Unreal Unearth: Hozier’s Inferno
As SUNY Geneseo’s resident Dante Alighieri enthusiast, Hozier’s newest album, Unreal Unearth, called out to me as the infinite tormented outcries of the damned souls entrapped within Dante’s nine layers of hell, beckoning to be ranted about. That being said, this is an album that perfectly encapsulates the essence of Aligheri’s writing while putting a modern spin on it, turning a journey of self-actualization and spiritual rebirth after being exiled, to one of love: the extent one will travel for the sake of love, and the sin intrinsically tied to this journey. So, with this in mind, let me guide you, as Virgil did for Dante, through Hozier’s Inferno and its extensive overlap with this world-renowned piece of literature.
We can thank Hozier’s dedicated fanbase for making a diagram of the overlap in songs, and I will be using this as the basis of discussion going forward. However, for the sake of length, the descent and ascent will not be covered, but still check them out!
First Time - Limbo
Limbo is the embodiment of stagnation—holding the weight of all sinners that did nothing with their lives or didn’t believe in God. These souls are forced to carry out the impossible task of chasing a flag while getting stung and impaled, never meant to catch it but naively hoping to one day reach it. In the context of the song, Hozier is in a stagnant cycle with a lover, someone who deprives themself of Hozier, causing him to feel worthless, until they acknowledge Hozier and he feels alive again…only to repeat the cycle; Hozier’s limbo is that of toxic love and its never-ending cyclical movement.
I, Carrian & Francesca - Lust
The first circle, lust, embodies sensual and sexual desire, containing forbidden lovers and those who overindulged in lustful acts. The punishment for these souls is to be forever cast in a windstorm, constantly blown about and thrown into the terrain nonsensically. Hozier takes this idea and puts himself and his lover within the cyclone, alluding to his dedication to the relationship. Though the love is toxic, Hozier’s lust for his love drives him to endure.
Eat Your Young - Gluttony
Gluttony, the embodiment of selfishness and self-indulgence, contains all those who spent lives of hubris, forever entrapping them in the play den of Cerberus, a Greek hellhound who tears down all occupants like chew toys. Hozier represents this through a hunger alluded to throughout the song while overlaying it with a message of today’s children cannibalized (not literally) by the old who exploit them for their gain; Hozier’s gluttony is an all-consuming hunger to use the youth.
Damage Gets Done - Greed
Greed, the embodiment of hoarding and the avaricious, contains all those who lived overly demanding lives. These souls constantly collide and bicker with each other, forever trying to prove their worth to all those around them. Hozier envisions this through children’s naive hope and desire to live their lives recklessly, free of care. For Hozier, greed, like gluttony, is an all-consuming hunger to be reckless without shame.
Who We Are - Wrath
Wrath is a forever-roaring battleground of souls trying to push those around them into an abyssal mud, using the fallen souls as pseudo rafts to hold themselves up. This is a grotesque layer, filled with depraved individuals who abide solely through self-preservation. Hozier embodies this through the duality of his lover embracing him, one whom he depends on as a basic necessity while viewing them as an object that can take away life. For Hozier, wrath is an internal battle personified through his lover.
All Things End & Son of Nyx - Heresy
Heresy is a layer dedicated to those who rebuke God, deceive others to follow them, or purposefully stray others from the path of God. These souls are forced forever to see the past and future, never the present. Hozier imagines heresy as the constant starting and ending of a relationship with a lover and the promise of staying together forever, something that sadly can never come to fruition. To Hozier, heresy is purposefully straying someone you love away from the grim reality of life, an idea touched upon within this layer heavily.
To Someone From A Warm Climate & Butchered Tongue - Violence
Violence, the embodiment of an insatiable rage, contains all in it within a river of boiling blood, forced to thrash and struggle to get out, but—like limbo—to never know the peace of achieving their goal. For Hozier, he imagines violence as a more abstract idea, applying it to the butchering of languages, like Gaelic, by colonialists who mean to subject nations to their undying will. To Hozier, violence is the destruction of his culture and language.
Anything But & Abstract (psychopomp) - Fraud
Fraud is a layer containing all those who betray and exploit others for their selfish gain, deceiving others to get what they want. These souls are continuously burned, mutilated, and tormented as a means of divine retribution for deceiving masses. To Hozier, this is shown through the pleading to be everything for someone, “If I was a stampede, you wouldn't get a kick,” and other lines illuminate this fact. To Hozier, fraud is making promises you know you can’t keep to preserve someone for a little longer.
Unknown / Nth - Treachery
Treachery is the final layer of Hell, containing all those who committed the gravest sins against God, betraying all ideals for gain, forever encapsulated in ice. To Hozier, this layer represents the treason of guiding your love astray, leading them like a guardian angel only to betray them like a demon. To Hozier, treachery is committing to someone knowing you’ll never be able to reciprocate the love you instilled within them, the love you assured them they would receive.
The overlap of Unreal Unearth and Dante’s Inferno is prevalent, and something I will surely be fixated on for the next several months… expect more to come! Also, be sure to stream Unreal Unearth wherever you get your music. I promise you will not be disappointed but rather enlightened like Dante and Hozier through this journey between Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven!