Crown the Empire
“The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways” Album Review
By Shelby Seeley
7.21.14
Crown the Empire’s sophomore album, The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways,which is set to be released July 22, 2014, practically oozes excellence; the band has changed the game completely by throwing away cookie-cutter song structures and tapping into their full potential, making them stand out from their peers in the metalcore genre (including their own debut album) and bringing the band to new heights.
Crown the Empire is an up-and-coming metalcore band originally formed in Dallas, Texas back in 2010. They describe the goal of their music style to consist of “heavy breakdowns, poppy verses, and huge, concert-ready choruses”. The band has had a few change-ups when it comes to members since their start, but currently consists of six dynamic, talented musicians who play an active role in creating what is CTE. They are Andrew “Andy Leo” Velasquez, who mainly sings the clean lead vocals; David Escamilla, who mainly sings the unclean lead vocals; Bennett “Benn Suede” Vogelman on lead guitar; Brandon Hoover on rhythm guitar; Hayden Tree on bass; and Brent Taddie on drums. CTE was picked up by the record label Rise Records back in March of 2012.
To date the band has one EP, Limitless, which was self-released in 2011, and one studio album, The Fallout, which was released in 2012 under Rise Records. In 2013 the band released a reissue of their EP Limitless in the deluxe two-disc version of The Fallout, rerecording everything and including Escamilla’s unclean vocals due to popular request for new music. CTE’s sophomore album, The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways, has not yet been officially released in stores or online, save for two singles. However, the album has been available to listen to free on iTunes for a limited time and a hard copy has been available to purchase at Van’s Warped Tour 2014 as of the Detroit date of the tour (July 18, 2014).
The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways is yet another ambitious concept album by Crown the Empire, and acts as “Part II” to The Fallout’s blockbuster style apocalyptic storyline. It takes place 159 years after The Fallout, and the post-apocalyptic world is in ruin and divided into two sides: The Scarecrows and the Runaways. The album takes us on a journey of revolution with both spoken intros that help set the scene and move the story along, to adrenaline-inducing war anthems that transport you onto the battlegrounds of Aeon City. It ties flawlessly in with the new world CTE created back in The Fallout, but does it even better. The story of the Runaways is much more cohesive, well-developed and easier to let yourself fall into than the muddled, detached storyline of the previous album.
The album itself pays homage to both of the band’s previous releases, combining the melodic feeling and self-empowering lyrics from Limitless, and the engaging, heart-pounding and dynamic sounds of The Fallout effortlessly. However, The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways takes on a whole other level. CTE shot for the stars on this one and didn’t miss. It seems like their ambitions are finally paying off, the reason being that they strayed from the cookie-cutter, frankly bland song structures seen so painfully often in the metalcore genre and finally tapped into their full song-writing potential in doing so, all while staying true to themselves. They stopped playing it safe, and in doing so changed the game completely, making them stand out from their peers.
An obvious stand-out song in this album is the already-released single “Initiation”. It is a pivotal part in the story of the Runaways and summarizes what this album is about perfectly. “Initiation” starts off with a cold female voice debriefing new recruits to the Resistance for their “evaluation and initiation courses” (I suggest closing your eyes and imagining yourself preparing for battle while listening to this portion of the song). Sirens wail in the distance as Escamilla’s strong vocals thrust you right into the heat of battle, then are transitioned abruptly into Velasquez’s clean, poppy, catchy chorus. The heavy guitar and fast tempo keeps up the urgency throughout the track. The woman’s voice returns to update us that the Runaway recruits have been surrounded by Scarecrows in what should be a moment of defeat; instead Escamilla brings us back to the fight, roaring “I know I’m sick and fucking tired of this mess they’ve made// so let their arrows block out the sun, we will fight under the shade// welcome to the Resistance”. The complimentary breakdown is the clean chorus again, which starts off soft then builds up to make-or-break time.
A personal favorite of mine off this album is “Millennia”. It starts off right away with an uplifting orchestra of strings, then drops into a steady backdrop as Velasquez begins to sing. The melancholy lyrics provide an acute contrast to the charged, freeing instrumental. This song has an instigative power to leave you in an emotional mess after listening, depending on how you personally resonate with the lyrics. It is also one of the softest songs the band has ever released. Velasquez sings “I’ve been gone from this world for what feels like millennia// looking for nothing short of a miracle// I only ever wanted to come home” in a tragically beautiful tone. “Millennia” is clearly the rock ballad of this album, and is one that I find myself returning to time and time again. It demonstrates the band’s maturing songwriting skills, both lyrically and instrumentally. Not to mention the killer guitar during the breakdown. The track ends on a haunting final chorus, accompanied only by piano, that will send shivers down the spine.
The epic seven minute long finale of this album also serves as the end to a trilogy that began all the way back on the Limitless EP: “Jonny’s Rebellion” is a much-anticipated release that does not disappoint. The first few verses are heavenly, letting Velasquez’s superb vocals wash over the track. “I start to levitate// I feel the air beneath my wings” he sings-until the song takes an extremely abrupt turn for the worst, with our dear beloved Johnny screaming “somebody help me!” as the world around him goes black and he is sucked into Hell. This kind of turn is not something CTE is new to (see: “Oh, Catastrophe”), however this is a perfect example of what I mean when I say they are taking everything to new heights on this album. “This is the story of Johnny’s group of misfits, taking on the Devil himself”. “Johnny’s Rebellion” is truly the end of this trilogy, which includes “Johnny Ringo” and “Johnny’s Revenge”, and it was satisfying to say the least. CTE puts all their cards on the table with this one, from dynamic musical arrangements, songwriting, storytelling, vocals, everything. CTE showed us what they were made of, and should be proud. Throughout the song you can hear familiar lyrics and sounds, like the classic creepy circus music, however it was the last thirty seconds or so that really reflected back on the story of Johnny Ringo, overlaying lyrics from the past songs (“I can feel air inside my lungs again” and “Don’t ever trust the Devil, bitch”) onto the new track. This was definitely a song for the fans, especially those who have stuck around from the start, and it’s the epitome of CTE’s growth.
Other notable mentions from this album include their second single, “Rise of the Runaways”; “Satellites”, which is considered a favorite by a few members of CTE; and “MNSTR”, which is one of the heaviest songs the band has ever released and shows the band’s increased confidence in the abilities of Escamilla, which he well deserves.
Overall, I think The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways will only help take Crown the Empire farther than they’ve ever gone before. They have definitely proven themselves as musicians and shown that ditching the cookie-cutter song structures can be what really pushes a band to the top if done right. By adding variety and improving all around through their songwriting, developing of concepts and storytelling they really untapped their potential and became worthy adversaries in the metalcore community.
The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways will be available on July 22, 2014 on iTunes and Rise Records’ online store. All rights go to Rise Records and Crown the Empire.
