DeadFire – ‘B.M.F’

It's been a great year for the surname-defying band of Charlie (vocals), Rich (guitar), Oi (bass) and Tunk (drums), with the politically charged and brutally powerful single ‘Pro[Pain]’, released in April, preceding a run of well-received and high energy live shows up and down the country, including an early summer tour with French rockers Harsh. So, it’s fitting that DeadFire are rounding off a successful trip around the sun with a brand new single, ‘B.M.F’, due for release on 1st December 2023… just in time to be played at the office Christmas party!

In this instance, ‘B.M.F’ is neither a nod to the American TV show of the same name or an ode to the leather-clad members of the British Motorcyclists Federation. Oh no, it’s much less subtle than that! It means “Bad Motherfucker”, the phrase famously spouted by Samuel L Jackson in cult movie Pulp Fiction and one which tends to mean a good thing, despite the very makeup of the word suggesting otherwise. Note: other languages and cultures may interpret it differently, so it’s best not to Google it!

With such a strong and to-the-point song title in an era where offence can be caused by the slightest indiscretion, you’d fully expect ‘B.M.F’ to be similarly strong and to-the-point musically and lyrically. Surely?

Opening with Tunk’s drums and a dancing bassline by Oi, there’s a definite hint of Velvet Revolver’s brilliant ‘Slither’ in the intro, albeit a less moody and happier sounding version. The VR comparison remains (and that’s a good thing!) as the guitars enter the mix to play along with the bass, creating a classic Slash-like earworm riff that will cause any self-respecting air guitarist to immediately pick up their (imaginary) axe and play along. Charlie’s vocals bring added muscle to the already strong song, singing “stop fucking wasting time” with a sneer and swagger reminiscent of early Sex Pistols (but tunefully!).

There’s a clever little breakaway section that paves the way for the chorus to explode to life with the carefree abandon of 1980s Sunset Strip, as Charlie screams “I’m a bad motherfucker coming after you. I’m a bad motherfucker breaking all the rules”. Indeed, the rules are so broken that Microsoft Word warned me “this language may be offensive to your reader” whilst writing this review! Get a grip Bill Gates and co! You just don’t understand!

There’s been plenty said about Charlie’s vocals and mention of the rhythm section of Tunk and Oi but there’s also Rich on guitar, who plays with a laid-back, yet bluesy, sleazy feel that Guns N’ Roses aficionados will relish. The guitar solo could very well have been played by Slash, such is the skill in which Rich intuitively ad-libs over the music, knitting all the other elements of the song together as it races to its conclusion.

‘B.M.F’ is DeadFire at their catchy, hard rocking, sweaty best. It has the fresh riffs of Appetite for Destruction-era Guns N’ Roses, combined with the swagger of Velvet Revolver and topped off by the punk attitude of Sex Pistols. It straddles rock genres, annoys Microsoft Word and will blow your speakers apart when the volume is turned up to 11. This is classic, hard rock and roll, loud and proud in all its parent-bothering glory!

Go on… have a listen to this and bring out the bad motherfucker in you!