The Crownless King

Album: Atonement (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This intense and ferocious track finds Jesse Leach attacking the American political system.

    The penitent pray for the downfall of your
    Of your reign
    The warrior soul shall break the hold of constraints
    In the end you will suffer


    The Killswitch singer explained the song's meaning to Kerrang: "I think the people, the masses, who are the backbone of a country are the warrior soul. We are the ones that have the power, even though the political system tries to control us. The few are ruling the many, but in reality, if we flip it on its head, the people are the ones who have the power and can make a difference. But we've all been so programmed to look up to these figureheads, so I'm just calling bulls--t on the whole thing."
  • "The Crownless King" is one of the thrashier songs that the band has come up with. When they were listening back to the track, guitarist Joel Stroetzel commented that the riffs reminded him of the thrash metal band Testament. He suggested asking their vocalist Chuck Billy to contribute a guest spot. Billy agreed, tracked his parts on his own, and sent them back to Killswitch.
  • This was the song on Atonement that took the longest to come together. The band's guitarist and producer Adam Dutkiewicz told HMV he felt Leach's initial lyric ideas weren't up to scratch, so he had him re-write the song several times. Eventually Dutkiewicz was satisfied, but he then had to wait for Chuck Billy to find time to track his parts.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Mac Powell of Third Day

Mac Powell of Third DaySongwriter Interviews

The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.

Bass Player Scott Edwards

Bass Player Scott EdwardsSong Writing

Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.