Black Crown Initiate

Black Crown Initiate
Black Crown Initiate at Euroblast 2016
Background information
OriginReading, Pennsylvania, United States
GenresTechnical death metal, progressive metal
Years active2012–present
LabelseOne, Century Media
MembersJames Dorton
Andy Thomas
Nick Shaw
Ethan McKenna
Past membersRik Stelzpflug
Wes Hauch
Jeff Willet
Jesse Beahler
Samuel Santiago
WebsiteBlack Crown Initiate on Facebook

Black Crown Initiate is an American extreme metal band from Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, currently signed to Century Media. The band formed in 2012 and self-released their first EP Song of the Crippled Bull, which was met with positive reviews. The band began touring in early 2014 with fellow extreme metal bands such as Goatwhore, Behemoth, and 1349; this led to them being signed by eOne Music in June 2014. With eOne, they released both The Wreckage of Stars, on September 30, 2014, and Selves We Cannot Forgive, released on July 22, 2016.

Their third studio album, Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape, was released with Century Media on August 7, 2020.

When asked about the origins of the name "Black Crown Initiate" in a 2016 Reddit AMA, the band stated:

There is a Tibetan spiritual leader that wears a black crown to signify help for humanity. We are all pervert pigs so we help by showing people that, first about ourselves.