Codeseven was formed while in high school by three brothers (James, Jon, and Matt Tuttle) and childhood friend Eric Weyer in 1995. After meeting Jeff Jenkins at a local music store and bringing in friend and schoolmate David Owen as a second vocalist, they wrote their first batch of songs which would become the Paper or Plastic demo (1996). The Paper or Plastic demo would end up at Earache Records office in the US and led to a six-album offer. During contract negotiations, the US head of Earache left to start his own label “The Music Cartel” and the band chose to sign for three albums with his new startup. 

In 1998, Codeseven would release A Sense of Coalition, a full-length offering that was catapulted by their daring rendition of Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer,” thus putting the band on the map with a college radio Top 10 single and was featured on Howard Stern’s radio show.

Not long after the release of Coalition, the band headed into Godcity studios to record its Division of Labor EP. Experimenting with heavier sounds yet keeping the band’s melodic edge — which at the time was quite unconventional — Division of Labor hit the streets to numerous rave reviews and interviews in Hit Parader, Metal Maniacs,Terrorizer, and Kerrang. CMJ also praised the record saying, “With chiming guitar tones, quirky time changes and a delicate balance between loudness and melody, Codeseven whirls like Hot Water Music doing a tango with Cave In.” Division of Labor went on to top the CMJ metal charts and be featured on WWE’s Heat.

The first album as a five piece (following the departure of David Owen) and final release on The Music Cartel pushed the boundaries of the genre, drawing on the eclectic, experimental interest of Pink Floyd and Bjork while capturing the energy and emotion of punk. The Rescue was produced and engineered by Alex Newport (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta, The Melvins) and released in May 2002 to critical acclaim and tours with notable acts as Coheed and Cambria, Dredg, Poison the Well, and Hopesfall. 

Codeseven spent 2004 writing their Equal Vision Records debut titled Dancing Echoes / Dead Sounds, an album that saw the band expanding their vision in a darker and more electronic manner. The culmination of that evolving sound and friendship that is destined to speak volumes to their peers and those in the mainstream music world, Dancing Echoes / Dead Sounds laid the groundwork for the band’s eventual comeback LP, Go Let It In. 20 years on, Go Let It In was created with this classic DIY spirit that the members ofCodeseven — Jeff Jenkins (vocals), James Tuttle (Guitar, Keys), Eric Weyer (Guitar), Jon Tuttle (Bass) and Matt Tuttle (Drums) — exercised fully by tracking all instruments in their respective homes and enjoying the freedom to record at their own pace. With the help of Jeremy Griffith, who was enlisted to co-produce and mix the album, the result is a massive set of songs that find the band aiming to successfully outdo itself. “With this new record, we tackled what we considered the ultimate challenge: to write and record a full length that sounds as good, if not better, than the last record,” the band summarizes. “Following a 20-year hiatus, this felt like it could be impossible. It’s hard to beat time and nostalgia but we certainly wanted to try. And yes, we think we did.”

photo credit: Todd Turner