For I Am King – Crown

For I Am King – Crown
Release Date: 19th January 2023
Label: Prime Collective
Pre-Order
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Deathcore.
FFO: Lorna Shore, Enterprise Earth, The Black Dahlia Murder.
Review By: Andy Spoon

Dutch quintet For I Am King, breaks their silence for the first time since 2018 with their most recent LP release, Crown, set to release on Prime Collective on January 19th, 2023. The female-fronted melodic death metal act manages to hit several hot-button demographics which are exploding right now as audiences are enjoying complex death metal and deathcore elements. As the “core” scene is expanding with artists like Lorna Shore and Spite, fans are expecting higher and higher tiers of complexity and production. 

One could thank Lorna Shore for raising the bar, in some ways, as competing for the top spot on the intensity and drama scale is becoming an international sport, showing how deep and complex these subgenres are becoming. For I Am King’s Crown is an homage to multiple styles of metal that blend together to create a contemporary, heavy tone that reeks of aggressiveness and heavy subject-matter. Crown is clearly jumping into the mix with premier deathcore bands like Fit For an Autopsy, Shadow of Intent, and Enterprise Earth, 3 bands who wowed the community with simultaneous releases just a year ago. Crown is poised to try and follow up such a big day for the genre 52 weeks later, hoping to be counted amongst the titans of the genre. 

There are clearly multiple influences, such as metalcore and power metal (See Trojans), as well as face-melting melodic death metal. Several tracks have that quintessential deathcore aggression and breakdown structure that gets heads banging furiously (See Liars, Barriers). There are more melodic tracks that carry dramatic refrains and guitar leads (See Pariah, Bloodline). For 9 tracks, there is a good blend of musical styles and techniques that help the album veer away from sounding like too much of the same thing, something that is quite important these days, as the genre is producing music that must meet the new higher standards we’re enjoying in 2023. 

Vocally, Alma Alizadeh’s harsh and dramatic delivery is the hallmark of the entire album. It’s just got a sound that is absolutely raw and aggressive. I’ve been saying for years that the future of black metal (and other genres) is female vocals. With multiple acts becoming more popular all the time, it’s refreshing to hear uniqueness and pure vocal insanity coming from a whole new segment of fans, something that is dynamite for the metal community. If female metal fans needed inspiration to get out there and record some sick, ugly vocals, For I am King ought to be “required reading” for most. 

My big fear is that the band will end up getting pigeonholed into “gimmick” territory, not because of their sound or talent, but merely through the novelty of the female vocalist effect, as we have seen in recent years with Courtney LaPlante and Alissa Gluz-White. I am really hoping that For I am King is able to avoid the ridiculousness of the superficial. I was concerned as the band’s own press release even described Alizadeh as an “eye-catcher”, something that made me feel a little dirty inside. I suppose if the band wants to lean into that, it’s their prerogative, but I think that For I Am King has the chops to stand on their product, not their curb appeal. 

With no shortage of vocal insanity, melodic guitar work, and strong hooks, Crown is a competent album that adds a lot to the genre insofar as diversity and choice goes; and ought to be a major contender for one of the better deathcore releases of early 2023.

(3.5 / 5)