The band started as a hardcore punk band - under their original name of Code Orange Kids - and started to shift to metalcore on the release of their debut full-length album Love Is Love/Return to Dust, before incorporating more wide-ranging influences on their more recent albums, such as Forever and Underneath, as they began to incorporate elements of grunge, nu metal, electronica, and industrial.

[3] By early 2012, the band described themselves as "doomy, abrasive" hardcore punk similar to Black Flag, Converge or Integrity.

[12] Code Orange Kids released their debut full-length album, Love Is Love/Return to Dust, in October 2012 through Deathwish.

[4][14] Commenting on getting to work with Ballou, drummer Jami Morgan said, "Kurt has made tons of our favorite records and we respect him as an engineer and musician immensely, as many others do.

[22] In April 2013, the band released a 4-way split 7-inch with Tigers Jaw, The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, and Self Defense Family.

[23] Recording for Code Orange Kids' (who would soon change their band name) second studio album began in February 2014 with Kurt Ballou.

[28][29] In April 2016, Code Orange signed to Roadrunner Records for their third studio album, which at the time was tentatively due out in late 2016.

[30][31] Leading up to the new album's release, the band toured the U.S. with Deftones in May 2016 and performed sporadic mid-year festival dates, including This Is Hardcore in August.

[38] A music video for the track "The Mud", directed by Balderose and Dmitry Zakharov, was premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on September 30, 2017.

[43] At the event, held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Code Orange were the first band to ever play live at an NXT show.

[43] On December 28 and 29, Code Orange and Daughters supported mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan on their final two shows.

[40][41][47] During WWE's pay-per-view SummerSlam in August 2019, professional wrestler Bray Wyatt, while in his Fiend persona, premiered new entrance music performed by Code Orange.

[50][51][52][58][59] On March 14, 2020, Code Orange performed a live-streamed album release concert in an empty venue on Twitch due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[40][62][63] Following the release of their fourth album, Jami stopped performing drums at live shows to focus solely on vocals,[64][65] with Ethan Young being revealed as the band's touring drummer in March 2020, to which Morgan commented: "He's a great guy and I think he'll continue to earn his spot, but for now he's an empty vessel.

[68][69][70] The album featured acoustic renditions of songs from the bands discography, as well as a cover of "Down in a Hole" by Alice In Chains.

[40][76][77] The video was directed by Eric Balderose and Jami Morgan (under the nowhere2run productions moniker) and utilized motion-capture to create 3D models of the band members themselves.

[96][97] On January 12, 2024, the band canceled their upcoming headline tour and ShipRocked cruise / Pulp Summer Slam due to health problems their guitarist Dominic Landolina has been facing for the past year.

[note 1] Since formation, the band's punk style has gradually grown more abrasive and heavy metal-influenced, moving into metalcore territory by the release of their 2012 debut album Love Is Love/Return to Dust.

[126] In a review of their 2014 second album I Am King, Ryan Bray of Consequence placed them within the "American metalcore underground" and noted that their music stood out in exhibiting influences not just from hardcore and metal but also from indie rock, post-punk and shoegaze.

[127] In 2015, Brian Leak of Alternative Press celebrated Code Orange as being "at the top of their game, not to mention the hardcore scene".

[128] In reference to their 2017 third album Forever, Lars Gotrich of All Songs Considered described their style as "nightmarishly chaotic hardcore", stating that "there's always been an experimental underpinning to Code Orange that toys with noise and melody (and some '90s grunge).

"[129] According to Scott Tady of Kill Your Stereo, "Code Orange takes...hardcore/metalcore and bleeds them over with modern industrial and bleak electronics, with the occasional alternative-rock detour...creating an almost-experimental sound that's both familiar yet futuristic.

[130] They cite Disembodied, Martyr A.D, Deadguy, Morbid Angel, Hatebreed, Converge, Pantera, Sepultura, Fear Factory, Deftones,[131] Nine Inch Nails,[132] Depeche Mode,[133] Earth Crisis,[134][135] Minor Threat, Black Flag[136] Ministry,[137] Type O Negative[138] Chapterhouse, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Alice in Chains,[139] and the Smashing Pumpkins[140] as influences.