Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
“Dante juxtaposed Greek mythology with modern Catholicism, which is exactly what Hammerfall do in their hellish song, “666 – The Enemy Within,” Loudwire’s Katy Irrizary writes.
“The band sings of both the symbol of Christ’s death as well as the rivers of Hades. “Six, six, six / Get the holy crucifix / Throw it in / Into Acheron on Styx” – Katy Irrizary, Loudwire, August 15, 2018
On October 9, 2019, American band Whirlybird released their EP Hot Flashes which included a song called “Dante’s Inferno”. The lyrics make reference to Dante’s journey through Hell, stating: “Dante’s coming through the inferno”.
Listen to the song here.
View the full lyrics of “Dante’s Inferno” here.
Italian progressive rock band Metamorfosi released their album Purgatorio on October 14, 2016. The album’s tracklist features several references to the second half of Dante’s Divine Comedy including “Paradiso Terrestre”, “Porta del Purgatorio”, and “Beatrice”. The band previously released albums titled Inferno and Paradiso (see our post on those works here).
French singer-songwriter Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier (AKA Christine and the Queens) released their electropop EP La vita nuova on February 27, 2020. The album’s title makes explicit reference to Dante’s text La vita nuova. The album was accompanied by a short film featuring Christine and her relationship with a mysterious figure known as “The Faun”.
Watch the short film and listen to the EP here.
Read a review of the EP, posted on Pitchfork, here.
“Original Sin is a modern-day love story about a broken-hearted heroine and her journey through the seven sins and the quest towards the virtue of Hope. The music of the legendary global rock band INXS seamlessly accompanies the film, and ultimately, the young heroine finds true love while the world heals with her.
“The film is loosely based on and inspired by celebrated Italian writer Dante Alighieri’s Inferno and the spiritual journey through the Seven Sins of Purgatory — pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. The Original Sin short film reimagines Dante’s tale through the eyes of Jane, a 21st-century heroine isolated during the recent pandemic, who continues to search for love and the means to validate her soul.” [. . .] –UMe, Cision PR Newswire, June 28, 2021 (retrieved January 6, 2022)
Watch a trailer (which includes direct quotes from the first canto of Inferno) for Original Sin here.
Listen to the short film’s Dante-inspired soundtrack here.
