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 (both also JUNO-nominated), marking their first releases on InsideOutMusic.
Now, Crown Lands return with their most demanding and fully realized work to date. Their new studio album, Apocalypse, is set for release on May 15, 2026.
Musically and creatively, Apocalypse represents a clear turning point for the band. After completing the Ritual albums entirely in their home studio, Crown Lands 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 pivotal 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 firmly in mind. At the heart of the record lies the 19-minute title track — a sprawling epic that anchors the album both musically and thematically.
Drummer/vocalist Cody Bowles explains:
“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.”
Bowles continues:
“Fearless and Ritual exist in the same story, 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.”
Pre-order now:
https://crownlandsmusic.lnk.to/Apocalypse-Bio
Apocalypse – Tracklisting
- Proclamation I – 1:22
- Foot Soldiers of the Syndicate – 4:20
- Through the Looking Glass – 3:45
- Blackstar – 4:00
- The Fall – 4:31
- The Revenants I – 5:29
- Apocalypse – 19:01
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