The title of Hiraes’ new album, Dormant (Napalm Records), caught me a bit off guard.

The word “dormant” conjures images of calm, rest, inactivity. Yet, I’ve seen them play and listened to their first album numerous times, and nothing led me to believe that the band would be entering such a period or engaging in such a manner. 

Fortunately, this is not the case.  On Dormant, the band expands their range and sound, delivering some gritty symphonic metal that fans of the genre may not be expecting. 

The themes are not unfamiliar to many genres of metal – strength, independence, fighting through the deception of others, and a plethora of challenges that we encounter in life, but they are delivered in a particular way that few bands deliver as Hiraes do.  

Their vocalist, Britta Görtz, delivers Death Metal-style vocals, sometimes reaching into Deathcore, but this doesn’t hurt the band’s sound, it expands it.  

Dormant has ten songs which range from nearly four minutes to almost six, except for “Come Alive”, which is an atmospheric piece coming in at just under two minutes. The band does not waste time with much empty musical space, filling it with dynamic guitars, growling vocals, and a steady, aggressive pace that slows only as necessary.  

Listeners will be pleasantly surprised as Hiraes easily alternates between the light keyboards of the symphonic genre to beats and vocals that contain elements which feel like they could be found on a Cradle of Filth album (such as on “Night Flight”). 

What is most striking on this release is a sense of a visual display that you might find in a movie or while reading a book – the band creates mentally tangible landscapes that the vocalists traverses. This isn’t meant to sound overly poetic; the songs feels like musicians composing music meant to challenge and compliment the others all at once.  

Interestingly, the last song, “Dormant”, may have some of the heaviest parts, but it definitely fades into a pleasant state, meaning that the title may not be reflective of things as they are now, but as things to come.  

Hiraes has grown since their first album and Dormant is a great sign of things to come. While I think they have much more to offer, everyone should give this album a few solid listens to see what it evokes for them.  

Buy the album here:
https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/hiraes

7 / 10
C.ELL ARTS & MEDIA