black midi - Hellfire
by quentin Holle
Combining influences from jazz, punk, rock and even country, black midi deliver an otherworldly experience on Hellfire, their latest album since last year’s cavalcade. From the beautiful ballad “The Defence” to the brash punk rock of “Welcome to Hell,” Hellfire is an album full of dichotomy, with the band travelling from one genre to another with ease.
While vocals on their first two albums tended to lack diversity, often relying heavily on Geordie Greep’s spoken word and trademark style of singing, the vocals on this album are far more distinct and unique.
Lead singer Geordie Greep maintains his classic vocal delivery on songs like “Welcome to Hell” and “Sugar/Tzu,” two excellent tracks that capture the classic sound listeners have come to expect from the group.
On “The Defence,” Greep shows off his vocal chops, serenading listeners with some beautiful vocals.
“The Race is About to Begin” starts much like a normal black midi track before Greep rambles at breakneck speeds for nearly two minutes, barely taking a breath.
Fellow band member Cameron Picton takes more of a vocal lead on this album as well, delivering amazing performances on “Eat Men Eat” and the unexpected country-adjacent banger “Still.”
As always, black midi’s instrumentals kick ass. The group is insanely talented at their instruments, delivering crazy rhythms and riffs that get stuck in your head. The instrumentals on Hellfire have immense levels of depth, incorporating a rich range of unique instruments from slide guitars, trombones and accordions on their tracks. black midi truly understand how to create atmosphere in their music, incorporating dissonant chords and driving percussion that capture the energy of their music like no other group could.
Before the album’s release, fans complained Hellfire was too short, coming in at only 10 tracks. The album dropped barely a year after their sophomore LP Cavalcade, many fans wished that the band would take a bit longer to create more material to make the experience more comprehensive. While most albums have a few “filler” tracks that seem to have been added to cushion the runtime, Hellfire doesn’t. Not a moment is dull on this album. Each track could be considered a stand out.
“Hellfire” is a great opener, perfectly encapsulating the ambience for side one of the LP, while the final track “27 Questions” is perhaps the best closing track I have ever heard. I am so in love with the grandiose, nearly theatrical energy of “27 Questions,” where Geordie lists off 27 questions he has about the universe before the track devolves into the hellish sound, consisting of striking piano chords and raucous guitar riffs that the album opens up with.
Very rarely do I hear an album that I love as much as this one. When I went to black midi’s concert earlier this year, I took note of the wide demographic range of the audience. From 60 year old men who grew up on rock music in the time of King Crimson to people like me who knew nearly nothing about modern rock, black midi’s music brings something to the table for everyone. With a non-stop barrage of great song after great song, Hellfire is black midi’s best album to date.