CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX
Sceaduhelm
Season of Mist

England’s CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX (or CBP, if you will) is more of an itinerate/mercenary collective than a band in the classic sense. Creative director Justin Greaves, ex-of IRON MONKEY, has been the lone constant in the ensemble’s 20-plus year existence, assisted by a veritable army of musicians, vocalists and various collaborators who have come, done their thing and gone.

Yet it’s been a surprisingly productive arrangement. CBP has issued more than a dozen albums and another half-dozen EPs and whatnot in that time. And the group has developed a wide-ranging sonic palette encompassing goth rock, alt-rock, postrock/metal, folk, metal, a bit of punk and swaths of progressive sprawl, that continues to expand to this day.

With 2020’s ‘Ellengæst,’ CBP stumbled onto something of a new arrangement pretty much by necessity after male vocalist Daniel Anghede left as recording was set to begin. Instead of putting things on hold to find a replacement, Greaves enlisted a slew of guests – including ANATHEMA’s Vincent Cavanagh, TRIBULATION’s then-frontman Jonathan Hulten and black metal wild card Kristian “Gaahl” Espedal, ex-of GORGOROTH – to spell primary vocalist Belinda Kordic, provide contrast and add emotional weight and depth to what was already deep and weighty material.

Joel Segerstedt was recruited as male vocalist/guitarist thereafter and performed on the ‘Painful Reminder / Dead is Dead’ EP and 2022’s massive ‘Banefyre’ opus, at almost 100 minutes, but then departed. After again pulling together the ‘The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature’ / ‘Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2)’ collection of re-recordings and covers with a revolving cast of vocalists, CBP stuck with that for its latest full-length ‘Sceaduhelm.’

Here, Kordic – who has been with the group since 2011 and perhaps qualifies as the only other “permanent” member – shares lead vocal/lyric writing with ‘Wolf/Honorifics’ contributors Ryan Patterson and Justin Storms with each, as the promo materials note, “offering a distinct but complementary perspective within the same emotional terrain.” The effect is quite dramatic, even moreso when the ample film/TV samples, voiceovers and other audio effects are factored in.

Indeed, the opener “One Man Wall Of Death” sets an aptly ominous, if somewhat weird, tone as its minimalist instrumentation builds to a rousing crescendo interspersed by voiceovers taken from the ‘50s kids’ show “Andy’s Gang.” They highlight the wiseass hand puppet “Froggy the Gremlin” and his croaky rasp that sounds a cross between Popeye and Beavis. And while his diabolical “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” laugh amuses the kiddies in the TV audience it seems strangely terrifying.

The postmetal build-up carries over to the resounding “Ravenettes” with Kordic on vocals. The crashing riffs and bulky rhythms topped by her keening voice echo CULT OF LUNA’s magnificent ‘Mariner’ collaboration with Julie Christmas. So too do the heaving “Hollows End” and “Dropout,” delivered back-to-back farther along.

As the album nears its end, though, the tone and delivery of her contributions change dramatically. “Under The Eye’s” sparse, haunting melancholia carries over to “Tired To The Bone,” which sounds very much its title with its dreamy pace, wispy vocals and eerie mellotron. But that just sets things up for the big finish, which “Beautiful Destroyer” provides and then some, but more on that in a second.

The two Storms-fronted tracks are also fairly laid back and ethereal. The thin jangle/airy sweeps of guitar in “Things Start Falling Apart” and western twang of “Colder And Colder” accented by Storms’ moany, almost muted vocals have a shoe-gazey feel, though “Falling Apart” is lifted by its brash, noisy finish.

Patterson, by contrast, brings a stately Nick Cave/Mark Lanegan-like edge with his Marlboro-scarred baritone that highlight some of the album’s boldest, most epic material. Up first is the yin-and-yang “No Epitaph / The Precipice,” which pairs a largely acoustic, “murder ballad”-like first half with an increasingly bombastic second over its 8:30 expanse as Patterson’s croon becomes a roar. And despite the rare bit of hopefulness of its “I wanna be a better man for you” refrain, the songis ultimately just as much about longing, despair and death as the rest, in keeping with its opening lines: “It’s gonna be a wonderful day for shooting everyone / Everything and everybody too.”

“Vampire Grave” is probably the album’s perkiest, punkiest track, driven by its rollicking drums, buoyant guitars and Patterson’s commanding delivery, while “Beautiful Destroyer” delivers the grand finale. After an achingly slow start, and more creepy samples, it grows crunchier and punchier – again, a la CULT OF LUNA –then downshifts to a close per Patterson’s cadence.

At 67 minutes, ‘Sceaduhelm’ isn’t nearly the marathon that ‘Banefyre’ was, which is probably just as well, since the album is at its best when taken as a whole. Though grim, and at times downright unsettling, it is always captivating as the narrative and musical arc ebbs and flows and the team of vocalists dynamic really works – though it’s a shame they rarely actually perform together. Perhaps next time.

4.5 Out Of 5.0