Crippled Black Phoenix have spent the last two decades wilfully lurking on music’s darker fringes, the missing link between Paradise Lost and Pink Floyd. Comfortably glum, basically.
Released on their 20th anniversary, The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature features seven re-recorded tracks from the early part of their career. While it’s hardly busting out the birthday streamers, it’s a terrific primer for anyone unfamiliar with their crepuscular catalogue.
444 and Goodnight Europe Pt 2 are tweaked rather than overhauled by core duo Justin Greaves (various instruments) and Belinda Kordic (vocals) plus a rotating cast of backing musicians, adding both a rawer edge and an extra shot of grandeur.
The highlight is Song For The Unloved, a 14-minute blowout that rips off at least four Pink Floyd songs and gets away with it. It comes with a companion covers album, Horrific Honorifics Number Two, featuring morose makeovers of songs by New Model Army, Deep Purple and 80s singer Laura Branigan among others. Cute, but not a patch on their own songs.
