that once flowed through the veins of their sound, I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me, given the changes that have taken place. Either way as it stand this is in the upper tier of mainstream rock music.