The Fallout (Crown the Empire album)

The Fallout is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Crown the Empire. It was released on November 19, 2012 through Rise Records and was produced by Joey Sturgis. It is the first album with new vocalist Dave Escamilla and the only album with founding keyboardist Austin Duncan, who left the band prior to the release.

Background and recording
Recording started in August 2012, when they entered the studio with Joey Sturgis. During the recording process, the band introduced Dave Escamilla as an official member and additional vocalist for the album.

For the deluxe edition of the album, the band re-recorded their EP Limitless and intended to release it as part of the deluxe reissue of the album in 2013, the difference being that they have incorporated Escamilla's vocals into them. Also for the release, they released "Limitless" as a single, which was released along with its own lyric video.

Release and promotion
The first single released off the album was "Makeshift Chemistry" on October 23, 2012. "Memories of a Broken Heart" was released on November 8, 11 days before the album's release. The album was made available to stream on November 15, the same day the music video for "The Fallout" was released.

The album itself was released on November 19, 2012 on CDs and digital download. The deluxe edition was released on December 9, 2013, which contained all seven tracks from the band's debut EP Limitless, re-recorded with David Escamilla.

Critical reception
The album received divided responses from critics. The AbsolutePunk review called the album's sound post-hardcore, and while it could risk getting generic and that the focus throughout the album was random, stating that at certain parts of the album, it can either have too much effort or not enough and also went on to say that the lyrics were relatable but cliché, he went on to praise the vocals and range of different vibes and sounds and felt that the album overall had good characteristics.

Alternative Press called the album's sound primarily metalcore although comparing its efforts and overall sound to the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch and Breach, gave a more critical review, which was primarily targeted towards the presence of dubstep sounds and electronic elements throughout the album.

Track listing
Notes:
 * On the deluxe reissue, the track "Graveyard Souls" is mis-titled as "Journals" for unknown reasons.
 * Britni Michelle Horner and Denis Stoff do not reprise their roles as guest vocalists on the re-recorded versions of "Voices" and "Limitless" respectively; instead, they are both are replaced by Cassie Marin and co-lead vocalist Dave Escamilla.
 * "Lead Me Out of the Dark" was not re-recorded for the deluxe edition and instead is the original version from Limitless.

Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.

Crown the Empire
 * Andrew "Andy Leo" Rockhold – lead vocals
 * Dave Escamilla – co-lead vocals
 * Bennett "Benn Suede" Vogelman – lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Brandon Hoover – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * Hayden Tree – bass
 * Brent Taddie – drums, percussion
 * Austin Duncan – keyboards, programming

Additional musicians
 * Cassie Marin – guest vocals on "Voices"

Additional personnel
 * Joey Sturgis – engineering, mastering, mixing, production
 * Nick Scott – engineering
 * Jeff Dunne – drum editing
 * Brendan Barone – composition
 * Crown the Empire – composition
 * Derek Brewer – management
 * JJ Cassiere and Tom Taaffe – booking
 * Forfathers – art direction