I Am King

I Am King is the second studio album by American hardcore punk band Code Orange and first to be released under this moniker after previously being referred to as "Code Orange Kids." The Kurt Ballou-produced album was released on September 2, 2014 through Deathwish Inc.[2] To promote the album, Code Orange released music videos for the tracks "I Am King" and "Dreams in Inertia," in addition to an online stream for "My World."

For other uses, see I Am King (disambiguation).
I Am King
Studio album by
Code Orange
ReleasedSeptember 2, 2014 (2014-09-02)
RecordedGod City Studios (Salem, Massachusetts); The Pit (Van Nuys, California); The Braddock Hit Factory (Braddock, Pennsylvania)[1]
Genre
Length32:23
LabelDeathwish
ProducerKurt Ballou
Code Orange chronology
Love Is Love/Return to Dust
(2013)		 I Am King
(2014)		 Forever
(2017)

Writing and recording

Code Orange entered the studio with Kurt Ballou in February 2014.[3] Ballou is the guitarist of Converge and previously recorded Code Orange's 2012 debut album Love Is Love/Return to Dust. Code Orange drummer Jami Morgan described I Am King as a "different" album that will mark "a very new era for our band," and also elaborated: "A lot of the heavier parts are heavier and sometimes more obvious. A lot of the odd parts are weirder and a little more anti-social. Things are a lot more blended together."[3] After the band wrote the "skeletons" of the songs for I Am King, Code Orange revisited the tracks to look for moments where they could, "incorporate these little sonic nuggets that excited us or intrigued us."[4] The songs were also influenced by metal acts such as the groove metal band Sepultura, metalcore band Prayer for Cleansing and grunge band Alice in Chains.[5]

Composition

Critics drew several comparisons between parts or all of I Am King and other metal and hardcore bands, including Converge,[6] Disembodied,[7] The Locust,[6] Melvins,[6] Norma Jean,[8] Refused,[6] Vision of Disorder,[7] and Zao,[7] and noted that the band's heavier music styles on the album included metalcore,[6][7] hardcore punk,[9] post-hardcore,[10] sludge metal,[6] death metal,[8] mathcore,[9] and grindcore.[9] Some critics noted some non-hardcore influences on select tracks, including shoegaze,[6][7] post-punk,[6][9] dream pop,[9] grunge,[7] and indie rock,[6] and noted similarities to The Smiths[6] and Lush.[6]

Promotion and marketing
Code Orange's panther-head logo used to tease and promote I Am King.

Code Orange (then known as Code Orange Kids) began teasing the release of its sophomore album 7 months in advance in February 2014 by posting an image of a green panther with a black backdrop accompanied by the phrase "King 2014" on its social media sites.[11][12] The following month, Code Orange launched a mysterious viral marketing campaign and website dubbed "Thinners of the Herd," which asked for fans' names and home addresses.[13][14]

In June 2014, Code Orange released a music video for the title track, "I Am King," directed by Max Moore.[15][16] Writing for Exclaim!, Gregory Adams said "I Am King" is "a little gory" and also said, "While the black and white video strings together savage shots of the group ripping through fast and punchy hardcore licks and a monster of a mosh section from inside a straw-strewn barn, there's even more menacing footage mixed into the clip's runtime."[16] In July 2014, Code Orange released an online stream of the song "My World,"[17] followed by a music video for "Dreams in Inertia" in August 2014, again directed by Max Moore.[18][19] Writing for Fangoria, Samuel Zimmerman described the "Dreams in Inertia" video, stating: "Admittedly mellower (for a spell), the video for 'Dreams in Inertia' is full of occult vibes and lo-fi creep."[20] Adams also discussed the video, commenting: "While we see the band delivering the tune throughout the video, we also get a glimpse of a guy's bathtub purification and a dour crew's march through a forest filled with nooses. Code Orange meet up with the other faction late in the video to offer a few sips of Kool-Aid, which may not be a gesture of good faith."[19] I Am King was made available for online streaming in its entirety a week ahead of its release on August 26.[5]

For supporting tours, Code Orange performed sets of almost entirely new material from I Am King. In an interview about an upcoming show in Portland, Oregon, drummer Jami Morgan explained, "We're gonna play one song off [Love Is Love/Return to Dust] and that's it. Nothing else matters. To me, when you make a record that [makes you] feel like how we feel about this record, the other records don't matter. They're obsolete. They were on a path to get to this record."[21] Code Orange's first tour in support of I Am King was a brief stint opening for Killswitch Engage and Ringworm surrounding its participation in the This Is Hardcore festival on July 24, 2014.[22][23] This was followed by a September–October 2014 co-headlining tour with Twitching Tongues.[24]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[25]
Review scores
SourceRating
Alternative Press[26]
Consequence of SoundB[6]
Exclaim!8/10[7]
Metal Hammer[27]
Punknews.org[8]
Rock Sound9/10[28]

Upon its release, I Am King received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album received an average score of 87, which indicates "universal acclaim," based on four reviews.[25]

Writing for Consequence of Sound Ryan Bray stated: "Guttural metalcore still reigns loudly over any dreamy, indie rock ambitions that Code Orange entertain on I Am King. ... But they're trying, and in a genre that adheres so closely to formula like hardcore, metal, and the spaces in between, that in and of itself means something."[6] Andy Biddulph of Rock Sound described the album as "breathtaking" and wrote: "With its heady mix of head-caving drone, battering hardcore and classic rock riffery, I Am King is a record unlike any other."[28] Bradley Zorgdrager of Exclaim! praised for its "crushing cacophony", stating "it's the moments of calm before (and during) the storm here that makes I Am King worthy of its crown."[7]

Terry Bezer of Metal Hammer complimented the band's progression from their debut album stating, "for all the change, Code Orange’s progression in sound doesn’t feel unnatural off the back of Love Is Love // Return To Dust and marks a different but no less enthralling (or heavy) experience."[27] Punknews.org called the album "heavy and full of rage" and considered it "[to be] in line with what the band has always done best."[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at 96,[29] making I Am King the first Code Orange album to appear on a national chart. I Am King also peaked at number 10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart and number 29 on the Top Rock Albums chart.[29]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."I Am King"2:38
2."Slowburn"2:31
3."Dreams in Inertia"5:00
4."Unclean Spirit"2:11
5."Alone in a Room"3:09
6."My World"2:56
7."Starve"3:48
8."Your Body is Ready..."1:25
9."Thinners of the Herd"2:47
10."Bind You"1:43
11."Mercy"4:15
Total length:32:23

Personnel

I Am King personnel adapted from CD liner notes.[1]

Charts
Chart performance for I Am King
Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[30] 14
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[31] 10

References
  1. I Am King (Media notes). Deathwish. 2014. CD liner notes. DW161.
  2. Sharp, Tyler (June 5, 2014). "Code Orange Kids abbreviate name; announce new album, 'I Am King'". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  3. Rudisill, Alex (January 27, 2014). "Interview: Jami Morgan of Code Orange Kids". idobi Radio. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  4. Macomber, Shawn (October 2014). "Code Orange: Noisecore heirs apparent change up to grow up". Decibel. Philadelphia: Red Flag Media Inc. (120): 22. ISSN 1557-2137.
  5. Henry, Dusty (August 26, 2014). "Stream: Code Orange's new album I Am King". Consequence of Sound. Townsquare Media. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  6. Bray, Ryan (September 3, 2014). "Code Orange – I Am King". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  7. Zorgdrager, Bradley (September 2, 2014). "Review: I Am King". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  8. RENALDO69 (Staff) (September 3, 2014). "Review: I Am King". Punknews.org. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  9. Bossenger, A.T. (September 5, 2014). "Code Orange: I Am King". Treblezine. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  10. Cohen, Ian (December 30, 2014). "The Year In Post-Hardcore: Has the New Wave Crested?". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 15, 2016. ...I Am King felt like the most forward-thinking post-hardcore record of 2014.
  11. Bazley, John (February 10, 2014). "Code Orange Kids Teasing 'King 2014'". Under the Gun Review. Spin Media. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  12. Sharp, Tyler (February 16, 2014). "Code Orange Kids Finished Tracking New Album". Mind Equals Blown. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  13. Sharp, Tyler (March 13, 2014). "Code Orange Kids Launch 'Thinners Of The Herd' Viral Campaign For New Record". Mind Equals Blown. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  14. Grenville, Chris (March 14, 2014). "Music News: What are Code Orange Kids up to?". The Monolith. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  15. Kraus, Brian (June 19, 2014). "Code Orange release 'I Am King' music video". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  16. Adams, Gregory (June 19, 2014). "Code Orange: 'I Am King' (video)". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  17. Crane, Matt (July 15, 2014). "Code Orange – 'My World' song premiere". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  18. Sharp, Tyler (August 13, 2014). "Code Orange debut 'Dreams In Inertia' video". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  19. Adams, Gregory (August 13, 2014). "Code Orange: 'Dreams in Inertia' (video)". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  20. Zimmerman, Samuel (August 13, 2014). "Video Premiere: Code Orange – 'Dreams In Inertia'". Fangoria. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  21. Salmon, Ben (September 10, 2014). "In the Foxhole: Code Orange Aren't Kids Anymore". The Portland Mercury. Index Newspapers. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  22. Sacher, Andrew (June 5, 2014). "Code Orange Kids no longer 'kids,' announce new LP, touring with Ringworm & Killswitch Engage around This is Hardcore". BrooklynVegan. Spin Media. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  23. Wisniewski, Kira (April 2, 2014). "This Is Hardcore 2014 lineup announced". Punknews.org. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  24. Crane, Matt (July 15, 2014). "Code Orange, Twitching Tongues announce co-headlining tour". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  25. "Reviews for I Am King by Code Orange". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  26. "Review: I Am King". Alternative Press. Cleveland (315): 98. October 2014. ISSN 1065-1667.
  27. Bezer, Terry (October 14, 2014). "Code Orange: I Am King". Metal Hammer. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  28. Biddulph, Andy (August 20, 2014). "Review: I Am King". Rock Sound. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  29. "I Am King – Code Orange Kids – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  30. "Code Orange Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  31. "Code Orange Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
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