On 'Underneath,' Code Orange creates a 'new style of heavy music' - TribLIVE

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Jami Morgan isn’t a fan of middle of the road reviews of Code Orange albums, especially their new record.

“Whatever this (expletive) is, it ain’t ‘pretty good,’” Morgan says.

The frontman of the Pittsburgh hardcore outfit could feel this way for a number of reasons, but perhaps it’s what the Grammy-nominated band did on its forthcoming LP “Underneath” that has him feeling this way.

“Underneath” is set for release March 13 via Roadrunner Records.

In 14 tracks, Code Orange creates a genre-spanning album that pushes forward into new sonic territory. “Underneath” isn’t a hardcore or metal record. It’s not an industrial or electronic record, either.

It’s all of them.

“To me, what I think we did, was create a new style of heavy music on this record,” says Morgan, who produced the album with Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) and co-producer Will Yip (Circa Survive, La Dispute).

Making something of that impact takes time. In this case, it was about three years from writing to release. After the band’s 2017 album “Forever” came out, they got to work on “Underneath.” The experience was definitely taxing, Morgan says, as the band is “very detailed” in their approach.

“The process is what made the record so intricate. We approached this record more like a movie than a record,” Morgan says. “We wanted to make something that could live for a really long time and couldn’t be duplicated.”

A new idea came in the writing phase of “Underneath,” and it was a transitional one. Bandmate Eric “Shade” Balderose suggested Morgan, who previously sang and played drums, leave the kit behind and focus on vocals, with the new songs being “more difficult to do.” Morgan initially laughed off the idea, but the band got him pumped up and he went with it.

Morgan will play his first show as Code Orange’s frontman March 14 for the “Underneath” record release at the 1,411-capacity Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks.

About three years after the “Forever” release show at the near 600-capacity Rex Theatre on the South Side, Code Orange starts a new era at a new venue. But it’s more about Pittsburgh than the record release show. Morgan says the city “defines who we are in every way” and the band wants to make shows here the best they possibly can.

”We’re obviously still growing and I think this (release show) will help us grow. It’s going to be one of our biggest headline shows ever,” Morgan says.

“It’s probably more important to bring a great show here than anywhere else because this is where we live, this is where we’re from. This is where we’ve been the whole time.”

After the record release show, Code Orange is off on a U.S. headlining tour with stops originally set in Indio, Calif., for Coachella dates, which has been postponed. The band hits a few music festivals after the headliner before joining Slipnot for the band’s Knotfest Roadshow. While playing a festival with headliners like Travis Scott and Frank Ocean and touring as support for a big name metal band may seem like different worlds, it’s part of the plan.

The band isn’t doing it for shock, Morgan says, but more so to “show how far the wingspan can go.” That wingspan has also stretched to Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim for 3-D visuals and the WWE for a new version of “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt’s entrance theme.

“That’s what I want our legacy to be, to cross these bridges that no one’s crossed, and make quality music at the same time,” Morgan says.

Zach Brendza is a Tribune-Review digital producer. You can contact Zach at 724-850-1288, zbrendza@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Code Orange
With Every Time I Die, Zao, Jesus Piece, Machine Girl, Facewreck
When: 6 p.m. March 14, doors open 5 p.m.
Admission: $28
Where: Roxian Theatre, McKees Rocks
Details: roxianlive.com