Hozier has released his third studio album and for many, it has finally pushed him out of the niche of variations on “man with a guitar singing sad songs”.
Born Andrew Hozier-Byrne, the musician known as Hozier released Unreal Unearth on August 18th, his first studio album in four years. While his overall nature seems to be that of a gentle and simple man, Hozier’s music has always been a little bit gritty, pushing boundaries since the very beginning.
The musician, who has explored themes of death and mortality in the past, told the Independent that anxiety and fear caused by COVID-19 was a contributor to the creation of Unreal Unearth’s tortured sound. Another thing Hozier found stuck with him in this time of uncertainty was Dante’s Inferno and the journey that the poet takes within that seminal work.
The inspiration from Dante’s Inferno on Unreal Unearth can be seen in many of the song’s lyrics. Listeners have speculated on what songs belong to each circle of hell based on their own personal analysis of each song’s lyrics. Two of the most popular are below.
“Who We Are” – The Fifth Circle of Hell, Wrath:
In Dante’s Inferno, Dante journeys through the nine circles of hell, starting at the first circle and finishing at the ninth. Hozier’s song “Who We Are” can be tied to the fifth circle, a swampy and stinking wasteland on the river Styx that is meant to contain the wrathful. Those who are actively wrathful and still have the capability to feel such anger, fight one another on the surface of the water while those who are only passively wrathful lie beneath. Choking on the anger that grips them, the passively wrathful are said to be incapable of even expressing themselves.
Hozier’s song “Who We Are” explores those feelings of wrath. The song starts with a soft but easy piano melody that creates a simmering tension between the singer and the subject of his song. Lyrics such as “You only feel it when it’s lost / Gettin’ through still has a cost,” suggest that the subject of Hozier’s song has been a neglectful or inattentive partner that’s “just getting through” the hard days instead of actively working towards good times. This emphasises the anger Hozier is experiencing, especially as that frustration builds to a crescendo in the second chorus.
The lyrics “We’re born at night / So much of our lives / Is just carvin’ through the dark / To get so far / And the hardest part / Is who we are / That’s who we are,” highlight an increasing feeling of anger in the face of powerlessness. Nothing can be changed about the less-than-ideal way human beings interact with the world because it is human nature. The introduction of drums, guitar and bass to highlight a now darker piano tone in this segment brings the audience along with Hozier through an explosion of emotion, punctuated by a period of vocalization that sounds eerily like screams of anguish.
There is no anger, simply a choking feeling of powerlessness to stop what is coming. Hozier started out “Who We Are” as actively wrathful, fighting the actions that have caused him distress but by the end, he chokes on the overwhelming feeling of it all and gives in to his distress.
“Unknown / Nth” – The Ninth Circle, Treachery:
Hozier’s song “Unknown / Nth” can be tied to the ninth circle, the worst of them all. Reserved for the worst kind of sinners, the ninth circle is described as a frozen lake, Cocytus, which is divided into rings, with the worst of the worst being in the center. The people who find themselves in the ninth circle have betrayed the trust of someone close to them, something Dante considered to be a very serious offence. This image of a frozen landscape is very different from the typical picture of hell as fiery, suggesting that in betraying those that they loved, the treacherous lost the right to all human warmth. They are remorseless and cold, the ice simply representing who they are on the inside.
Hozier’s song “Unknown / Nth” explores the feelings of the person who has been betrayed, reflecting on the relationship they shared with the person who has committed treachery. He starts the song with the line “You know the distance never made a difference to me,” suggesting that the betrayal occurred as the result of some kind of distance between them. Continuing with “Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy,” Hozier’s lyrics suggest that while he had thought of his partner as being like an angel, they were actually the opposite as they lingered in darkness and secrecy. This description highlights the cold and remorseless betrayal committed by his partner, the perfect candidate for the ninth circle of hell.
The song bases itself on a simple guitar rhythm for the majority of the piece, only bringing in other instruments when the song builds to a crescendo. Hozier punctuates this ascension of sound with the lyrics “I’d walk so far just to take / The injury of finally knowing you.” This lyric highlights the love he had for that person as he would take immense hurt just so that he could understand them.
While Unreal Unearth is only Hozier’s fourth studio album, many of his fans believe that it could be his best. “Who We Are” and “Unknown/Nth” are only two songs off his 16-song album. There is so much to learn from Hozier and his deep dive into Dante’s Inferno.