Two and a half years ago, four former members of Dawn Of Disease teamed up with Chaos Rising vocalist Britta Görtz to release an album named, "Solitary," their first under the moniker Hiraes. While not groundbreaking by any means, it showed a lot of promise and one hoped that this band formed while the world was shut down, probably the worst time to start a group or release an album, would stick around and let their creativity grow further. Thankfully, the quintet did exactly that, and with their sophomore effort, "Dormant," it seems Hiraes are in it for the long haul.

Kicking things off with "Through The Storm," what began as a promising intro soon transformed into something really heavy, but really fun. The guitar work from Oliver Kirchner and Lukas Kerk is absolutely superb on this song and remains so throughout the entire record, helping to drive this track forward and create a white-knuckle thrill ride. Somehow, things get knocked up another notch with "We Owe No One," making it easy to see why these songs were picked as the first two singles from the record. The synth intro is quickly matched by the guitars, which offer wonderful solos later on, with a surprisingly catchy chorus in between for good measure.

It's not just the guitars that shine on "Dormant," Britta Görtz is in fine voice, with the album's third song, "Undercurrent" being a great example of just how varied and talented she is, while the instruments are able to flow like water and burn with rage in different parts. Another highlight follows in the form of "Chance To Fail," which possesses some beautiful melodies that guide the song well and complement the brutality on display wonderfully. A short while later we find "Nightflight," another stand-out track that could well be the most intense number on offer but keeps plenty of emotion nearby, particularly when it comes to the outro.

"Dormant" is an album with no bad songs, but it does contain a few that don't match up to the aforementioned ones. The title track is decent, but unremarkable, while "About Lies" really doesn't need to clock in at almost seven minutes, especially as it feels a little generic as a whole. "Ocean Child" is also a little bland, though a definite improvement on "About Lies," steered well by the guitar work. "Red Soil" has a tremendous weight to it, in some ways nominating itself for heaviest song on the album, but once more, drags on a little.

Hiraes has really stepped up their game with "Dormant." While not a classic, it's a really strong album and the first four songs are thrilling, with more to enjoy coming afterward. The band has improved massively and are ready to really get out there and start wowing audiences with some truly excellent material of their own which will no doubt springboard them to better things. If you're a fan of melodic death metal then you'll want to check this one out as it really offers some stellar examples of the genre. Summed up, it's an excellent record.