London trio black midi have announced their third studio album, Hellfire. The new record follows last year’s Cavalcade and 2019’s Mercury Prize nominated Schlagenheim.
The trio of Geordie Greep (guitar, vocals), Cameron Picton (bass, vocals) and Morgan Simpson (drums) will release Hellfire on Friday, 15th July via Rough Trade Records. The album’s lead single, ‘Welcome to Hell,’ is out now.
The record was written during lockdown in London following the completion of Cavalcade. “If Cavalcade was a drama, Hellfire is like an epic action film,” Greep said in a statement. The songs on Hellfire are written in the first person and centre on the thoughts and actions of various “morally suspect characters.”
“Almost everyone depicted is a kind of scumbag,” said Greep. This is illustrated by ‘Welcome to Hell,’ which is narrated from the perspective of a debauched soldier.
“The setting is a far-off military campaign,” said Greep. “It is nighttime; erratic men rush up and down the strip in various stages of inebriation. Neon signs light up the bars, and out of their open doors waft wisps of indeterminate smoke. Deafening howls of motorcycle engines linger all around, accompanied by a medley of languages – albeit, all slurred, coarse, hoarse and evasive of any true emotion.”
Watch the music video for ‘Welcome to Hell’ below, directed by Gustaf Holtenäs. Earlier this year, black midi released the three-song covers EP, Cavalcovers, featuring versions of King Crimson’s ‘21st Century Schizoid Man,’ Captain Beefheart’s ‘Moonlight On Vermont,’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story.’
black midi – Hellfire
- Hellfire
- Sugar/Tzu
- Eat Men Eat
- Welcome To Hell
- Still
- The Race Is About To Begin
- Dangerous Liaisons
- The Defence
- 27 Questions
