Hellfire (studio album) by Black Midi

Black Midi's move towards jazz fusion creates a couple of new issues but opens up far more opportunities for one of the most exciting bands active today. From their debut, the group's technical ability has been beyond question and Hellfire is another doubling down on these talents. The force of tracks such as 'Hellfire', 'Sugar/Tzu' and 'Welcome to Hell' go beyond anything else you're likely to hear these days. Hearing this kind of power in this new genre and the instrumental choices it opens up show a new creative avenue that the band explore completely. Across these tracks Geordie Greep's vocals soar higher than ever before, with 'The Race is About to Begin' in particular showcasing a range of styles that aren't just technically proficient, but that sound great too. The two tracks that Cameron Picton lend vocals to are amongst the best here. 'Eat Men Eat' is wildly ambitious and manages to cram more into three minutes than you'll find in many albums, it somehow manages this without ever sounding rushed. 'Still' allows the band to explore an emotional range that Greep's vocals can't, it's another example of how effectively the record brings out the best in the band's individual members. I think the album might have had a nicer flow if there was just one more of these tracks on the second half of the record which is mostly stuck in the shadow of the earlier half, there's an almost breathless feel after 'The Race is About to Begin' like every idea's been exhausted. I definitely prefer Hellfire to the band's previous album Cavalcade, but would have liked to have seen something on this record match the bizarre intensity of a track like 'John L'. I've mentioned how successful the jazz fusion direction is across the record, but by the end it does seem to slightly dampen the experimental edge of the group. However, the constant shape shifting of the band's energy seems bound to lead to many more promising records in future.

“Hellfire” is a fantastic refinement. The production quietness of “cavalcade” has been ironed out and tracks can be easily heard. While the instrumental style remains nearly the same, it’s been conceptualized. The tracks stop and start on each other without delay. The lyrics are focused on exploring the interconnected characters and world they’ve created. Hearing about the aftermath of “Welcome to hell” affecting a common character in “The Race Is About To Begin” is so rewarding as a listener. “Hellfire” also lives up to its name with the thematic reoccurrence of sin. The sins are reflective of the characters and the characters of the sins. The main weakness of the album is the tracks don’t stand the strongest on their own. They are all technically gifted but lack a groove or melody to remain in your consciousness after listening. Still, cohesive, explorative, and a welcome improvement

From Brad1770 11/28/2022 00:41

Whoa this ones out there even by black midi out there standards. My brain is attuned to “regular” music and simply couldn't cope with this abstract piece. I’m sure there’s an appetite for this type of art but not me

Album Rating: 76.50
(612/8)

1.Hellfire. N/a
2.Sugar/Tzu. 79
3.Eat Men Eat. 71
4.Welcome To Hell. 80
5.Still. 79
6.Half Time. N/a
7.The Race Is About To Begin. 80
8.Dangerous Liaisons. 69
9.The Defence. 78
10.27 Questions. 76

Wildly experimental. You have to be in the mood to listen to it. I wasn't but I can't deny that they are really trying to do everything they can to not be boring and I give them massive credit for that.

Their best so far. Quite good.

There are a bunch of degens gambling at a horse track where the announcer keeps getting distracted - every other thing he says has nothing to do with the race at all, but is instead panicking about the rise of fascism and dangers of climate change. Nobody even notices. Then 2 religious extremist groups bomb the whole place simultaneously just as the race ends. There was no communication between the terrorists, the attacks have just become so common that the coincidence isn't even noted. Half of the debris and bomb fragments and body parts and shrapnel get auctioned off before the auctioneer stops for a quick meth/crack break to sell off the other half of the aftermath even faster. One corporation wins all of it and makes a collage out of the juiciest bits and sells it to an art collector for double what it spent. All of this gets reported on the news, but the closest any viewers get to empathy is in the middle of furiously masturbating when they orgasm so hard that they die and go to hell. They love it down there, the torture just keeps strengthening them until they're ready to take on heaven. So they get up there and slaughter everything handily before returning to earth and possessing all of the fascist leaders and all of the liberal leaders who finally see eye to eye. We have world peace for about 5 seconds until they decide the best way to deal with our problems is to burn through all of the fossil fuels as fast as we can and fill the oceans with plastic straight from the factories. They meet in this huge ballroom where they alternatively dance the flamenco and fucking waltz until long after all their skin falls off of their old dinosaur bones. And by waltz, I really do mean waltz. Others in faraway lands outside the ballroom are thrashing around, but not to music. They're just on fire. Most of them still don't even realize it.

That's what's going on sonically anyway. Lyrically? Don't ask me, I have no idea what's being sung about this time. I can't even say that I "like" it. I appreciate it. I'm "feeling" it. I sit in awe of it, I don't move to it. How could you move to it? What would you be doing, the flamenco, then waltz, in between headbanging (b/c that's literally what the music is switching between)? Like if the pyramids were outside my house I'd probably look at them multiple times a day and wonder how exactly they got there. That's this record - pyramids in between "Cavalcade" and "For The First Time" and I just listen to it a couple times a day and sit there and wonder how the fuck we got here. In a perfect world, we wouldn't be "vibing" to this. This wouldn't even exist because nothing would prompt the insanity and desperation and hopelessness behind it. If people there could hear it, they'd laugh and sarcastically ask, "what planet is this from?" The answer of course would be this planet. Enjoy your Hellfire.

From thirstyDog 07/22/2022 21:57

These kids are nuts.

Wow. I'm absolutely speechless. The boys have really outdone themselves with this one. This might just overthrow Ants From Up Here for my aoty.

I found ‘Hellfire’ to be a brilliant, fascinating and ambitious expansion from where the band left off on ‘Cavalcade’. I love how much they’re leaning into the world they’ve created and aren’t afraid to keep delving further.