In their latest work, English post-rockers Crippled Black Phoenix once again deal with the human soul life - this time adding the state of the British nation
Just under a week before the release of "Ellengæst", we catch CBR founder Justin Greaves happily, even almost frolicsomely, in his study. As he tells us in conversation, he is already working on the next album. He also tells us about the recording sessions for the current album and the latest changes in his band.
eclipsed: How satisfied are you with the new album?
Justin Greaves: Very satisfied! But it's funny to talk about it, because we recorded the album last year in October.
eclipsed: Two years ago, in the eclipsed interview, you said all that crap about the brexite and its effects should go away as soon as possible. Today, the brexite issue is still topical, plus the corona crisis. Dark times.
Brexit? Money worries? Depression? Justin Greaves, mastermind of Crippled Black Phoenix, has scared away the demons that plagued him and made room for what he can control and influence. First of all, this includes "Great Escape", the latest release of the British art and progrock formation.
Crippled Black Phoenix and their songwriter and guitarist Justin Greaves have been through hard times. The new album "Great Escape" exudes a spirit of new beginnings in many respects. The British man explains his recipe against dark forces in a conversation.
eclipsed: Your new songs sound more liberated than ever, at the same time lyrics and song titles are more biting than ever. Which aspects of world affairs are of particular interest to you at the moment?
Crippled Black Phoenix deal with the current socio-political situation. Their thoughts also revolve around internal topics. Behind the band from Bristol are legal disputes with their former members Karl Demata and Christian Heilmann. She survived the ordeal. Crippled head Justin Greaves has meanwhile passed through a personal misery: he has fought his depressions and put them in their place. The 45-year-old said that he had emerged stronger from it. In any case he turns against negative elements like populists and other dividers with the new record "Bronze".
eclipsed: Justin, during the "New Dark Age Tour" 2015 you prophesied a dark phase of untruths and oppression. Do you feel confirmed in the face of Brexit and Trump election?
Justin Greaves, mastermind, guitarist and face of Crippled Black Phoenix, has always had a soft spot for history, especially its dark chapters, and social grievances. Both themes flowed sufficiently into the lyrical content of the previous Crippled Black Phoenix albums and made the special art rock of the British appear just as dark and violent.
MARILLION
30 years "Fugazi"
"We were in a transitional phase as a band: from a bunch of kids in a van hunting for a record deal to a band that finally had that deal in their pockets and was now trying to record the follow-up to a successful debut album This is Fish's assessment of the situation Marillion found himself in a few months after the release of "Script For A Jester's Tear" in spring 1983.
PETER GABRIEL
Berlin calling
THE DOORS
Mr. Mojo risin' and fallin'
Everything was different when the Doors went into the studio in November 1970 to record their sixth studio album "L.A. Woman". The band was more experienced than ever and yet everything felt different: new producer, new studio, new members and a new structure in the band. On the occasion of the re-release of the last album with Jim Morrison eclipsed spoke with Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek - and had the complete back catalogue commented.
AGITATION FREE
Hippies forever!
WOODSTOCK
Picnic and Revolution
The hippie spectacle in (the vicinity of) Woodstock cannot be compared to any other rock festival. Despite Monterey, Isle Of Wight (1968-70) or contemporary events such as Coachella, Roskilde or Glastonbury, Woodstock is and remains a legendary symbol of the combination of commitment and ecstasy, protest and profit.
WOODSTOCK: THE MAKERS
Two business types and two freaks: That was the constellation of the core team that created a pop culture myth with the Woodstock Festival. But there were other people who made Woodstock Woodstock.
Crippled Black Phoenix made it. They have outgrown the underground and gained a reputation on a broad level, which allows them to tour worldwide and play at the big festivals. And all this without bending, without giving up her vision of an alternative artrock. Band founder and guitarist Justin Greaves talks about the inner workings of his band and the new album.
eclipsed: "White Light Generator sounds quieter than its predecessors.
Justin Greaves: Yeah, it could be. There's no suitable material for the big stadium skirt, is there? No heavy rock either. We don't think about what a new album should sound like before. There is only one requirement: It should not sound like its predecessor. "White Light Generator has indeed become very intimate. It is very emotional and not as powerful as "(Mankind) The Crafty Ape".
