Crippled Black Phoenix Take On A New World In "Great Escape"

An album with a story needs many moving parts to keep the story going. Crippled Black Phoenix take on a new world in Great Escape, a new record that paints a beautiful, torn landscape out of the vivid details of the music.

Great Escape is a journey through a torn, weathered land. ‘You Brought It Upon Yourselves‘ ominously introduces the record, the haunted track sounding as if it were an angry lash against the people who destroyed this land. Songs like ‘Uncivil War (Pt I)‘ continue to expand upon that idea that it was the people who caused it, the Pink Floyd-esque instrumental being eerily calm, as if something is wrong. ‘Madman‘ follows, a more upfront and creepy song along the lines of Marilyn Manson.

Crippled Black Phoenix doesn’t start every song big, but they sure end them in that way. Every song comes to a huge end, as if to wrap up a chapter. ‘To You I Give‘ has big energy throughout, its lyrics and melodies telling a tale. The tale ends to a giant end with massive riffs and pounding drums leading to a massive end. ‘Rain Black, Reign Heavy,‘ on the other hand, is like a big entrance, its cool Western vibe introducing something new. As the record goes on after the big rock vibes in ‘Slow Motion Breakdown,’ it gets slower and more atmospheric, particularly in ‘Nebulas.’ The album comes to a massive conclusion with a two part track, ‘Great Escape (Pt I)‘ starting things off atmospherically, leading into the multi-parted, dynamic conclusion ‘Great Escape (Pt II),‘ which is almost a story of its own.

Crippled Black Phoenix take on a new world in Great Escape, creating chapters out of thrilling scenes and huge ends with each track. There’s a lot going on, and it all ties things together in the end in a powerful way.

Favorite Track: Rain Black, Reign Heavy

Least Favorite Track: Las Diabolicas

Rating: 72 / 100

Stream or buy Great Escape on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: