Album Review: Crown The Empire ‘Retrograde’

Crown The Empire are theatrical hard-rocking pioneers hailing from Dallas, Texas. Since 2010 they’ve delivered two stellar concept albums in the form of ‘The Fallout’ and ‘The Resistance: The Rise Of The Runaways’. Featuring their signature theatrics, enormous breakdowns, and super catchy choruses, these albums really paved the way for this young band and set some pretty high expectations for their latest release.

Crown The Empire recently released their third studio album ‘Retrograde’ two years after their previous release. Upon first listening it’s obvious that things have changed and that the Texan fivesome have made a conscious effort to avoid the predictable. If you are expecting another ridiculously heavy album with all the breakdowns and theatrics then you’re in for a big surprise…

‘Retrograde’ is not the heaviest album you’ll ever hear, nor does the band do anything one might expect. Opening with Sk-68 and its mechanical music box sound mixed with some hauntingly beautiful vocals, it’s almost like a cleansing of the senses before you are captivated by Are You Coming With Me? This track takes us back with it’s larger-than-life crowd chants and heavy guitar riffs and ensures you are pumped up straight out of the gate!

Zero is also the only track on the album with a breakdown. That was surprising considering we are still recovering from the breakdowns in tracks like Menace and Bloodline and many other from their previous albums.

We are then met with the bone-crushing screams of David Escamilla in Zero. This lead single is by the far the standout track on ‘Retrograde’ and features everything you could want from the metalcore outfit. This hyper-aggressive track truly showcases the power of the twin-vocal attack of Escamilla and Andrew Velazquez in one of the catchiest choruses probably ever written!

Zero is also the only track on the album with a breakdown. That was surprising considering we are still recovering from the breakdowns in tracks like Menace and Bloodline and many other from their previous albums.

Aftermath features another brilliant chorus with a nice mix of some slightly heavier riffs with fairly stripped back verses before taking us into the notably heavier Hologram. While it starts off on a mildly poppy note, things definitely take a turn for the better with a healthy smothering of brutality about a minute in.

The Fear Is Real is technically the first fully instrumental track on a Crown The Empire album. It’s an interesting song with a very spacey beat which transforms into an uneasy dubstep-type instrumental. This is a bit of a confusing track and its place in the album seems a bit bizarre and unnecessary. Luckily the situation is redeemed with tracks like Lucky Us, with it’s other-worldly tones, heavy riffs, and angry screams, and Weight Of The World which will definitely be a crowd-pleaser in their live shows with its extremely catchy chorus.

Fans may be split considering the lack of some of the heavier or more theatrical elements which really defined this band however there is no doubt that some new fans will be made as ‘Retrograde’ gains more momentum.

Signs Of Life and Oxygen are less heavy than we would like. While these may be hits with fans of Crown The Empire’s lighter repertoire, there is a chance that they could be classified as forgetful rock songs.

Wrapping up the album is Kaleidoscope which is another solid, redeeming track featuring that signature piano with some futuristic elements. A slow, steady build up resulting in a huge explosion finds this track amongst one of the more powerful on the album. Featuring punchy instrumentals and an of “whoa oh” chants this is a pretty solid way to wind up their third album.

Overall ‘Retrograde’ is an enjoyable album. While there are some ups and downs, Crown The Empire have delivered an interesting new approach to the aspects we have loved since we first heard ‘The Fallout’. Fans may be split considering the lack of some of the heavier or more theatrical elements which really defined this band however there is no doubt that some new fans will be made as ‘Retrograde’ gains more momentum.