Crown The Empire were in South East Asia when the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold. Playing shows in Taiwan, the band were acutely aware that the atmosphere was different. People were nervous and guarded, with a palpable feeling of tension in the room whenever the metalcore four-piece took to the stage. For affable frontman Andy Leo, it was an unsettling experience. “Coronavirus completely blindsided us,” he begins. “Things quickly got serious on that tour. Travelling between countries in Asia was very unnerving, and eventually we had to cancel our show in Hong Kong because the authorities told us if we went in, they wouldn’t let us out. Fortunately, we made it back home a couple of days before travel started getting shut down.” As a singer with asthma living in Los A...
