Banefyre

Artist: Crippled Black Phoenix -aka [ CBP ].
Title of Album: Banefyre.
Label:.
Catalog Number: SOM646
Release Date: September 9th, 2022.
Banefyre follows 2020’s Ellengæst (opens in a new tab) album — an effort that found Crippled Black Phoenix employ a series of notable guest vocalists alongside Belinda Kordic.
Justin Greaves assembled 13 songs (including “No Regrets,” a bonus track for his new project with Kordic, Johnny the Boy (opens in a new tab)) imbued with the depth and introspection that will reinforce Crippled Back Phoenix’s standing as a band that defies genre.
The album was tracked at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Lincolnshire, with vocals cut at Monolith Studio and Kapsylen Studio in Stockholm, Sweden.
Kurt Ballou handled mixing in GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts — a pivotal move in determining the album’s overall sound.
Greaves’ summation of his band notwithstanding, his distinctive guitar playing and enduring knack for immersive songwriting is the propellent behind the haunting, chant-laden “Ghostland,” pensive “The Reckoning” and forlorn “Everything is Beautiful but Us,” the band’s spot-on analysis of the retreat of humankind indoors during the pandemic that revealed nature’s priceless beauty.
The album is also stocked with no less than four ten-minute-plus cuts (“Rose of Jericho,” “Down the Rabbit Hole,” “I’m Okay, Just Not Alright” and “The Scene is a False Prophet”) that are intermixed with drama and melancholy.
It all ties into Banefyre’s central theme of the persecution of people who are deemed “different” by society.
The album title is a play on the song “Bonefire” that Kordic named and wrote lyrics for.
In classic Crippled Black Phoenix fashion, Greaves turned it into the Olde English translation to represent the bonfires that engulfed witches and politicians through the 15th and 18th centuries, hence, the name Banefyre (opens in a new tab).
The album begins with “Incantation for the Different,” which was written and orated by Chicago-based witch, artist, author and
Occultist, who, according to Greaves, “brought us some positive, dark energy.”
Banefyre then delves into the Salem Witch Trials (“Wyches and Basterdz”), fox hunting in Great Britain (“The Reckoning”), politicians of an unscrupulous and dishonest kind (“Bonefire”) and the New York City Blackout of 1977 (“Blackout77”).
Greaves says Banefyre’s topics may have a decidedly negative and pessimistic tone, but a glimmer of hope and joy remains.
“There’s always the random bits, but overall, Banefyre is about the people who have suffered because they are different.
The album covers inequality and oppression, like ‘Incantation for the Different,’ which is about overcoming when you’re put down because you’re not like everyone else.”
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 (opens in a new tab) 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.”
Band members line - up:
Justin Greaves: Guitars, Drums, Bass, Samples, Saw
Belinda Kordic: Vocals, Percussion
Helen Stanley: Grand Piano, Synthesisers, Monochord, Trumpet
: Guitar, Baritone Guitar, 12 String Guitar
: Vocals, Guitar