I, Vigilante by Crippled Black Phoenix
KSCOPE REISSUE 2010's CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ALBUM FROM POST-ROCK SUPERGROUP
U.K. progressive post-rock supergroup Crippled Black Phoenix is a musical collective that has featured nearly 30 members in its rotating roster. The constant driving force is multi- instrumentalist Justin Greaves (Electric Wizard, Iron Monkey, Se Delan), who formed the band in 2004 with Mogwai bassist Dominic Aitchison. Creating what they describe as "endtime ballads” to signify both the slightly macabre nature of their songs and the unusual blend of styles as the final evolution in music. The band have made live shows a focus by performing in unusual venues across the world as well as using Victorian-era instruments in tandem with more modern instruments, often involving more than a dozen members on-stage.
In 2006, Crippled Black Phoenix released their first album, A Love of Shared Disasters, which will be reissued on mid-price CD to follow the I, Vigilante reiussue. Originally released in 2010 on Invada Records, their fourth album I, Vigilante is a record of uncompromising soundscapes that garnered the band & album widespread critical acclaim within the media worldwide. 2012 saw the more conceptual studio album, (Mankind) The Crafty Ape and their seventh and most recent album is White Light Generator from 2014. The band continued with two European tours that reached a summit in April 2016 at London’s famed venue Electric Brixton.
On I, Vigilante, CBP create songs that feel both sky-crackingly epic and intimate at the same time. “We Forgotten Who We Are” is an 11 minute thundering storm which powers through sections of head-nodding chugging guitars to a sunrise of happy melody and back, “Fantastic Justice” is a staggering display of songwriting, with twists and turns that make the band sound like a mini orchestra – horns, strings, crashes and swoons with Greaves the dark conductor. The spoken-word opening to “Bastogne Blues” is perfectly evocative for a genuinely troubled song, CBP’s command of bleakness is at its strongest here; cinematic doesn’t come close to describing the song’s emotional resonance. When I, Vigilante threatens to disintegrate into a black hole of misery, a faithfully screaming version of Journey’s “Of a Lifetime” shows a sense of humour and some sweet guitar tones.
Tracklist
| 1. | Troublemaker | 8:33 |
| 2. | We Forgotten Who We Are | 10:47 |
| 3. | Fantastic Justice | 7:54 |
| 4. | Bastogne Blues | 12:01 |
| 5. | Of A Lifetime | 6:45 |
| 6. | Burning Bridges | 2:31 |
Credits
License
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Created in May 2008 to provide a home for the growing post-progressive genre and an evolving, flexible and adventurous style of music without boundaries.