" A voice for the voiceless with their distinct and unique sound" - Echoes and Dust
"Pity the fool who tries to tell Crippled Black Phoenix that the album is dead" - Drowned in Sound
"One of the best post-rock bands I've discovered upon my travels" - Toilet Ov Hell
Profoundly heavy and truly mesmerizing" - Metal Hammer
Since banding together in 2004, Crippled Black Phoenix have stood as a voice for big city dreamers and creatures of the forest. This year, Justin Greaves (ex Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard), long-time vocalist Belinda Kordic and their many collaborators are celebrating 20 years of shedding light on our troubled existence by releasing a new, two-part compilation.
The Wolf Changes Its Fut But Not Its Nature collects reworked versions of the UK band's early signature songs, including the darker, gloomier "Goodnight, Europe (Pt2)". Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2)continues their tradition of haunting homages with covers that range from Fugazi to NoMeansNo, Deep Purple and Built to Spill.
Today, CBP are releasing their haunting cover of Laura Branigan's "Self Control", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1984.
Hear Crippled Black Phoenix cover "Self Control" below.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature and Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) come out November 29 on Season of Mist.
Pre-order & Pre-save
https://orcd.co/cbpwolf
https://orcd.co/cbphonorifics
With their version of "Self Control", Crippled Black Phoenix extract the same eerie sense of longing that Laura Branigan hit on with her 1984 recording. Belinda Kordic's ever-captivating croon gives voice to a shared darkness, breathing new life into a song that still resonates with the tortured souls of our modern age.
In true CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, the Lucy Marshall-created Banefyre cover leaves plenty to the imagination, depicting four animals seated at a table — interacting and dressed like human beings. “It’s sort of like Planet of the Apes showing what animals could do to humans,” says Greaves. “The cover was specially commissioned and is unique to the album. It’s incorporating all the classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX elements with the love for animals and twisting the narrative around.”
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s reputation was built on the back of their studio albums and live shows. The pandemic prevented the band from supporting Ellengæst, but it did provide them additional time to bring in new members to their live configuration.
“We’ve done one show since 2019,” says Greaves. “We are going to do something in Europe this year. Hopefully, we can get back on track. We’re also going to do something in the States — that’s not just talk, we’re actually going to do it. It’s well overdue. The live band is fucking amazing. We have the five of us and now we have Jordi [Farré] on drums, Paco [Fleischfresser] on synth and a really good friend of mine, Matt Crawford on bass.
“We did the Leipzig show and even though the rehearsals were better than the show itself, that lineup, our live band, is so good. Because we haven’t been under pressure to put a live band together since 2019 and spent so long talking to people, we’ve got a better band from those results. Out of disaster, we’ve got quite a good, positive thing.”
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature & Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are a double album celebrating the 20 year existence of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX.
Original Credits:
All tracks on Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are covers of various artists.
Vengeance
Originally recorded by New Model Army, Written by: Sullivan/Morrow
Self Control
Originally recorded by Laura Branigan, Written by: Giancarlo Bigazzi, Raffaele Riefoli, Steve Piccolo
Blueprint
Originally recorded by Fugazi, Written by: Canty, Lilly, MacKaye, Picciotto
And That’s Sad
Originally recorded by NoMeansNo, Written by: NoMeansNo
Hammer Song
Originally recorded by Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Written by Alex Harvey
When A Blind Man Cries
Originally recorded by Deep Purple, Written by: Gillan, Glover, Blackmore, Lord, Paice
My Pal
Originally recorded by God, Written by: God, Joel Silbersher)
Goin’ Against Your Mind
Originally recorded by Built To Spill, Written by: Doug Martsch, Jim Roth, Brett Nelson, Scott Plouf
Lineup:
Vengeance
Ryan Patterson - Vocals
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars, Backing Vocals
Belinda Kordic - Backing Vocals
Wesley J. Wasly - Bass
Self Control
Belinda Kordic - Vocals
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars
Andy Taylor - Baritone Guitar
Helen Stanley - Synth
Wesley J. Wasley - Bass
Blueprint
Ryan Patterson - Vocals
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars
Helen Stanley - Piano
Wesley J. Wasley - Bass
And That's Sad
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars, Vocals
Wesley Wasley - Bass, Vocals
Hammer Song
Belinda Kordic - Vocals
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars
Andy Taylor - Guitar, Acoustic guitar
Helen Stanley - Synth, Hammond
Wesley J. Wasley - Bass
When A Blind Man Cries
Belinda Kordic - Vocals
Justin Greaves, Drums, Guitars
Andy Taylor - Guitars
Helen Stanley - Piano
Kostas Panagiotou - Hammond
Wesley J. Wasley - Bass
My Pal
Belinda Kordic - Vocals
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars, Backing Vocals
Wesley J. Wasley - Bass
Goin' Against Your Mind
Justin Storms - Vocals
Justin Greaves - Drums, Guitars
Andy Taylor - Guitar
Wesley J. Wasley - Bass
Recorded in 2023 at:
Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire
Engineered by Pieter Rietkerk
Additional Vocal Sessions at:
Kapsylen Studio, Stockholm
Engineered by Jörgen Jugglo Wall.
House Of Foto, Louisville, KY
Engineered by Ryan Patterson
Additional Production Credits:
Mixed by Pieter Rietkerk
Mastered by Magnus Lindberg
Produced by Justin Greaves
Cover Art:
Erebus Art (Thanasis Stratidakis)
Pre-save & Pre-order 'The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature': https://orcd.co/cbpwolf
Pre-save & Pre-order 'Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2)': https://orcd.co/cbphonorifics
Follow Crippled Black Phoenix:
Official Website: https://www.crippledblackphoenix.net/
Bandcamp: https://crippledblackphoenixsom.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CBP444/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbp_444/
Twitter (X): https://x.com/cbp_official/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6WEyPcf9ezhNLm1xOBjbwH
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/crippled-black-phoenix/251718934
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/artist/391823
TIDAL: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/3607159