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Jun 15, 2022 By Joey Arnone Photography by Atiba Jefferson

Black midi have shared a video for their new single, “Eat Men Eat.” It is the latest release from their forthcoming album, Hellfire, which will be out on July 15 via Rough Trade. View the Maxim Kelly-directed video below.

Band member Cameron Picton elaborates on the new song in a press release: “The story starts in the desert with two men engaged in a desperate search for missing friends. 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 bastardized blood red wine, sold and loved in the region.

“After the wider conspiracy is revealed and upon realizing 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.”

Upon announcement of the new album in May, the band shared the album track “Welcome to Hell.”

The band’s most recent album, Cavalcade, came out last year via Rough Trade. It featured the singles “John L,” “Slow,” (which made it to #1 on our Songs of the Week), and “Chondromalacia Patella” (also one of our Songs of the Week).

Their debut album, Schlagenheim, came out in 2019 on Rough Trade, and made it to #30 on our Top 100 Albums of 2019 list.

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