ORANGE 9mm

By Gabriel

On several trips to my alma mater, JMU, I would drive to the thump of Orange 9mm. I learned about them through an old friend who was exposing me to new hardcore music in 1997. My first "hardcore" purchase was Progression Through Unlearning by Snapcase—a nearly flawless record but a tame intro. This was followed up with the purchase of Tragic and Driver Not Included by Orange 9mm. It's not hardcore but it fits in with the sounds of more progressive music from 1995 through 1997. It's possible to classify this as a better form of "rap metal" or "nu metal." You know, before we decided that it wasn't cool. I can't say that they really could have taken it much further than they did, either. Orange 9mm was background music to a larger, lousier genre. They definitely lacked the misdirected angst and wannabe-thugster facade.

Tragic is a bit more diverse than Driver as it incorporates some blues elements. It was also produced by David Sardy–previously mentioned in B as the lead for Barkmarket and producer of Helmet's Aftertaste. You'll notice the density and chunkiness similar to those recordings. Where others have failed by incorporating sampling and turntables, they succeeded on a lyrical level similar to Rage. They relied on the capabilities of their instruments to establish groove and beats while lacing it with heavy thumps and catchy metal riffs. The last album, Pretend I'm Human, was pretty awful and now difficult to find. I'd also recommend looking up their EP, Ultraman vs. Godzilla, containing 4 solid tunes in the same vein as Tragic. Orange 9mm–surrounded by "posers" and now defunct–wasn't trying to be something that it wasn't.