ACT IV: REBIRTH IN REPRISE

After a six year intermission, The Dear Hunter finally returned to the rock opera in six acts written by frontman Casey Crescenzo. This time, the release would get noticed as the album debuted at 38 on the Billboard Top 100. By this time, word of mouth got around and people were suddenly ready for the continuation. And, once again, DH delivers in a big way.

Act III was a little worrisome, even though it was an excellent album, songs were short and not as developed, but Act IV comes back in all the former glory. Act III had a lot of story line to cover, so a lot had to packed in there, yet even then they did a great job and that album should not be ignored.

In Act IV, all of the emotion and intensity has not been compromised. Casey's voice is still amazing and the music and production is amazing as always. Prog is still in the mix too, songs are not predictable and always rich in change, originality and quality. In this album, one thing is even better if that is possible, and that is the orchestration really shines through in this one, giving things even a more dramatic flair. Just when you think there can be no more improvement, it happens. The songs are also better developed again, even the shorter ones.

The story remains to be complex and interesting as the protagonist lives through more ups and downs. He continues with his stolen identity of his half brother, and even his step mother and fiancée know that it isn't him, or at least that something has changed, they decide to play along. Unfortunately, his step mother dies shortly after her acceptance. Many other things happen, but all of this story is available on line, so I don't want to repeat it all here.

I can't really add anything more that hasn't already been said in my other reviews of the other Acts. This album is excellent and this entire project is a masterpiece. Casey and all of the musicians, producers and technicians have done another amazing job here, and they have delivered another 5 star masterpiece.