Legends of Evil and Eternal Death

The existence and discography of Hirilorn is unsurprisingly overshadowed by Deathspell Omega, which the artists went on to create (with the exception of the lead guitarist) around the time that Hirilorn was rounding up its output. Certainly, given the popularity of Deathspell Omega, it is probable that Hirilorn have earned a lot of posthumous attention (and rightly so – evidenced by later vinyl reissues including as compilations). This should not discount from the high artistic value of the material released under the Hirilorn moniker, which is undeniable.

Legends of Evil and Eternal Death stands as Hirlorn’s only full length and develops on the earlier work released on the demo recording A Hymn to the Ancient Souls (this is recommended listening, for its own merits and for context for this album’s direction). There is a clear progression with this album to longer and more enticing song structures that grip the listener with witching melodies and attuned rhythms. The driving riffs tend to be overtaken by the guitar melodies (as in the opening section of Praise the Supreme Ruler of Your Soul), which harmoniously battle with the rasped vocals for reign (the mid section of Through the Moonless Night, for instance – this track also includes some clean vocals very similar to Bathory that could in my opinion have been left out); it is clear that the musicians have studied and refined this material, in order to make it a fitting and enriching experience deserving of an attentive listen. The drumming is consistent and accords with the progression of the guitars and supports the journey through the album by sustaining the tempo and successfully inducting the listener to individual sections within the long tracks. It is definitely a testament to the astute mixing of this album that Legends of Evil and Eternal Death is presented with clarity, which ensures that no aspect of the musicianship goes unappreciated (accepting that the role of bass within this album is as a somewhat muted scaffold that works at best auxiliarily, to maintain the song structures by predominantly following the riffs). Keyboards also make intermittent appearances and add relevant complexity and atmosphere, which is most discernible towards the close of the album.

Absolutely, there are observable similarities between Hirilorn and projects such as Abigor and Kvist, which are both projects that utilise melodies to generate atmosphere and emotion. In the case of Hirlorn, the atmosphere is less evil and vast (respectively) and possesses a more (peculiarly) enamouring and delicate touch instead, which lends itself oddly to Windir’s work – an unexpected comparison, indeed, though fans of Windir will very likely be able to appreciate Legends of Evil and Eternal Death (probably also fans of Dissection, by extension). Cursorily, Alghazanth may be a further comparison insofar as the more majisterial approach to melody is accepted as a differential.

Summarily, what Hirilorn have offered here is a captivating album that rewards the listener for their time. This is absolutely an album to listen to and stands up by itself and therein without the support by direct association of Deathspell Omega to which this album bears very little similarity to (across the entire discography of Deathspell Omega).