Eternally on the quest to keep us on our toes, genre-bending post-punk stars black midi have revealed the 2nd single from their upcoming 3rd LP Hellfire (set for release on July 15th). “Eat Men Eat” follows in the footsteps of some of their other singles like “John L” in the sense that the song follows our protagonist through a tormented journey. This time around, 2 men must traverse the desert in a bid to find their missing friends. With a welcome flamenco-esque guitar section in the middle, the track confirms even further that black midi are not running out of ideas any time soon. Hear the track, and see its Maxim Kelly-directed video, below.
This time around, the song was written by the band’s bassist, Cameron Picton. In a press release, Picton commented on the song’s purpose and background – “The story starts in the desert with two men engaged in a desperate search for missing friends,” adding, “Their quest leads them to a strange mining facility which, despite a dearth of natural resources in the area, opens its doors for even stranger hosts to welcome them.”
“That evening, with zero sign of their friends, a massive feast is laid on by the mine’s cantankerous Captain, who performs a long speech encouraging all to indulge as this is to be the workers’ last night before returning to their families. With good reason for suspicion, the protagonists feign gluttony and consume as little as humanly possible.”
“Unfortunately, as they later find, even that’s not quite enough. Night falls, they hide and as the workers fall comatose, the wardens, overseen by the Captain, make preparations to pump their poisoned stomachs. It turns out the purpose of the mine is to procure an excess of human stomach acid used in the production of a bastardised blood-red wine, sold and loved in the region.”
“After the wider conspiracy is revealed and upon realising their friends must be long gone, the partners decide they must destroy the facility. A spanner plugs the works however, as one of the men experiences mild effects of the poison and the production of acid in his stomach goes into overdrive. As his chest literally bubbles he says what may be his final goodbyes to his partner and the other man is left to do the heavy lifting alone.”
“He succeeds and as they flee, arm in arm, the demon Captain erupts from the burning embers and curses the two men to the hell of crippling acid reflux for the rest of their days. They see no reason to worry though, as they’re sure to return home hailed as heroes.”
Surprisingly enough, the totally obtuse aesthetic of the song, its inspiration, and its story… is very much in character. Just as the band’s tendency to keep expanding their currently in progress UK and EU tour. The band were set to have an appearance at London’s Somerset House to be their last in the UK for the tour. But now additional dates in October and November mean that you may still have a chance to catch the group before they presumably embark on the tour for their net album… It’s going to be a busy year. This is also ignoring all of their appearances alongside Black Country, New Road in the states. You can find full ticket information here.
Also very pleased to announce new UK+EU tour dates later in the year pic.twitter.com/m6e72vQBzv
— black midi (@bmblackmidi) June 15, 2022
See below, the full list of black midi’s UK tour dates:
13/7/22 – Somerset House – London
28/10 – Invisible Wind Factory – Liverpool
29/10 – NX – Newcastle
14/11 – Old Fruitmarket – Glasgow
16/11 – SWX – Bristol
