Rightfully christened as both “The Hottest Band of 2018” and simply “the” group of the year, by the English music press, Canadian fashion-rock trio PALAYE ROYALE is a shot of adrenaline into the modern musical landscape. Summoning a thrilling spirit, with throwback sonic crunch, visual flair, and reckless live performances, PALAYE ROYALE has quickly earned a legion of obsessive cult-like loyalists, lovingly dubbed Soldiers of the Royal Council.

PALAYE ROYALE draw as much inspiration from cinema and philosophy as they do from their musical muses, building a story with libertine reverence for Alan Watts and debauchery-fueled nights at the Chateau Marmont, for Johnny Thunders and The Stooges. This band is equally at home in the hallways of Los Angeles Fashion Week or climbing the lighting tresses at the Vans Warped Tour. They sold out theaters on their first-ever headlining tour and steal the show at each major festival.

PALAYE ROYALE brought the juxtaposition of the glitz and grime of their teenage years spent in Las Vegas, when they relocated to Los Angeles in 2011. The ghost of Charlie Chaplin was surely some sort of unseen guide as they took up residence in his old home and rehearsed continuously in a basement. By the time they hit the road, borrowing their mother’s Cadillac Escalade, Remington Leith, Sebastian Danzig, and Emerson Barrett were a tightly wound creative force. (Not long ago, they slept in that SUV outside a Motel 6, unable to afford to rent a room.)

It was Alex Burdon, daughter of The Animals singer Eric Burdon, who insisted Sumerian’s founder see the band. (The label offered them a contract the same night.) Los Angeles radio personality and tastemaker Rodney Bingenheimer introduced PALAYE ROYALE to rock industry legend Kim Fowley, another strong supporter. James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins/A Perfect Circle and Corey Taylor of Slipknot/Stone Sour also count themselves among the band’s true believers, having worked with them as a producer and taken them out on tour, respectively. Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn made a guest appearance on Boom Boom Room (Side A). Sumerian’s Ash Avildsen handpicked Remington to voice the lead character in American Satan, Johnny Faust, a young rock star trapped in a literal deal with the devil. As the voice of the fictitious singer’s songs in the movie, Remington collaborated closely with Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce and Black Veil Brides singer Andy Biersack, who invited PALAYE ROYALE on tour with Andy Black.

As their moniker itself evokes (Palaye Royale is the name of the Toronto dancehall where their grandparents met in the ‘50s), the brotherly trio is eager to connect themselves and this generation to the spirit of the past, but reinvigorated for today with eclecticism and fierce individuality. Their tours are like a traveling circus. Clad in scarves, hats, paisley shirts, and makeup, as the Soldiers of the Royal Council attest, it’s the PALAYE ROYALE lifestyle.

Even as 2016’s Boom Boom Room (Side A) and 2018’s Boom Boom Room (Side B) document the story thus far, PALAYE ROYALE remain focused on the bigger picture. They’ve built something grander than a band. It’s an artistic movement. Ever self- assured in their ambition and staunch in their support of individuality, PALAYE ROYALE are “outfitting the revolution” (as they like to say).

As Sebastian put it best, PALAYE ROYALE is entertainment at full volume.