As we ran, arm in arm, from the burning crater
Captain’s screams echo:
“You fucking faggots ain't seen the last of me yet
I'll have the last laugh, you cunts, soon you'll see
Each day you wake, and each night you sleep
I'll be camped in your chests, burning! Burning!”
But we kept running, turned our backs on old Hell
With wine in our hearts, hailed as saviors of new!
Or so cries the vampiric antagonist of "Eat Men Eat", a track off black midi's flamboyant third album Hellfire, a track written by the group's bassist and vocalist Cameron Picton. The entire album burns with this same ferocity that seeks to get away from itself: lyrics that run molten through webbed instrumentals and devour the breadcrumbs left by any previous tracks, destroying any evidence of what you thought black midi could possibly be or sound like. I spoke to Cameron earlier this week where as well as the album we discussed acid reflux, the best Beatle, being 23 and The Windmill's great beer garden. In full black midi fashion, sometimes Cameron's vocals may get lost in the torrent of sound as he spoke to me while walking through the streets of Waterloo (several bm songs also feel like the entire soundscape of a city street on a busy weekday). I hope the spirit of our conversation still shines through. Listen to our full conversation below.