Crown The Empire

Blending electronic textures with metal intensity, the American metalcore group Crown the Empire produces an atmospheric and theatrical style reminiscent of peers Bring Me the Horizon and Hands Like Houses. Beginning with the unpolished 2012 debut The Fallout, the band gradually incorporated electronic and pop influences, resulting in a melodic metalcore approach across later albums Retrograde (2016), Sudden Sky (2019), and Dogma (2023).

The original seven-piece lineup consisted of vocalists Andy Leo and David Escamilla, guitarists Brandon Hoover and Bennett Vogelman, bassist Hayden Tree, keyboardist Austin Duncan, and drummer Brent Taddie; this large roster allows the ensemble to build dense arrangements that retain clarity and focus. Crown the Empire first appeared in 2011 via the independently issued EP Limitless, then delivered their initial full-length The Fallout on Rise Records in 2012. A 2013 reissue of that album featured a fully re-recorded version of Limitless, now with David Escamilla handling vocals, and coincided with ongoing tours. The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways followed in 2014. Co-produced by Joey Sturgis and Dan Korneff, the album earned strong praise from both reviewers and listeners. The band led its own headline tour through the remainder of the summer before pausing activities. Late in 2015, Crown the Empire issued the digital single “Prisoners of War,” which joined a deluxe edition of the prior album alongside the new track “Cross Our Bones,” an acoustic rendition of “Millennia,” and a reworked “Machines.” That November, Vogelman exited the group, leaving Hoover to assume his guitar responsibilities. In June 2016 the band unveiled the single “Zero” ahead of its third studio album Retrograde, released the same month. Retrograde entered at number one on the Billboard Hard Rock, Independent, and Rock charts while reaching number 15 on the Billboard 200.

January 2017 brought news of Escamilla’s departure, leaving Crown the Empire as a quartet. Recording for a fourth album commenced shortly thereafter, and the first material without Escamilla emerged as the single “20/20.” That song appeared on Sudden Sky, released in 2019. The album entered the Top Ten on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and featured the aggressive tracks “Red Pills” and “MZRY.” “In Another Life,” featuring Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, surfaced in 2021, followed by “Immortalize” in 2022; both tracks were included on the band’s fourth studio album Dogma. Issued in 2023, the record introduced drummer Jeeves Avalos, who had replaced Brent Taddie the previous year.