On March 17th, Hozier released 3 songs entitled “Eat Your Young”, “All Things End”, and “Through Me (The Flood)”. This EP had a lot of anticipation because, like many artists, Hozier teased the song “Eat Your Young” in a TikTok. Many times, when artists tease their songs on TikTok, the song ends up being disappointing because it was drawn out by anticipation.
However, this wasn’t the case for Hozier. Hosier posted the teaser on February 28th, meaning fans only had to wait 17 days for the song. Then, on March 10th, Hozier made a video saying that there would actually be 3 songs released and the album would be inspired by the nine circles of hell in Dante’s Inferno. A clip of Hozier practicing “All Things End” was then posted a day later. This was a very smart decision on Hozier’s part; many artists ruin the reaction of their songs by having too much time between the teaser and the release date.
However, this wasn’t the case for Hozier. Hosier posted the teaser on February 28th, meaning fans only had to wait 17 days for the song. Then, on March 10th, Hozier made a video saying that there would actually be 3 songs released and the album would be inspired by the nine circles of hell in Dante’s Inferno. A clip of Hozier practicing “All Things End” was then posted a day later. This was a very smart decision on Hozier’s part; many artists ruin the reaction of their songs by having too much time between the teaser and the release date.
Song #1: Eat Your Young 8.5/10
The first verse of this song was the first to be leaked, leaving the rest of the song a mystery. Hozier says this song is based off of the 3rd circle of hell, gluttony. Many of Hozier’s songs have sexual innuendos, but with the way he uses poetry words, it can be hard to pick out. This song is slightly more straightforward with this, as the first line of the song is literally
“I'm starvin', darlin'
Let me put my lips to something
Let me wrap my teeth around the world”
However, according to Genius, other parts of the song are alluding to capitalistic society and the sacrifices that are often made or how people with power exploit others. There’s a verse in the song that can be off putting upon first hearing it, but breaking it down gives better insight.
“Skinnin' the children for a war drum
Puttin' food on the table sellin' bombs and guns
It's quicker and easier to eat your young”
The verse talks about how people have to sell illegal goods and send their kids to the military just to “put food on the table,” and how it would be easier to kill off your children before they face the cruelty of the world..
This is a great song, and the way it plays out demonstrates how important topics can be kinda glazed over. While most people will think this song is just about sex because of the basics of the song, it actually goes much deeper.
(This song also has a really nice outro)
The first verse of this song was the first to be leaked, leaving the rest of the song a mystery. Hozier says this song is based off of the 3rd circle of hell, gluttony. Many of Hozier’s songs have sexual innuendos, but with the way he uses poetry words, it can be hard to pick out. This song is slightly more straightforward with this, as the first line of the song is literally
“I'm starvin', darlin'
Let me put my lips to something
Let me wrap my teeth around the world”
However, according to Genius, other parts of the song are alluding to capitalistic society and the sacrifices that are often made or how people with power exploit others. There’s a verse in the song that can be off putting upon first hearing it, but breaking it down gives better insight.
“Skinnin' the children for a war drum
Puttin' food on the table sellin' bombs and guns
It's quicker and easier to eat your young”
The verse talks about how people have to sell illegal goods and send their kids to the military just to “put food on the table,” and how it would be easier to kill off your children before they face the cruelty of the world..
This is a great song, and the way it plays out demonstrates how important topics can be kinda glazed over. While most people will think this song is just about sex because of the basics of the song, it actually goes much deeper.
(This song also has a really nice outro)
Song #2: All Things End 7.5/10
This song confused me at first because it takes on a more R&B style that one wouldn’t expect from Hozier as an Irish man. Hozier said this song is based off of the Sixth Circle of Hell, which is Heresy. This song is about accepting loss and learning from it. Unlike his other songs, the verse of this song starts immediately rather than having an intro. This is symbolic of how fast life moves, especially the line where he says,
“All that we intend is built on sand. Slips right through our hands”
This is basically a song about not taking things for granted, but also not taking things to heart. The song also discusses how it’s important to know that one can always start over, and nothing is permanently set in stone. I am not very informed on Dante’s Inferno, so I'm not completely sure how this fits into heresy. I do think this is a very good song with a very good message; however, it’s not something I would casually listen to.
This song confused me at first because it takes on a more R&B style that one wouldn’t expect from Hozier as an Irish man. Hozier said this song is based off of the Sixth Circle of Hell, which is Heresy. This song is about accepting loss and learning from it. Unlike his other songs, the verse of this song starts immediately rather than having an intro. This is symbolic of how fast life moves, especially the line where he says,
“All that we intend is built on sand. Slips right through our hands”
This is basically a song about not taking things for granted, but also not taking things to heart. The song also discusses how it’s important to know that one can always start over, and nothing is permanently set in stone. I am not very informed on Dante’s Inferno, so I'm not completely sure how this fits into heresy. I do think this is a very good song with a very good message; however, it’s not something I would casually listen to.
Song #3 (My Favorite): Through Me (The Flood) 9/10
This song starts off with humming, then Hozier telling a story about a man swimming in a big body of water where he’s practically a speck, but he still goes on, even though he’s practically nothing in this big world. Hozier then compares the man to how he felt when he met someone who he loved but would eventually lose.
The song then switches to be really upbeat, with Hozier talking about how he faces struggles with acceptance rather than projecting them with anger.
Hozier eventually switches back to storytelling, but instead of saying “picture a man,” he says “picture a grave.” This is a story about dealing with loss and having something that used to be a striking presence be gone. He then once again compares the subject of his story to that person.
(side note: his Irish accent really comes out in this song, and it's really cool sounding.)
This song starts off with humming, then Hozier telling a story about a man swimming in a big body of water where he’s practically a speck, but he still goes on, even though he’s practically nothing in this big world. Hozier then compares the man to how he felt when he met someone who he loved but would eventually lose.
The song then switches to be really upbeat, with Hozier talking about how he faces struggles with acceptance rather than projecting them with anger.
Hozier eventually switches back to storytelling, but instead of saying “picture a man,” he says “picture a grave.” This is a story about dealing with loss and having something that used to be a striking presence be gone. He then once again compares the subject of his story to that person.
(side note: his Irish accent really comes out in this song, and it's really cool sounding.)
Overall, I think this is a very good EP with great publicity. The only qualm I really have is all of these songs start off slow and sultry, then get upbeat. I would like for some of the songs to stay kind of sultry and soft the whole time like some of his other songs. I love a lot of Hozier’s music, so I was very excited for this EP to be released, and it did not disappoint. It is rumored that the full album for these songs will be about 18 songs long, so I am very excited for future releases.
Angel Cal
