Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands have steadily emerged as one of the genre’s most ambitious modern voices. Following their JUNO Award-winning self-titled debut in 2020 and Fearless in 2023, the band expanded their conceptual universe in 2025 with the instrumental releases Ritual I and Ritual II (also recently Juno-nominated), their first releases on InsideOutMusic. Now, the band deliver their new studio album Apocalypse, their most demanding and fully realized work to date, set for release on May 15th. Musically and creatively, Apocalypse marks a clear turning point. After completing Rituals entirely in their home studio, the band gained the confidence to take near-total control of the production process. Guitarist/bassist/keyboardist Kevin Comeau explains, “That record gave us the confidence to realize we could make a Crown Lands album in our own space, without a major-label budget or a big, fancy studio.” That confidence carried directly into Apocalypse, with much of the album written and recorded in the same room the band has worked in since 2020. To enhance the album’s most crucial moments, Crown Lands selectively collaborated with producers Nick Raskulinecz and David Bottrill. Conceptually, Apocalypse is designed as a complete, album-sides narrative experience, crafted with the classic album format in mind. At the heart of the album lies the 19-minute title track, a sprawling epic that anchors the record both musically and narratively. You can check out the track now here: https://youtu.be/_-T5F1tG8DE About the track, drummer/vocalist Cody Bowles says, “With long-form songs, it always starts with the music. We built ‘Apocalypse’ from instrumental sections, some older riffs, a lot of newly inspired ones, and mapped them out on a whiteboard, figuring out how one section could melt into the next.” “’Fearless’ and ‘Ritual’ exist in the same story,” says Bowles. “But ‘Ritual’ takes place much earlier in the timeline — it shows the planet during times of peace. ‘Apocalypse’ moves the story forward and sets up the events that lead directly into ‘Fearless.’” |