In a year of exceptional music narrowing down an end of year top ten is proving very difficult. Picking an album of the year is damn near impossible, especially when a collection like this appears in the dying breaths of 2024. This new album by the incredible Crippled Black Phoenix is nothing short of flawless, high praise I know, but bear with me.
The howling wolves and cackling narration of We Forgotten Who We Are sets the scene perfectly before we dive headfirst into a dramatic goth rock masterpiece, clocking in at over 11 mins and feeling like a beautiful place you want to float in for an hour already. The twin male and female vocals here are used sparingly throughout this album which only adds to their impact. What follows is far more expansive than can be summed up in one short review. You Put The Devil In Me is a hard rocking head banger. Goodnight Europe Part 2 sounds like a gloriously overdriven Sigur Ros and Song For The Unloved enters on dark country and leaves with the only other saxophone part I’ve ever enjoyed that wasn’t by Ken Mode or John Zorn. The fantastically titled A Blizzard Of Horned Cats closes this album in goth rock majesty, and I’m left with my album of the year dilemma proving harder than ever! The overwhelming scope and vision of this album is pure cinematic brilliance, and this offering never lags or becomes boring. Shrouded in melodramatic romance and waves of emotive melody it’s simply masterful.
It’s incredibly rare that an album doesn’t put a foot out of place for me, but this is one of those special times.
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Review By George Miller