Review Summary: It's like thinly sliced cake. Everyone gets a piece, but no one feels full from it.
If there's one thing certain for Code Orange, it's that they're one ambitious bunch. Their past two albums certainly cement that belief, all buzzing with interesting deviations from the hardcore formula, and increasingly more prominent industrial and grunge influences, all of which I was a big fan of. So jumping into this I had really high hopes. (Sadly, some experiments are more successful than others).
There's certainly more than a few aspects of The Above that remind you of the sound profile they've long been crafting. The punishing hardcore riffs and harsh electronics on A Drone Opting Out of the Hive and Grooming My Replacement really show a decisive, confident approach, and offer some of the best heavy moments of theirs to date. The latter's breakdown is just head crushing.
On top of that, we also get to hear a bit more of of their alt metal side, as more songs are comfortably blending to dark, muddy, downtuned riffs, like on The Mask Of Sanity Slips (whose final theme repeats on the closing track, gotta love the intention in their work) and But a Dream. Apart from being a pleasant break from the violence of the album, they also boast some seriously catchy choruses where Reba's voice really shines, as Jami serves more and more as a solid backup vocalist. Lastly we get a lot more experimentation with dreampop-esque and beat driven passages, which try to scratch their familiar 90s itch for Deftones and Incubus, which is something I'll address later on.
Before I get too ahead of myself, it should be useful to clarify some semantics that are important to what I (or anyone) think of an album. I firmly believe that a great album, rather than a collection of songs, should be a cohesive effort. That doesn't make genre bending impossible to like, as long as it serves at preserving the album's unique yet sole identity. There needs to be some restraint in making it. If you disagree with that, then you'll probably love what the album's all about.
But that's what brings me to what makes and breaks the album…. Its total lack of restraint, compared to their earlier work. They unapologetically try to do everything, and many of them fall flat just because of that. The dreamy passages on the verses of Theater of Cruelty don't properly develop it into anything but another metalcore song, which renders them useless. The choruses on songs like I Fly or Take Shape almost feel like a dishonest form of release, crafted for whoever can't go all the way to their heavier work that lies on the same album. The almost jumpy attitude of Circle Through and the title track's anthemic closing just totally contrast the mood that the rest of the album tries to develop, the former also being completely forgettable, on top of that. You really can't expect an album that tries to do both radio rock and avant garde infused electronics to feel whole, but even if you can, this one ust isn't it.
In total, The Above feels like thinly sliced cake. Everyone gets a piece, but no one feels quite full from it. Like a musical equivalent of populism, it feels like it's crafted for anyone and no one in particular, and I can't say I'll be returning to more than a few of its tracks.
