The king is dead—long live the king! Or: CROWN is dead—long live YOUR INLAND EMPIRE. In this interview, mastermind Stéphane Azam explains how the French band came to make this surprising name change, whether the continuous shift from the noisy drone of their debut album “Psychurgy” toward dark pop played a role in this, and which bands influenced him on this musical journey.
The first surprise in the promotional mailing was the sentence, “The metamorphosis from CROWN to YOUR INLAND EMPIRE is now complete.” So to get this right: YOUR INLAND EMPIRE is not a new, additional band, but CROWN is replaced by YOUR INLAND EMPIRE now?
YOUR INLAND EMPIRE is the continuation of CROWN through a new entity, yes.
Why did you change the name? Was it a decision you made because of artistic reasons, or were you forced to change the name due to any external reasons?
We changed the name for a new start. It came also in our mind because we had massive issues to get out from our record deal with Pelagic, but I won’t go into details. It was a tough one.
Why did you decide to go with YOUR INLAND EMPIRE? What does that name mean to you?
It’s a reference to David Lynch directly, and it symbolizes our inner self, our inner world, with our dualities, weakness, strength, wounds.
Do you remember the moment it came to your mind? What was the inspiration?
I had the name in my mind for almost 10 years, and when we decided to go one step forward with this new start, then it came naturally to call our new project like that. I’ve always been a huge fan of David Lynch and have always been inspired by his work.
Based on the last CROWN album, „The End Of All Things“, YOUR INLAND EMPIRE is music-wise just “one more step in the same direction” – but it’s really different from everything you did on the first albums. Does that reflect your personal taste in music when it comes to listening music as well? Do you listen to different music these days than when you created the first albums?
It’s one more step, but not really in the same direction. We can’t do the same stuff all the time – I think it kills creativity, and it’s also extremely boring when a band is releasing always the same recipe on each album. We like to take risks and to push boundaries. Of course the music I’m listening to has an influence, but it’s mostly emotions I need to lay down when I’m writing music – it’s almost like a spiritual ritual. I could simply tell you it’s a picture of what we are right now.
The new album reminds me more of this electronically influenced gothic metal, which we can hear on some releases by HIM, Sentenced or also the new Swedish project Cemetery Skyline. Is this a genre you are interested in, or maybe also influenced by?
David and I are coming from the rock/metal industrial scene, but we’re listening to a lot of music. We’re big fans of NIN, THE CURE, DEPECHE MODE, YOUNG GODS, KNOCKED LOOSE, GODFLESH – many, many things including hardcore, punk, world music, electronic music, ambient. I’ve never been into HIM (laughs), heard about SENTENCED but never checked – I will then! Neither CEMETERY SKYLINE. I don’t think we’re doing goth rock or metal, but there are for sure many influences mixed in our music. Maybe people can think about that because of some melancholic atmosphere, but we’re most influenced and inspired by those bands I mentioned, I would say.
If YOUR INLAND EMPIRE were a car – which type of car would it be?
The Mad Max car in the first movie. (laughs)
The artwork is quite dark and yet modern. Which building can we see here, and why do you think this picture is the perfect artwork for your album?
It’s Jeffrey Daniels who did the artwork. We wanted something that reflects the coldness of our world, and I think he did it pretty well. It’s basically concrete and glass. A city can be overwhelming and intense, not necessarily a safe place either, but in a way you have to kind of survive or adapt yourself to it. Our music is also urban at some point. I have to ask him about those pictures – but probably Philadelphia.
Your bandmate David Husser did the mix. Would you say that it is easier or more difficult to work on your own material than on other people’s music?
David did the whole recording and mix process, and we produced the album together. I usually send demos to David, we talk about it, and the first thing we do is to record drums as a first step, ’cause my drums are all programmed. Then we can go forward and go on with the guitars, bass, vocals, electronics. The songs are constantly evolving during the whole process; we also find some inspiration with experiments. But I agree – it can be very difficult at some point to take distance from your own work when you have your head into it 24/7. That’s why we did the mastering in another studio.
Why was it important to you, nevertheless, to give the album out of your hands when it comes to the master? Many engineers don’t even do a separate master these days, but do it together with the mix …
We needed some fresh ears to make it! (laughs) That’s why we tried many mastering engineers – and also someone who can have his own mark, color on it.
CROWN was not a very active live band – will that change with YOUR INLAND EMPIRE? Do you have plans to bring this music to the stage?
We’re definitely planning to tour as much as possible. With CROWN, we released the album during Covid, and we had two tours cancelled, so it was not easy to make it happen.
If so, will you also play CROWN material, or will you exclusively focus on the new material?
No, we will focus on our new material only.
Let’s end the interview with a short brainstorming session. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the following terms?
Black Metal: IMMORTAL
Diesel Denim Division: MINISTRY!
Depeche Mode: „Stripped“
Climate change: It’s definitely here!
YOUR INLAND EMPIRE in ten years: still rocking and hopefully alive! (laughs)
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18. November 2025 Moritz Grütz
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