Palaye Royale is an American rock band from Las Vegas, formed in 2008 by brothers Remington Leith, Sebastian Danzig, and Emerson Barrett. Formed under the name Kropp Circle, the band released one EP and two singles before changing their name to Palaye Royale in 2011. Under this name, they have released five full length albums and four EPs through Sumerian Records.
History
2008–2010: Kropp Circle and early years
The band's principal members are brothers Sebastian Danzig, Remington Leith and Emerson Barrett. When Danzig was sixteen, Leith was fourteen and Barrett was twelve, their mother, Stephanie Cowper, was advised by her friend Paul Weller of the Jam to allow the brothers to drop out of school and pursue music as a career.[1] The brothers originally formed under the name Kropp Circle and began playing a style of acoustic soft rock.[2] The band was featured in the online Radio Disney show N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) in 2009.[3] The following year they released the four track EP Who we Really are, accompanied by two singles and music videos: "Who we Really are" and "Can't Stop the Rain".[4]
2011–2019: Name change and Boom Boom Room (Side A and B)
Palaye Royale performing an acoustic set in 2018
In 2011, Kropp Circle changed their name to Palaye Royale, as a reference to the dance hall Palais Royale in Toronto, where their grandparents first met.[5][6] Palaye Royale released their first single "Morning Light" in March 2012.[7] The six-song EP The Ends Beginning was released in June 2013. In 2014 they were the first unsigned band to win MTV's Musical March Madness tournament, beating out artists such as Linkin Park.[8] In late 2015 they signed with Sumerian Records,[7] and released their first full-length album Boom Boom Room (Side A) in June 2016.[9] The single "Get Higher" peaked at #26 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts.[10] They travelled with the Warped Tour in 2016. In 2017 Remington Leith provided the singing voice for the character Johnny Faust (otherwise played by Andy Biersack) in the film American Satan; Leith also voiced the singer in the film's fictional band “The Relentless”.[11] During this period, the band added bassist Daniel Curcio and guitarist Andrew Martin as touring musicians.
Palaye Royale began recording their second album in early 2018,[12] though material from early sessions was scrapped. The album Boom Boom Room (Side B) was completed just one week before the band joined that year's Warped Tour.[13] The album was released in September 2018. During this period, the band's British fans organized a series of meet-ups in public parks called Palaye in the Park; the band attended this first one in London, and fans in other countries have adopted the practice.[14] The band organized their tour in the spring 2019 to support Boom Boom Room (Side B); during the time, Sebastian Danzig was arrested for throwing a cup of coffee at a car that tried to run over him and his fiancée's dog.[15] In the summer of that year, Palaye Royale opened for Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson on the Twins of Evil Tour.[16] In early 2020 the band instituted a series of "pop-up shops" in England, in which that country's fans could attend a special retail event to purchase band merchandise without paying international shipping costs; artwork by drummer Emerson Barrett is often featured at these events. The events spread to other European countries, with the band appearing at some.[17]
2020–2023: The Bastards and Fever Dream
The band embarked on a European tour in early 2020 to support their upcoming third album. A February date in Glasgow, Scotland was cancelled due to a disagreement with the venue,[18] and another show in Birmingham, England was cancelled but replaced by a sold-out show in Wolverhampton.[19] Just before a show in Prague, Czech Republic, the rest of the tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] The band's third album, The Bastards, was released in May 2020 and included songwriting contributions from touring musicians Daniel Curcio and Andrew Martin.[21] Curcio was fired from the band in June 2020 due to allegations of online misconduct.[22]
On July 5, 2021, the band announced the beginning of a new album era and the upcoming release of two new singles.[23] On July 9 both singles, titled "No Love In LA" and "Punching Bag", were released on all platforms. On October 11, 2021, the band released a new single titled "Paranoid".[24] The title of the album Fever Dream was officially announced on November 16 during an interview with Ted Stryker, followed by a post on the group's official Twitter account. On the 20 of May they released the single "Broken", followed by the album's titular track "Fever Dream" on July 15.[25]
On August 3 they announced their 2023 Fever Dream European & UK tour, with special guests Yonaka.[26] On June 23, 2023, they released the single "Debilitate" featuring Pussy Riot, which had previously been included as a bonus track from the Japanese edition of Fever Dream.[27] On November 22, they released a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins's 1995 song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" as a single, a part of the soundtrack for the science fiction film Divinity.[28]
2023–present: Sextape, Songs for Sadness and Death or Glory
On December 1, 2023, the band released the single "Dead To Me" and announced that it would be a part of their EP Sextape, set for release on December 8.[29]
On January 12, 2024, Palaye Royale released the single "umakemenotwannadie", which was accompanied by the announcement it would be a part of the Songs For Sadness EP, released on January 19, 2024.[30]
On May 7, 2024, they released the single, "Just My Type",[31] which was followed by "Wednesday Afternoon" on May 12.[32] On June 5, they released the three track single "Dead To Me (Reimagined)", which featured the original "Dead to Me" song, along with an acoustic version and a reimagined version featuring Unlike Pluto and Joanna Jones.[33] On June 26, they released the single "Showbiz", accompanied by the announcement that their fifth studio album Death or Glory would be released on August 30 of the same year.[34]
Musical style
Vocalist Remington Leith during a 2022 live performance
