Kevin Comeau discusses Apocalypse, the saga of Fearless and Kerrigan, and how Crown Lands are expanding their sci-fi universe far beyond music.
At the time I sat down on Zoom with Crown Land’s multi-instrumentalist, Kevin Comeau, was on his way to meet drummer and vocalist, Cody Bowles, at the studio.
Yes, Crown Lands are preparing their next album, after releasing three in less than a year. And that comes after the band went on an extensive tour through Ontario that brought their progressive rock show to soft-seat theatres and performance arts centres; and as they prepared for the release of their latest album, Apocalypse, on May 15.
“Basically, you know how it goes when you’re a musician. You’re working all day, every day. If it’s not teaching music, it’s writing music. If it’s not writing music, it’s producing other people. Or mixing another record. Or mixing your own record. Or writing the next record,” Comeau says. “You’re always busy doing something.”
But that’s not to say Oshawa’s prog rock heroes aren’t on to something truly unique that warrants such a frantic schedule.
Between their 2025 EP and LP releases, Ritual I and Ritual II, and their latest, Apocalypse, the band are in the midst of telling an full and expansive, science fiction epic – that actually got its start as far back as their 2022 LP, White Buffalo, and the introduction of the character, Fearless, in the album’s final track “The Oracle.”
While Fearless would continue to appear throughout Crown Lands’ discography to grow the overarching story of the planet, Kerrigan, and its fight against the destructive and colonizing empire known as “the Syndicate,” the instrumental Ritual I and Ritual II begin the progress of painting the picture of a peaceful Kerrigan, while Apocalypse shifts the focus to the Syndicate.
To tour with such an ambitious extended universe seems like a tall order, but Comeau was surprised at the ease and their March 2026 tour of community performance arts venues across Ontario.
“Most bands at our level are still playing clubs, but our agent pushed for a run of soft-seat theatres and performing-arts centres. It completely changed the experience,” he says.
To accommodate the vast story and new complexity of Apocalypse/the Syndicate, the band brought in two additional musicians, Daniel Walton and Adam Enrig from Dreamland Band; but the duo still found time to use theatrics, such as costumes and set design to compliment tracks about Kerrigan that emphasize the peaceful nature of the planet, as presented on the Rituals albums.
Of the unusual venues, Comeau says they
“reinforced something I’ve been thinking about for a long time: art can’t be treated purely as a profit engine. A lot of these venues operate at a financial loss because their purpose is cultural, not commercial. We need more public investment in arts spaces if we want music that’s adventurous and unusual to survive.”
So, what’s next for Crown Lands – and their tales of Fearless and his home planet of Kerrigan?
Well, for one, as a side project, Comeau says Bowles is in discussions with his Dungeon Master, Luke Paron – who also directed the official music video for Apocalypse, to create a Dungeons and Dragons campaign within the mythology.
But the ideas don’t stop there! In addition to more music within the universe, Comeau says
“we’re already talking to a comic artist friend about the possibility of a graphic novel. If we ever had the budget, I’d love to make a full science-fiction film in this universe.”
Coming up this summer, Crown Lands will be making stops in Beaumont, AB, for the Beaumont Music Festival, and at the New Maritime Music Fest in Miramichi, NB. Visit www.crownlandsmusic.com for more information and tour dates.