Hellfire

Being completely honest, I didn’t think this would live up to the hype. Schlagenheim was fantastic, after hearing that record I immediately knew this band was going to mean something to me. Cavalcade however, I didn’t love as much as I wanted to. It was gorgeous and there are some tracks I adore, but it just didn’t quite reach my expectations after listening to their debut. This album though, Hellfire, where do I begin?

It really is the best parts of their last two albums all put together into a complete and utter masterpiece. The melodicness and space of Cavalcade mixed with the insanely quick riffs and yelling of Schlagenheim together for an album that makes the other two look like Eminem’s Encore. I’m trying to keep this short for now so I’m not going to go into specifics because we’d be here all day, but songs like The Race Is About To Begin show that perfect mix and then some. Although the progression black midi had in the three years since their first album isn’t surprising (considering how good they still sounded then), it’s still impressive. I mean you don’t expect a record like this from a band who had only been active for five years. The lyricism is phenomenal here, but I wouldn’t expect any less from black midi. Still, this is by far their best yet in that field. The concept with each track being a story about different people going to hell/being in hell is already great, but when you add in the fact that so many of these tie in to each other, it only gets better. For example, one of the boxers from Sugar/Tzu coming back with a horse named after him in The Race Is About To Begin, along with that whole track being from the perspective of Tristan Bongo from Welcome To Hell. Or the love story from Eat Men Eat coming back in Still. The whole thing is pure genius.

Hearing this record makes me sad about black midi being broken up, but hopeful that the members will go on to flourish in their own careers. Also, what a fucking album to end off with. Their three albums, made within a five year span, are better than what most bands could do in ten albums over multiple decades. I’m excited to hear the new Greep record as well, that’s kind of why I started black midi’s discography now, because I wanted to hear the band’s main albums before going into solo projects.
Fav Tracks: Hellfire, Sugar/Tzu, Eat Men Eat, Welcome To Hell, Still, The Race Is About To Begin, Dangerous Liaisons, The Defence, 27 Questions