Formed in 2015, Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands comprises Cody Bowles (singer, percussion and flute); and Kevin Comeau (guitars, bass and keys). Together, they have steadily emerged as one of the genre’s more ambitious modern voices. I say “modern” despite the pair following what you might call a classic 70’s inspired Prog Rock pathway for concept albums! 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, their first albums on InsideOut Music. With their new album Apocalypse, Crown Lands perhaps deliver their most demanding and fully realized work to date.
In the best traditions of Prog, Apocalypse is designed as a complete, album-sides narrative experience, crafted with the classic concept album format in mind. Opening Side 1 with “Proclamation I” and closing it with “The Revenants I,” the record unfolds as a cohesive story set in the same universe as their previous epic. To keep you on your toes, Rituals was very much an instrumental prequel to Fearless, with Apocalypse building on Rituals, moving the story forward and setting up the events that lead directly into Fearless. Got all that? – in sequential terms, think Star Wars!
Lyrically, the album explores power, indoctrination, and consequence; while musically, Apocalypse also pushes Crown Lands into new harmonic territory, embracing layered harmonies for the first time. 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. Much of this new album was written and recorded in the same room the band has worked in since 2020, allowing performances and sounds to develop organically rather than being recreated in outside studios. The duo have however continued their previous collaboration with producers Nick Raskulinecz and David Bottrill – the two have contrasting approaches to their work which always seems to bring the best out of the band.
“Proclamational” opens the performance, a brief, atmospheric scene-setter with heavenly choirs and sweeping synths that give but a hint of the epic about to be rolled out. This morphs into Foot Soldiers of the Syndicate, a rocker that, given Bowles’ vocal pitch, can’t help being quite reminiscent of Rush. Lyrically, it examines how ordinary people are drawn into oppressive systems.
It’s followed by Through The Looking Glass, an impressive rock ballad with more than a hint of “Led Zep III” about it? Story-wise it introduces the ancient warrior culture that subsequently becomes central within Fearless, with Bowles’ soaring vocals leading the way. Watching the video of this below, I do suspect that these guys wish they had actually lived in semi-historic times!
Next up is the recent single Black Star. In this, we see the emergence of Captain “Blackstar” as the Syndicate’s ruthless military enforcer drives the conflict forward, he becomes the central chareacter in Apocalypse ….musically there’s lots of percussion, keys, bubbling bass, strident vocals, a big chorus – these two certainly deliver a big fat sound, the accompanying video now out leaves me pondering how they cope with the mundanities of everyday life!
The Fall is a tragic reflection on love and collateral damage, all built into a martial sort of vibe, all driven by the keys/guitar chord-lines and punchy old-school percussion. The Revenants concludes side one of your piece of vinyl, a gentle, pastoral, reflective number that demonstrates Cody Bowles’ hauntingly atmospheric vocals.
Strap yourselves in for the title track Apocalypse – predictably the core of the album, it’s a 19-minute sprawling epic that takes up the whole of side two of the LP, anchoring the record both musically and narratively. It’s clearly been the musical genesis and inspiration for the on-going saga, it’s certainly an impressive and positively orchestral composition in the best traditions of Prog – redolent of Yes, and most definitely their musical heroes Rush. “With long-form songs, it always starts with the music,” Bowles explains. “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.” One of the track’s most striking moments is a sudden drop into a falsetto vocal passage which began life as a separate idea. This might sound dodgy, and I’m not totally convinced it works, but full marks for trying?
Ultimately, the album Apocalypse and the title track are about change, the end of one thing and the uncertain beginning of another. That theme resonates not only within the album’s sci-fi narrative, but in Crown Lands’ own evolution, capturing a duo fully in command of their vision and ready to push beyond every boundary they’ve previously worked within, whilst clearly harking back to those halcyon days of the early 70’s. Very “Proggy”, and just possibly a bit pompous and pretentious in parts, as like Punk had never existed – but it’s still a classy creation, a series of skilful compositions and a teller of (very) tall tales!
And now! – the recent single!
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