The zelous troupe that are Crippled Black Phoenix (CBP) are releasing a two-part compilation for their 20th anniversary. The band have been through a lot of changes over the past two decades, but founding members Justin Greaves and Belinda Kordic have always used their craft as a coping mechanism for what they see as a doomed planet gearing up for end days. Despite nihilistic attitudes, their music is about advocating for those living things who cannot speak up for themselves and defending their rights amidst ongoing oppression.
The first EP, The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature, is a reworked record of many of the band’s older tracks and tribute to some of their fan favorites. The second EP, Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2), is a cover album featuring an eclectic selection of songs that the band have long admired. The first EP had its digital release on November 8, but the full compilation will be out on hard disk and vinyl release at the end of the month via Season of Mist Records, on the 29. Fans of their previous albums will enjoy a re-envisioning of their old works.
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) is the band’s second cover album to date and includes tracks by the likes of Built To Spill, Fugazi, NoMeansNo, New Model Army, and more. However, all the recordings take on the hypnotic, macabre rock sounds that Crippled Black Phoenix is known for.
Greaves explained what inspired them to take on the two part anthology, “I think the reason why we’re doing it together is because we wanted to do something special for the anniversary release. We recorded some old songs and then decided we were gonna do another cover album; we did the first honorifics a few years ago and always wanted to do some more cover versions. We felt that now would be the opportunity to do it. The Wolf Changes Its Fur.. is a rework album, and it’s like covering our own songs, then we’re covering other people’s songs and I can’t think of any other time it would be appropriate, if not just for a special anniversary release.”
“Goodnight Europe” has been one of Crippled Black Phoenix most popular tracks since its initial release on their debut album A Love of Shared Disasters in 2006 and has been re-recorded for the new album. The song is a disdained foreshadowing to the future of Europe based on its tainted past. “Cities on fire, cities will burn, lights go out to never return”—These lyrics describe a hypothetical future, but Greaves and Kordic are confident that it is not too far off a very real reality we may soon find ourselves in. The band frequently write about the ways in which Mother Nature may exact her revenge on a species that has abandoned her.
“I always say that it was Britain that broke the world because, when you look at what’s happening now, especially in the U.S. and Israel … that’s what you get for having a country full of settlers. The United States is a country full of settlers. That was us going over and settling and then displacing all the Native Americans; then it escalated. I think that British imperialism kind of fucked the world from that point.”
No matter how bad it gets, Crippled Black Phoenix plan to keep making music and doing what they love, even if the rest of the world is crumbling around them. They use their platform to spread awareness, promote ideals they believe in, and stand with a community that shares the same values. In this way, the music becomes a form of commiserating for both parties … those who make it and those who let it touch their lives in one way or another.
You can preorder The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature, which includes the full compilation in the form of a three-LP vinyl set. Crippled Black Phoenix do not plan to embark on a full-scale tour in the wake of this release, but they are already working on their next full-length album which they plan to put out sometime in 2025, which they plan to follow up with a tour at that time. Be on the lookout for more updates.
Photo courtesy of Crippled Black Phoenix
