This long-standing act now releases its twelfth album, along with other releases the theme is the human condition and the mistreatment of humans and animals alike.
Musically I expected something unusual and experimental. The narrative “Incantation For The Different” rails against the rich before the doomy “Wyches and Bastardz” takes over. It is sinister and treads a darkly trodden path. Belinda Kordic’s vocals support the languid instrumentals in providing the ghoulish and weird element. The song is based on the Salem Witch Trials. “Ghostland” is like an emergency being enacted with its sirens. A dark chorus chants. The drum beats hypnotically. It’s like the long march. “The Reckoning” is by contrast more upbeat. About fox-hunting, it is a forward-driving and pervasive song, bordered by colourful instrumental work and leaving us in no doubt about its strong message. Strong songs and strong messages are what Crippled Black Phoenix are about. On one level, “Banefyre” plods along in a languid fashion but the sound is worked to be invasive and expansive. Again it is a song that can be followed so we can imbibe the flow and the words. “Rose of Jericho” is one of four pieces of more than 10 minutes’ duration on this album. From the previous two songs it turns now to funereal but imposing post-metal plod. A chorus adds to the heightened atmosphere. A quietly ringing guitar, a Native Indian call and the sound of a trumpet signal sad loneliness and beauty. Gradually it is taken over by a cosmic storm, itself giving way to a sombre drum beat, a dark post rock vibe and an indie-style vocal line. It’s darkness all the way on “Blackout77” with its vivid narration but the song that goes with it has a strong emotional and chilling edge to it. Ever a band for surprises, after all the unremitting gloom, the album ends with the loud and nasty black metal piece “No Regrets”. Knowing that everything with Crippled Black Phoenix is carefully thought out, I didn’t get the purpose of this shift.
Rabbit holes are a common theme, I find, and here we go down it on the eighth track of this album. The ghostly vocals of Belinda Kordic once again guide us through this dark song. The quiet instrumentals are delicate and menacing, and slowly build up in a post-rock style. Away we head into an instrumental Wonderland, before the clouds thicken and the drum pumps out an imperious beat. The choral chanting at the end has an ethereal quality. “Down the Rabbit Hole” is like a progressive rock operetta. “Everything is Beautiful But Us” continues the post-rock style. The drum work is like Cult of Luna, but again the Kordic vocals lend a misty quality to it. “The Pilgrim” by contrast is a standard song albeit with a dark tinge. What’s different is that it doesn’t go the extra mile in creating its dark atmosphere, unlike the shadowy and menacing “I’m OK, Just Not Alright” which follows. “Like a crate of rotten memories” is the simple description that Crippled Black Phoenix give on their site. That’s about right. The sheer gloom is tempered by the lush post rock guitar work and by those haunting and captivating vocals from Belinda Kordic. And the songs themselves always have sense of direction about them, even if it’s never a happy one. “The Scene of a False Prophet” indeed seems to be drawing us to the depths of despair before taking us instrumentally into a weird and wonderful psychedelic world.
If this was a boxing match, it would be a heavyweight contest. There’s no room for levity here. The appeal of “Banefyre” lies in its intensity and invention, and there’s plenty of both on this darkest of albums.
(8/10 Andrew Doherty)
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