The Above was self-produced by band members Jami Morgan and Eric "Shade" Balderose, and engineered by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio.

stated, "The Above is an album that frequently goes the opposite way than you'd expect...they've made such a huge range of stuff work together so well...none of this feels like a loss to what Code Orange once were.

"[13] Dave Everley of Metal Hammer felt that the "[band's] willingness to move forward and break down genre boundaries...[makes] The Above is everything modern heavy music should be but all too often isn't.

"[14] Max Heilman of MetalSucks was positive about the band's incorporation of different genres stating, "[it transcends] anything gimmicky, as every beat switch, every dynamic shift and every production choice is as calculated as it is unorthodox.

"[16] Ethan Stewart of PopMatters praised the album's "genre-fluidity and accessibility" and "while at times being as heavy as any of their old material, portrays much of what makes the genre so thriving even outside the mainstream eye.