Palaye Royale

Self-described fashion-art rock band Palaye Royale mix grandiose modern alt-pop with gritty guitar rock that, at times, recalls both glam and Brit-pop. The Las Vegas-based indie trio developed a grassroots following thanks to their video savvy and early self-released singles like 2012's "Morning Light" and 2013's "Get Higher." After signing with Sumerian Records, they delivered an ambitious two-part debut, Boom Boom Room, which was split into two full albums in 2016 and 2018. Another full-length, The Bastards, appeared in 2020, after which the group issued a series of soaring, cinematic singles, including "Broken" from 2022's Fever Dream. During a prolific period, Palaye Royale offered back to back EPs, Sextape and Songs for Sadness, ahead of their fifth album, 2024's Death or Glory.

Formed in 2011 by the core trio of singer/frontman Remington Leith, guitarist/organist Sebastian Danzig, and drummer Emerson Barrett, they made their debut the following year with the single "Morning Light." Though unsigned, the young group quickly built a fan base, eventually pulling in 20 million views on their video channel, thanks in large part to devoted followers whom they refer to as "Soldiers of the Royal Council." Their follow-up single, 2013's rousing "Get Higher," was picked by a tech giant to feature in a global ad campaign and brought them even greater exposure. That same year, they released their debut EP, the six-song The Ends Beginning. In 2014, they won the top prize in MTV's Musical March Madness competition, beating out major acts like Coldplay, Tokio Hotel, and Linkin Park.

By the end of 2015, Palaye Royale had finally made the jump to a label, signing with Sumerian Records, which issued their James Iha-produced debut LP, Boom Boom Room (Side A), in the summer of 2016. The following year, some of the band's music was used in the thriller film American Satan, with Leith also providing the singing voice of one of the movie's characters. Beginning with 2018's "You'll Be Fine," Palaye Royale began releasing singles from their follow-up, Boom Boom Room (Side B).

Following its release, the trio headed out on the road in support of the album on their worldwide Final Boom tour; a support slot on Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson's co-headlining tour also followed, while in 2019, the group closed the decade with the Funeral Tour. That year they also entered the studio with Matthew Pauling and Chris Greatti to record their third album. The resulting release, The Bastards, was issued in May 2020 while the group embarked on a pre-release worldwide tour, which was cut short in Europe due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, Palaye Royale began teasing their next release with a pair of singles, the thumping alt-rock anthem "Punching Bag" and "Paranoid." The new material continued in 2022 with "Broken," which revealed an intense, cinematic direction for the band that they further pursued on that year's album Fever Dream. After this, they issued a pair of wide-ranging EPs, 2023's Sextape and 2024's Songs for Sadness, in quick succession. Over the next few months, Palaye Royale offered more new material including the single "Just My Type," as they ramped up for the August release of their fifth album, Death or Glory. ~ Timothy Monger