Orthodox - A Door Left Open
- Samuel Stevens
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Fifteen years deep into their evolution, Orthodox return with A Door Left Open, set for a June 6, 2025, release through Century Media, is a sonically expansive, emotionally unravelling statement that sets a new benchmark not only for the Nashville quartet but for modern metallic hardcore at large. With their fifth studio album, the band don’t so much smash through the door as much as they leave it swinging ominously, letting dread crawl in from both sides.
Produced by Randy LeBoeuf (Jesus Piece, Kublai Khan TX, Dying Wish), A Door Left Open refines Orthodox’s unholy marriage of nu-metal textures, hardcore brutality, and metalcore precision. But it does more than refine—it reimagines. The chaotic rhythms, signature whiplash riffs, and Adam Easterling’s thunderous vocals have never sounded sharper, more focused, or more unrelenting.
Opening with “Can You Save Me?”, the band plunges the listener into a realm of vulnerability and violence. Easterling’s voice is a pillar of controlled rage—less unhinged than previous releases, but all the more commanding for its clarity. Throughout the twelve-track barrage, the frontman moves with brute force, shedding metaphor in favour of visceral truths. His performances on tracks like “Will You Hate Me?” and “Step Inside” are emotionally charged moments of catharsis, driven by a recognition that “life will kick your ass, whether you want it to or not.”
The album’s singles serve as entry points into the varied but tightly constructed world Orthodox have built. “Commit to Consequence,” featuring Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld, is a metalcore sledgehammer—a bulletproof anthem both musically and thematically. “Searching for a Pulse” goes further still, folding groove-metal’s sludgy swagger into a searing modern framework, capped by a blazing solo from new guitarist Ben Touchberry. Inspired by Easterling’s recurring dream of a burning home, it channels powerlessness into sheer musical force.
Elsewhere, “Godless Grace” and “Body Chalk” capture the band’s trademark rhythmic disarray—chugging, stuttering riffs that spiral and implode with deliberate chaos. Mike White (drums) and Shiloh Krebs (bass) anchor the madness with shifting time signatures and dense low-end patterns, offering structure to the album’s whirlwind momentum. Austin Evans’ guitar work remains one of Orthodox’s most unique weapons. His left-handed, upside-down playing technique and harmonic-heavy flourishes shine on cuts like “Dread Weight” and “Sacred Place,” the latter of which the band has already declared a career-defining song. And it’s hard to argue otherwise—it’s a scorched-earth anthem that evokes the loss of stability and the transformation of once-familiar places into haunting memories.
Collaboration continues to push boundaries as Boundaries frontman Matt McDougal injects venom into “Blend in with the Weak,” a furious declaration of identity and resistance. The biggest surprise comes on “One Less Body,” featuring none other than Mastodon’s Brann Dailor. A guttural gang vocal shout of “WHAT THE FUCK?!” precedes one of the record’s most atmospheric, haunting moments—Dailor’s clean vocal outro gliding like a ghost over the ashes Orthodox leave behind.
And yet, for all its heaviness and chaos, A Door Left Open is not merely about destruction; it’s about aftermath, reckoning, and reluctant acceptance. The conceptual thread tying these songs together, the uncanny feeling of your reality being subtly and profoundly shifted, never loosens. The band mirrors that unease not just lyrically but structurally. No two tracks settle into a formula; no riff overstays its welcome. Every song feels like an uninvited guest sitting in your living room, familiar but unwelcome.
As the light from the house cuts into the night outside, A Door Left Open doesn’t slam shut when it's done. Instead, it lingers. Echoes. Makes you wonder what got in or what managed to escape. Orthodox have swung the door wide open, and what’s inside may just be their magnum opus.