Photo - Vivien Killilea / Getty Images
Code Orange are a band that have soared to incredible heights over the last few years, breaking barriers within the hardcore/metalcore genre that have rarely been seen, if at all; a Grammy nomination, tours with bands like Slipknot, System Of A Down and Deftones along with appearances on WWE NxT have made Code Orange a band that simply can't be ignored.
Reba Meyers is one of their three founding members alongside drummer/vocalist Jami Morgan and now keyboardist Eric "Shade" Balderose, and we wanted to look at her influence within the band ahead of the release of their fourth album Underneath on March 13.
Reba's Background
Photo - Total Guitar Magazine / Getty Images
Reba met Jami when they were in seventh grade at only 13 years old. In a chat with Metalinsider, Jami told them about their initial bond over alternative music:
"Punk, goth, hardcore, metal, anything we could get our hands on at age 13. We used to like Operation Ivy, we used to go to Anti-Flag shows, Behind Enemy Lines in Pittsburgh. We started meeting people that were more into hardcore and in different kinds of ways."
The two formed Code Orange Kids with Eric back in 2008, with Reba on bass duties when she was only around 14 years old, having already taken an interest in punk music and bass. The band quickly began playing shows, releasing their first demo in 2009 and quickly gaining a following across America through more EP and split releases. Reba moved from bass to guitar in 2011, before signing to Deathwish and releasing their debut album Love Is Love/Return to Dust in 2012.
The band became known as Code Orange from there on out, releasing I Am King in 2014 and catching the attention of Roadrunner to release their third record Forever in 2016.
Playing Style
Photo - Total Guitar Magazine / Getty Images
Code Orange don't mess about when it comes to writing songs. They've always had an air of confidence in writing whatever they want and not caring what people think. Reba's dissonant and frantic musical footprint has been stamped firmly across Code Orange's distinct sound from the very start, which has evolved over time to include elements of harsh noise, industrial and sludge.
Her notable contributions include rhythmic variety in heavy beatdown sections, clean vocals in tracks like 'Bleeding in the Blur', and some super interesting dissonant guitar harmonics to create an unsettling atmosphere for the listener in both loud and quiet moments.
Here's the band's latest single 'Swallowing the Rabbit Whole', which displays some of the weird and wonderful heavy sounds Reba is able to squeeze out of her instrument:
Leading the Way
Photo - Total Guitar Magazine / Getty Images
Reba had the honour of being the first female guitarist to have co-designed and released her own signature ESP guitar in 2019 - the Reba Meyers LTD RM-600. In an interview with ESP after releasing the six-string guitar, she had this to say on how women are seen in heavy music:
"...the way guitars are marketed are primarily geared toward men. When you see ads for guitars, especially metal-style guitars, you never even see women. And if you do, a lot of times it feels like a ploy just to create more revenue, and not a genuine intention to be inclusive.
When someone goes to the ESP site and looks who the artists are, they see Code Orange, and it isn’t necessarily a conscious thought, but helps start the process to make it more in the norm to see a woman guitar player in heavy band, representing a heavy guitar company.
It’s not just a matter of working with bands who happen to have women either. What it’s about is finding bands with women who can help lead and inspire others, and be looked up to in a positive way. Not just fly-by-night bands, that won’t have lasting effects.”
Code Orange's fourth record Underneath is out on March 13 - pre-order it from our webstore below!
Pre-order Code Orange's 'Underneath' here.
Listen to Code Orange now.
