Wiki
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Release Date
15 July 2022
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Length
10 tracks
"Hellfire" is the third studio album by English rock/post-punk band black midi, released on 15 July 2022 through Rough Trade Records. Produced by Marta Salogni, who had previously worked with the band in recording the song "John L" from their second studio album, the album was preceded by the singles "Welcome to Hell", "Eat Men Eat", and “Sugar/Tzu”.
"Hellfire" was written while the band was isolating in London, with singer Geordie Greep calling "Hellfire" "an epic action film if "Cavalcade" was a drama". He described the characters depicted in the album as being "scumbag. Almost everything I write is from a true thing, something I experienced and exaggerated and wrote down. I don't believe in Hell, but all that old world folly is great for songs."
Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, the band debuted the majority of the "Hellfire" songs during their 2021–2022 tour in support of "Cavalcade". The bulk of the album was recorded in thirteen days, with additional members Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone) and Seth Evans (keyboards) contributing to the recording process.
Musically, "25 Years Later" labeled "Hellfire" an experimental rock album, with Beats Per Minute describing the album's sound as primarily comprising progressive rock, jazz fusion, and post-punk. Exclaim! saw black midi become jazz-rockers for "Hellfire", while DIY noted their use of art rock's pacing and precision. Alongside their prog stylings, cabaret, country, flamenco, and show tunes influences appear.
During the band's 2022 tour, shirts saying "Welcome to Hell" were sold with the date of 15 July 2022 hidden in a phone number. Many previously unreleased songs from "Hellfire" were performed by the band on the tour. The first week of May the band posted teaser clips and a Tetris-like browser game, featuring a MIDI version of their song "Welcome to Hell". On 9 May, the band revealed their third studio album and released the song as a single with a video directed by Gustaf Holtenäs, who also directed the video for "Slow" from "Cavalcade". On 15 June, a new single titled "Eat Men Eat" was released and features a music video by Maxim Kelly, who also directed the music video for "Concorde" by Black Country, New Road. On 12 July, the third single, "Sugar/Tzu" was released with a video directed by Noel Paul.
On 14 July 2022, the band hosted a listening party on their YouTube channel, playing the entire album.
Selected vinyl pre-orders of "Hellfire" came with flexi discs of several of the band's tracks throughout their career, all recorded live at Electrical Audio by Steve Albini in November 2021:
- US independent retailers had a green flexi disc of "Sugar/Tzu" available.
- UK independent retailers had a blue flexi disc of "Near DT, MI" available.
- Japanese retailers had a black flexi disc of "27 Questions" available.
- Rough Trade shops had a clear flexi disc of "953" available.
- Worldwide retailers had a red flexi disc of "Eat Men Eat" available.
- Rough Trade Records and the band's online store had an orange flexi disc of "Chondromalacia Patella" available.
"Hellfire" received a score of 79 out of 100 based on fourteen critics' reviews at review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim" reception. Steve Erickson of Slant Magazine described the album as a "concept album ripe for repeat listens" designed to be heard in its entirety, which "engages with rock’s history while simultaneously taking it in imaginative new directions". Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Kyle Kohner found "Hellfire" to be Black Midi at "their most devilish and maniacal", sounding "miraculously and hideously new, proving their aversion to any mindless repetition".
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