Cody Jinks

Having drawn on outlaw country and Southern rock traditions, Cody Jinks moved from a thrash metal past to establish himself as a country rebel. Several favorably received independent projects appeared during the early 2010s, leading to broader attention with his sixth album, the self-released I'm Not the Devil, which rose to number four on the Billboard country charts in 2016. The Texas native used his smooth baritone and dark, lonesome country material to obtain a Rounder Records contract, issuing Lifers as his first release for the label in 2018. He chose the independent path again the next year for After the Fire and The Wanting, then continued with Mercy in 2021 and Change the Game in 2024.

Born in Haltom City, Texas, Jinks began by leading the Fort Worth thrash metal group Unchecked Aggression before returning to his country origins and adopting the role of a honky tonk balladeer in the late 2000s. Starting with Less Wise in 2010, he put out multiple independent recordings while touring extensively alongside his band the Tone Deaf Hippies. Adobe Sessions brought his initial chart entry in 2015; recorded in the Adobe Room at Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, Texas, the album reached number two on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and increased his mainstream visibility. He returned to Sonic Ranch for the self-released follow-up I'm Not the Devil, which entered at number four on the Billboard Country Albums chart after its August 2016 release. While preparing his next project, a remixed and remastered edition of his 2010 debut appeared in 2017 under the title Less Wise (Modified). Rounder Records announced a signing in spring 2018, with Thirty Tigers set to reissue his earlier catalog; Lifers, fronted by the single "Must Be the Whiskey," arrived that June and debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Top 200 and number two on the country chart.

October 2019 brought two new albums on his own Cody Jinks Music imprint: After the Fire and The Wanting. He revisited the 2015 sessions with the all-acoustic Adobe Sessions Unplugged in 2021, serving as preparation for Mercy, positioned as the direct follow-up to those paired 2019 releases. Mercy appeared in November 2021 alongside None the Wiser, an album by Jinks' metal outfit Caned by Nod.

Following Mercy and None the Wiser, Jinks achieved sobriety and documented the experience on the 2024 album Change the Game.