The band Code Orange , which is attracting more attention than ever with their fourth album, Underneath , showcasing a new fusion of industrial metal and metalcore , shared some controversial but necessary comments about the genre in an interview.
In an interview with Metal Hammer , vocalist and guitarist Reba Meyers stated, “I love metal, but it needs more innovation. It’s expected to be the most innovative genre, but right now I think it’s falling behind other genres.”
“You take a look at the lineup of a metal festival, and the headliners are all bands from the 90s. If you look at festivals like Coachella, the headliners are modern artists,” he says. “Festival administrators might say, ‘Oh, they don’t have enough fans,’ but that’s not just their decision, it’s an industry-wide decision. When you treat those bands as ‘lesser,’ they’re going to be seen as ‘lesser.’ A lot of it is a matter of perception.”.
Drummer Jami Morgan agrees and adds, “Metal is incredible, it has a loyal fanbase and amazing bands that paved the way or are still innovative. But, is there any new band that is one of the biggest bands? No. In rap, or any other genre of music, are the younger people the biggest? 100%. That's the problem,” he concludes.
