Code Orange
I Am King
Review by Jake Weller
In 2012, the Code Orange Kids released their debut LP, Love is Love/Return to Dust; an impressive first full-length offering from a band whose members were just barely out of high school. While ambitious for a such a new band, sounding more seasoned and thoughtful than most freshman efforts, it was ultimately an album of by the numbers mathy metallic hardcore. Tight, proficient, and charmingly familiar-sounding, these kids were clearly weaned on Hydra Head formula, and unmistakably patterned their approach off of their forebears, essentially creating an homage to the breed of heavy bands that spawned in the mid- to late-‘90s and reached a saturation point during the nascent years of the new millennium (even including a sludgy epic final track, a soft-yet-dark-and-moody contemplative fourth track, and a soaring, lush fifth track, which employed the use of the good ol’ major key to, you know, inject hope… ah, youth). Even so, it was still an invigorating, pummeling romp through admittedly well-trod territory in heavy music. Not much has changed in the ensuing years, and despite making the recent decision to drop the “Kids” portion of their collective nom de plume for their follow up album, I Am King (presumably to divert attention from their young age), they still retain all of the spasmodic vigor and raw aggression intrinsic to those who haven’t been around long enough to get cynically soured on the whole damn scene/industry/thing. .
Make no mistake though: while the brutality remains, and fans of the genre who have been craving this kind of throwback sound will be fully satisfied (GodCity’s Kurt Ballou once again works his magic on the board, ensuring that the heavy parts stay heavy and the epic parts are supported by a thick wall of gooey strummage), it isn’t all sturm und drang. Even with their previous album, there was an effort to do some light envelope pushing. An underlying urge to experiment with their sound peeked through, moving it ever-so-gradually away from the more straightforward approach of their previous EPs and demo work into more dynamic and vulnerable realms. I Am King takes a few much bigger, bolder steps in that general direction, often displaying a softer sensibility between the crushing walls. Lead vocalists, Eric Balderose and Reba Meyers, trade duties more frequently this time around, oftentimes diverging from the gutteral bellows that have long been canon to the genre and into diverse moments of beauty that range from down-tempo, softly-spoken gothiness (“Dreams of Inertia” “Mercy”), to clean, plaintive, almost trance-like chanting à la Amber Valentine (“Starve”) and honest-to-goodness heartfelt anthemic belting (“Bind You”). The instrumentation follows suit, and the album is dotted with odd guitar squelches and bends, trashy cymbal crashes, and various other affectations more familiar to fans of noise rock and that ilk.
All in all, I Am King strikes a decent balance between these new directions and the remnants of the band’s direct influences. They are clearly beginning to branch out and focus on the artistic value of their creation in a way that engenders a promise of great things to come. Sure, the churning, chunky chugathons (“Slowburn”) and breakdown-laden sections (“Alone in a Room” “My World”) designed to start the circles swirling still abound, but the existence of the subtle touches and moments of thoughtful tension and beauty show such growth in the band that these once-spirited sections of aggression occasionally come off as de rigueur nods to the mosh-minded community. Still, songs like “Starve” and “Bind You” make a compelling argument that there is ample opportunity for the two worlds to cohere and cohabitate quite comfortably within this project.
It is surprising that, at an average age of around 20, Code Orange have already managed to tap into some previously hidden strengths and are learning how to implement them in their songwriting. What we are hearing within this album is a really good band still navigating the difficult transition into a great band, but they have a huge head start on reaching that goal. I Am King is a statement about what we can expect in the future from this band, and it is exciting news indeed.
Code Orange will be at The Vera Project, Saturday, 9/13, with Twitching Tongues, War Hungry, Power, and Burial Suit. Tickets available at www.etix.com.
I Am King is available for purchase through Deathwish, Inc. http://www.deathwishinc.com/bands/135/
