As we approach the anniversary of the release of Cavalcade, black midi are already asking us to get ready for another onslaught: their third album is called Hellfire and will come out on July 15 through Rough Trade. The album was written in isolation following the release of Cavalcade and before they headed out on tour. Vocalist Geordie Greep says:
“If Cavalcade was a drama, ‘Hellfire’ is like an epic action film… Almost everyone depicted is a kind of 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, I’ve always loved movies and anything else with a depiction of Hell. Dante’s Inferno. When Homer goes to Hell in the Simpsons. There’s a robot Hell in Futurama. Isaac Bashevis Singer, a Jewish writer who portrays a Satan interfering in people’s lives. There’s loads!”
To welcome us into this inferno-themed record, black midi have released “Welcome to Hell”. Despite its dark name, “Welcome to Hell” begins with one of Greep’s most vivid and strangely beautiful verses: “Listen! The sweet peals of moonlight induced love making on the streets tonight / Listen! The soft purr of motorbikes ready to strike up the night life.” These scenes are painted over a combination of jagged rhythms and celestial synth, sucking us deeper into this unruly world until we reach a cataclysmic explosion of brass like a city-sized crater in the ground. Things get more helter-skelter and haywire from there, but, as usual, black midi have us firmly strapped in while we ride their bucking and neck-snapping aural rollercoaster.
The video for “Welcome to Hell” is another epic animation that follows the protagonist from the “Slow” video. Check it out below or find it on streaming platforms.
black midi’s new album Hellfire arrives on July 15 through Rough Trade (pre-order/save). You can find black midi on Bandcamp, Facebook and Instagram.
They’ve got these tour dates ahead, with new ones – including a London gig – in bold:
Tue. May 10 – Grenoble, FR @ La Bobine
Wed. May 11 – Milan, IT @ Santeria
Thu. May 12 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Sat. May 14 – Vienna, AT @ Flex
Sun. May 15 – Prague, CR @ Meetfactory
Mon. May 16 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Wed. May 18 – Lille, FR @ Aeronef
Tue. May 31 – Istanbul, TR @ Zorlu PSM Jazz Festival
Thu. Jun. 2 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Thu. Jun. 9 – Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound
Sat. Jun. 11 – Mannheim, DE @ Maifeld Derby
Sun. Jun. 12 – Hilvarenbeek, NE @ Best Kept Secret
Thu. Jun. 17 – Sun. Jun. 19 – Vilnius, LT @ 8 Festival
Sat. Jun. 25th -Somerset, UK @ Glastonbury West Holt Stage
Wed. Jun. 29 – Sun. Jul. 3 – Budapest, HU @ Kolorado Festival
Thu. Jun. 30 – Bucharest, RO @ Club Control
Fri. Jul. 1 – Sun. Jul. 3 – Plovdiv, BG @ Wrong Fest
Thu. Jul. 7 – Sat. Jul. 9 – Trencin, SK @ Pohoda
Wed. Jul. 13 – London, UK @ Summer Series at Somerset House
Wed. Jul. 13 – Sun. Jul. 17 – Dour, BE @ Dour Festival
Fri. Jul. 15 – Riga, LV @ Positivus Festival
Thu. Jul. 21 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Sat. Jul. 23 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
Sun. Jul. 24 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage
Fri. Jul. 29 – Puglia, IT @ Sud Est Indipendente,
Fri. Aug. 12 – Rees Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop
Wed. Aug. 17 – Essen, DE @ Ruhrtriennale
Sun. Aug. 21 – Winterthur, CH @ Winterthurer Musikfestwochen
Thu. Sep. 1 – Sun. Sep. 4 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Sat. Oct. 3 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest
