You Can Perform With Crown the Empire(‘s Hologram)

When I saw a press release in my inbox with the subject line “Crown the Empire Launch Unique AR Experience,” I thought, “Wait, did I agree to do something with Crown the Empire? When did I do that? How drunk was I at the time? Am I getting paid at least?” But as it turns out, “AR” does not stand for “Axl Rosenberg,” it stands for “augmented reality.” That’s a relief, because I don’t like Crown the Empire, but also an insult, because I’m the most important person in metal and how dare any person or thing attempt to co-opt my initials. Bastards.

ANYWAY, about that augmented reality experience: it arrives via a new app called Jadu, which “allows fans to enjoy the unique experience of performing with their favorite artists by choosing from a library of photorealistic holograms of different musicians.” In this case, specifically, Crown the Empire vocalist Andy Leo.

Sez the press release:

“Users can scan their surroundings and place the hologram in their space using AR, then get into the frame with their favorite artist, and record a video as they perform with the hologram. The resulting video can be saved to their device and shared on TikTok, Instagram, or any other social media platform. It truly allow fans to live the rock ‘n’ roll dream.”

The resulting video ends up looking something like this:

The old man in me is like “That’s really dumb” but the undying adolescent in me knows I would totally try it if a band I liked did it so yeah whatever I guess. Other at-least-semi-metal-friendly artists available via the app include Poppy and Pussy Riot. If you’re curious, you can download the app here.

Meanwhile, I feel obligated to tell you that Crown the Empire have also released a new video (below) for their song “Blurry,” from last year’s Sudden Sky (Rise Records). It’s not for me but maybe you’ll like it more.