Review: Code Orange Kids/Full of Hell Split 7” (2012)

Code Orange Kids/Full of Hell Split 7”
Topshelf Records (2012)
Sounds like: dark and sometimes chaotic hardcore

Rating: 8/10

Released through Topshelf Records, the Code Orange Kids/Full of Hell Split 7” is a menacing slab of wax.

Oddly enough, it starts off with the second band in its title.  Maryland-based Full of Hell play a style of hardcore/punk that is dark, heavy, and chaotic at times.  “Fox Womb” begins with a morbid, grim guitar riff that evokes images of the…well, morbidity and grimness of a murder scene.  The entire song is centered on this riff as Full of Hell takes listeners through a rambunctious punk phrase complete with guttural yells.  The song suddenly halts to the same tempo that started it, as abstract lyrics like “wander swift fox, for love is gone” are growled at the climax.  “Damp Reeds in a River, Dry” is slightly more frenzied: filled with blast-beats and clashing until the end, where listeners are treated to a more experimental side of the band.

The b-side of this release belongs to Pittsburgh’s Code Orange Kids.  Their first track, “IV (MY MIND IS A PRISON),” picks up right where FoH’s chaotic energy left off.  Like FoH’s “Damp Reeds…” this track also slows down to create an experimental sound before ending on perhaps the heaviest 20 seconds of the release. It is during this build-up that it becomes clear that Code Orange Kids is the more dynamic band out of the two.  In “V (MY BODY IS A WELL)” pitch harmonics clash with thunderous drums.  Vocals move to the forefront toward the end of the song, as vocalist/drummer Jami Morgan shouts, “…and when the headlights come blaring towards me, will acceptance come more easy?/Will depression set me free?”

While I love split EPs, sometimes they can put bands at the disadvantage of having such a limited amount of time to prove their worth and individuality.  And although each side of this Code Orange Kids/Full of Hell split sounds complete, I’d think they were the same band if someone handed me an unmarked record.  They play a similar style of hardcore/punk and similar song structure.

The two band’s similarities shouldn’t be a reason to let them fall under your radar, though.  This split 7” is a solid offering from both bands, and it’s available now from the Topshelf Records webstore.

-Ian Caramanzana