HELLFIRE

Shots in the back. Stalkers on shore leave. Farmers driven to murder. An equestrian gambler on the edge of brimstone. All these questionable characters and more, all stewing in Hades, can be gawked upon on the latest Black Midi record. The ever eclectic, intricate, and brash Windmill aligned band have outdone themselves on Hellfire, an apotheosis for their music thus far and an entertaining plunge into the depths of depravity.

The heart of the record is in the lurid lyrics, which develop a mythology between the three releases the group have yet dropped. Both guitarist Geordie Greep and bassist Cameron Picton spin tales at the very cutting edge of their abilities, truly engrossing and nightmarish. In particular, "Sugar/Tzu" is a futuristic boxing match silenced by a minor's gunshot, perhaps some of fighter Sun Tzu's dirty pool. "Eat Men Eat" describes the fate of the mine from Cavalcade's "Diamond Stuff", controlled by a homophobe who seeks to cannibalize cowboys and curses the survivors to a Kentucky-fried Montezuma's revenge. "Welcome To Hell" is, in and of itself, the tale of an officer evangelizing about the vile fun of shore leave before turning on an underling of tight morals. This cut's music video - as great as the others associated with Hellfire - expands this swashbuckling into the world of the masterful "Slow". The delivery of these stories are heightened by continued growth in each vocalist's respective style and abilities, with Greep's crooning in particular standing out as it twists and contorts around the damned.

Matching this are the complex, vanguardist instrumentals. The band has synthesized elements from their preceding albums into a cohesive whole, and from there exploded into new frontiers and whiplash dynamics. The likes of "Sugar/Tzu", "Welcome To Hell", and "The Race Is About To Begin" deliver on the heaviest, most mathematic side of BM, heightened by their ever expanding eclecticism and sidewinding that reminds the listener of a roller coaster. "Welcome To Hell" adds to the group's jazz leanings with a cornettist blasting alongside saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi. In contrast, both the country-western leanings flashed on Schlagenheim and the softest faces of Cavalcade are refracted elsewhere. Both the galloping, neurotic "Eat Men Eat" and the beautiful "Still" develop the former in radically different directions. Later, the home stretch cuts "The Defence" and "27 Questions" recontextualize the latter through the LP's dark cabaret.

Part of the majesty of Hellfire for me comes from having experienced most of these tracks live both before and after the release of their studio versions. The evolution and reinterpretation of Black Midi's repertoire - and particularly this fiery LP's cuts - is a key part of their style and composition, which for Hellfire creates a fractal soundscape unlike any other. Volcanic gallops have given way to intricate pieces almost impossible to describe. And so the result is assuredly one of the best records of the decade, born of literal blood, sweat, and tears on club floors and forming into one of the new frontiers of prog music.