Canadian rock duo’s new album is a concept record focused on power, violence and consequence.
Crown Lands will release their new album Apocalypse on May 15.
The Canadian rock duo from Oshawa, Ont. is fronted by Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau.
The album is a concept record that tells a single story from start to finish. It also serves as a prequel to their 2023 album Fearless.
The band says the main message of the album is about cycles of violence.
“We really pushed ourselves a lot. Like, musically,” said Cody Bowles, the drummer and vocalist of Crown Lands. “So like, the whole concept of the record is like, hate begets hate, and violence begets violence. So, if you sow violence outwardly towards someone else, it’ll eventually come back to you. And that was like the whole message.”
The story follows a group called the Syndicate, led by a character known as Black Star, as they invade the planet Carragon. The conflict leads to war and civil unrest.
“It’s the first record where we have a concept like a story all the way through the album,” Bowles added.
The band worked largely on their own in the studio for this project. They also worked with producers Nick Raskulinecz and David Bottrill. Raskulinecz focused on performance and encouraged the band to try different takes. Bottrill focused on structure and technical detail.
The album’s title track runs 19 minutes and is built in multiple sections that flow as one continuous piece.
Overall, Apocalypse is meant to reflect real-world issues through its fictional story.
“I’d like them [the audience] to feel reflective of what’s going on in the world right now. Our story is a fantasy sci-fi story, but it is very related to the current situation too, and it was inspired by that,” Bowles explained
The story ends with Black Star losing everything, connecting back to Fearless, where a new force changes the outcome.
Bowles says the album also carries a message of hope.
“At the very end of Apocalypse, our record, there is a little glimmer of hope. Because in this story, at the very end, Black Star loses everything, and he’s evil, but then, it ties into [the] Fearless [album] part too, where Fearless wakes up and kind of changes the world and saves everything. So, I feel like people should have hope, and even in the face of atrocity and oppression and sadness, I feel like hope should still be there. You know, we shouldn’t lose hope.”
With its May. 15 release, the album leaves audiences with a powerful message hope can still emerge, even in the darkest moments.
