Hellfire builds on the melodic and harmonic elements of Cavalcade, while expanding the brutality and intensity of their debut, Schlagenheim. It is their most thematically cohesive and intentional album yet.

Released to critical acclaim, the album was preceded by the singles “Welcome to Hell”, “Eat Men Eat”, and “Sugar/Tzu”, and entered the UK Albums Chart at #22, becoming the band’s highest charting album to date. During the writing and recording process, the band experimented with first-person narratives, and expanded upon their sound with the introduction of cabaret, country, flamenco, and show tune influences.

Hellfire was written while the band was isolating in London, with singer Geordie Greep calling Hellfire “an epic action film […] if Cavalcade was a drama”. He described the characters depicted in the album as being “scumbag[s]. Almost everything I write is from a true thing, something I experienced and exaggerated and wrote down. I don’t believe in Hell, but all that old world folly is great for songs.”

Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, the band debuted the majority of Hellfire’s songs during their 2021–2022 tour in support of Cavalcade. The bulk of the album was recorded in thirteen days, with additional members Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone) and Seth Evans (keyboards) contributing to the recording process.

Musically, 25 Years Later labeled Hellfire an experimental rock album, with Beats Per Minute describing the album’s sound as primarily comprising progressive rock, jazz fusion, and post-punk. Exclaim! saw Black Midi become jazz-rockers for Hellfire, while DIY noted their use of art rock’s pacing and precision.Alongside their prog stylings, cabaret, country, flamenco, and show tunes influences appear.