Always uncompromising in their creative vision, today the twice Grammy-nominated band, Code Orange, announce their new album The Above, set for release on September 29 via Blue Grape Music. The first new studio album since their 2020 record Underneath, it is self-produced by the band's Jami Morgan and Eric “Shade” Balderose with engineering by Steve Albini.
The band also share the brand new track "Take Shape" and it's official video. The song features unmistakable guest vocals from Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, and is a throwback to when music videos were at peak importance, combining nostalgia with a modern twist.
Inspired by an era where film was at its peak quality, but beginning to give way to the digital era, “Take Shape” picks up where “Grooming My Replacement” left off. The protagonist, played by Morgan, escapes his captives, arriving in a technicolour, Truman Show-esque stage play of reality. Incredible cinematography brings the video through a number of sets and stages arriving at a Vanilla Sky-inspired roof scene. The video was co-directed by frequent collaborator Max Moore (Vein.FM, Knocked Loose, Coheed and Cambria, etc.) and Jami Morgan, marking Morgan’s directorial debut.
Morgan notes of the process, “I have been working on the concept for this video, and others to come, for about a year and a half. I am so thankful to have been able to sit under the learning tree of Max Moore and our DP Eric Robbins. They allowed me to sit in on every minute of this process from hiring to scouting, all the way to final colouring. Being that deep was a revelation and I have found a new love along the way. I couldn’t be prouder of the result.”
Watch the official video below.
As heavy an album as the Pittsburgh six-piece has ever produced, The Above is a giant sonic leap full of twists and turns that only Code Orange are capable of achieving. A composite of seamless sounds, the band blends heavy music, grunge, trip hop, hip hop, and more throughout the 14 tracks.
Morgan elaborates, “We wanted the album to be able to wash over you with melody, aggression, and joy, but it was of equal importance that the closer you look, the more you are rewarded. It was to feel rooted in the “analogue” world, but with threads of digital reality binding things together. We wanted the sound and even the recording process itself to reflect that edict, so we enlisted Steve Albini at Electrical Audio to get the most real and raw version of the band possible, even recording us all at once in a room together for the first time in our career.”
The album is available for pre-order now on digital, CD, and several vinyl variants, including exclusives via the band’s webstore and the Blue Grape Music store here.
The Above tracklisting:
"Never Far Apart"
"Theatre Of Cruelty"
"Take Shape" (feat. Billy Corgan)
"The Mask Of Sanity Slips"
"Mirror"
"A Drone Opting Out Of The Hive"
"I Fly"
"Splinter The Soul"
"The Game"
"Grooming My Replacement"
"Snapshot"
"Circle Through"
"But A Dream…"
"The Above"
"Take Shape" video:
"The Game" visualizer:
"Grooming My Replacement" visualizer:
Having just obliterated Manchester with a ferocious set at the UK's Outbreak festival to rave reviews, the band also recently announced their own first-ever music festival, Code's World, which will act as their hometown album release show. The US festival will feature hand-picked favourites of the band, including Madball, E-Town Concrete, Vein.FM, 200 Stab Wounds, Pain Of Truth and many more. Full info and tickets can be found here.
(Photo - Tim Saccenti)
