Act III: Life And Death

The Dear Hunter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Triple Crown
• ASIN: B00274SIJ2
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,314 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Casey Crescenzo, the multi-talented fountainhead of the Dear Hunter, assembled a masterwork in ACT II: LIFE AND DEATH..." --Alternative Press

"[The album] finds the band exploring baroque orchestral arrangements, Broadway-esque piano ballads and everything in between." --Billboard

Product Description

Following up where Act II left off Act III is more melodic record with the heavy parts heavier, and the soft parts more serene. Set in a WWI era, "Act III" documents the metamorphosis of a fictional central character as he makes the transition from innocence to impurity. Look for them on tour with Mewithoutyou. RIYL: Circa Survive, Thrice, Chiodos, Mars Volta, Coheed & Cambria.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album of 2009....so far, July 6, 2009

By 

Baggiesfaninessex (Essex, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Act III: Life And Death (Audio CD)

'Act I: The Lake South, The River North' was a brilliant taster - a 39 minute EP. 'Act II: The Meaning Of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading' was an awesome, sprawling, 77 minute progressive epic. And now we come to Act III: Life and Death - the third chapter (of six planned) in a fictional character's story continues from Acts I and II into the fiery abyss of World War I.

Let's get the rating out of the way first. I adored the first two chapters and would not hesitate in giving them 5 stars. But as a result, I should really give this album 6 stars (or reduce the other 2 to 4.5 stars should I review them here) as this surpasses anything that Casey Crescenzo has produced to date. It is one of the catchiest, most melodic rock albums I have heard for years. It's not quite as progressive as Act II but the range of styles, instruments and arrangements on display here show a maturity that has developed in Casey's writing and as a result, this record arguably has a more commercial edge, albeit the quirkyness remains with some very atmospheric sound effects between some tracks.

Now whereas it's easy to draw comparisons from Casey's previous group The Receiving End of Sirens and similar indie rock fare such as Circa Survive and also from modern prog-heads such as The Mars Volta and Coheed and Cambria, those groups might mean little to those who rely on UK radio airplay to whet their musical appetite. With Act III: Life and Death it's easy to draw comparisons with a wealth of more commercial musical talent with which most will be familiar. Here's my rundown of all tracks:

1. Writing on a Wall - Opens the album with the most beautiful accapella harmonies before piano joins in. The vocal harmonies are a strong element throughout the album and are reminiscent of some of Queen's early work. This track virtually picks up from where Act II finishes and having played the albums back to back the link is virtually seamless. What in noticeable straight away though is the production and depth of sound. This is a major improvement on the previous albums.

2. In Cauda Venenum - Is a huge battery of sound. There's a fanfare of guitars and chugging organ to kick off, followed by a powerful rock workout. This track is probably the closest in style to anything from Act II and demonstrates who much stronger Casey's vocals have become in the time between recordings. There's almost a latin / Spanish style to some of the riffing half way through and the trumpet refrain sets up the song for another round of the catchy chorus before the song changes direction at the end - the last minute providing an orchestral, dreamy Beach Boy ballad feel.

3. What It Means to be Alone - This song starts off sounding like the best track Keane never recorded! And then the bridge to the chorus is like a brilliant piece of Queen with the chord progression setting up the chorus perfectly. And oh...what a chorus!!! Think the best from the post Richie era Manic Street Preachers and you won't be far off. Fantastic melody and worthy of the price of an album just for this one track. The wall of sound throughout the track is mind-blowing. This builds up until a minute before the end, when the song is stripped down to vocals and strings for a a sort of orchestral Keane finale.

4. The Tank - This track kicks off with a rather robust and quirky orchestral motif, which is repeated between verses before the yet another stand-out chorus, full of the most beautiful harmonies and extremely melodic. You won't get this out of your head for hours. Again, the Beach Boys and Queen spring to mind. There's a laid back refrain with harmonic backing vocals and snare drum before a crescendo builds up to an awesome repeat of the chorus. There's a hint of Maroon 5 appearing in the vocals here. Mind-blowing!

5. The Poison Woman - There's a rag-time and Vaudeville atmosphere here; Queen's 'Good Old-Fashioned Loverboy' is a useful reference. The vocals are fabulous and the more you listen, the more you realise the amount of care and attention given to the background. There's so much detail before the track picks up in a sort of swing - Maroon 5 style; yes - it's hard to describe but you'll know what I mean when you hear it. It all hangs together beautifully.

6. The Thief - Distorted guitars and vocals hail the start before a quirky progressive beat kicks in and the harmonic vocals and keyboard arpeggio crescendo spark comparisons with the best of Muse circa Origin of Symmetry. The track twists and turns through a psychedelic backdrop and underpinned by throbbing bass. This is the most atmospheric track so far and I can only imagine the fun they could have with this in a live workout scenario. Then just when you think this song has nowhere else to go, the wonderful verse kicks back in, finally fading out with melodic tinkling bells and a sinister orchestral arrangements.

7. Mustard Gas - Starts very powerfully with a Muse / Queen style fanfare. Again Origin of Symmetry springs to mind. There are some very heavy and distorted guitars accompanying Casey's (almost screamed) vocals here but the melody and ear for a tune is never lost. And then, out of nowhere appears another piece of Vaudeville before going back to the main verse of the track. This is then followed by a kind of heavy Fleetwood Mac style arrangement. This motif is repeated to the until the distorted guitars finally fade out accompanied by plucked strings and piano flourish.

8. Saved - This track takes down the tempo after some pretty bombastic and heavy arrangements. Plenty of piano and acoustic guitar here. This reminded me a bit of Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme - kind of similar to the quieter tracks from Pornograffiti. The vocal arrangement carries the song extremely well. Played live, you can almost imagine the sea of lighters held aloft! About 3 minutes in there's a lovely Beach Boys style vocal arrangement, underpinned by deep drum patterns, followed by strings.

9. He Said He Had a Story - Back to a raunchy Vaudeville style here as this song recalls a the central character's saucy encounter. This is quite quirky and you can just imagine turn of the century US theater, stocking tops, burlesque and drag. There's a sinister interlude before the main track kicks in again in a more rock style similar to Muse.

10. This Beautiful Life - This opens with Casey's vocal and piano carrying a great tune. Then the acoustic guitar and bass blend in before a sort of quirky rock Vaudeville bounces along with 60s style soundtrack backing vocals (the sort you might hear when waytching Jack the lad walking down the West End on the pull - ok, I know what I mean!) quite nicely until halfway when this semalessly blends into a wonderful vocal harmony which builds Queen-like until you're left with just a lead vocal and piano. A circus style backing gradually joins in with quirky percussion until more 60s backing vocals finish of the track.

11. Go Get Your Gun - This is a bit of Country and Western - Dear Hunter style! You get a real wild west feel with this, mixed with some Ragtime in the chorus. Very clever guitar work, with mandolin / banjo picking in the background. The harmonies stand-out again here; a real strength throughout the album.

12. Son - This is the start of a trilogy to close the album. There are some very rich vocal harmonies at the start. The depth and accuracy are spine-tingling. Then a piano, strummed acoustic guitar and bells accompany the lead vocal in a wonderful tune. The chorus is similar to Muse but stripped down to just piano accompaniment. Then there's a sudden shange of direction as this leads directly into...

13. Father - A lovely percussive and piano motif open the track up before Casey's vocals softly sing a wonderful melody. Plenty of strings and piano give this a stage musical sort of feel. Then another seamless change into a fabulous melodic vocal arrangement. There is such depth to this track without it being heavy or over the top. The arrangement builds as other instruments kick in throughout. This all builds nicely until suddenly it's just vocal and piano playing the track out to lead straight into......

14. Life and Death - There's a real Beatles feel right at the start, but vocally it's reminiscent of Jellyfish circa Bellybutton and Roger Joseph Manning Jr. A lovely soft tune then just kicks into the most amazing chrous. This will just blow your mind. It's like the best of the Manics again and after a few more quirky and softer tracks, we're back to the heavier style with distorted guitar backing but never losing that melodic edge. There's some sinister phrasing halfway through but it's so impeccably arranged and produced. Unbelievable. And the chorus comes back to tingle the spine once more. Then there's a piano / vocal refrain and you'd be forgiven for thinking it's about to fade out to close. But no. The guitar comes back in and builds...and builds. And then, you get a fabulous instrumental version of the chorus. This is another tune that will stay in your head for hours. The track - and the album - finally finishes with a simple piano arrangement.

Well that's it. 57 minutes of absolute beauty and brilliance in my opinion. If you've read this far, thank you. Although I do apologise for the long review, an album such as this is deserving of the time. I simply can't stop playing this album and I love it so much, I felt compelled to write this review. If one person reads this, buys the album and enjoys it as a result, that will be job done as this group deserve to be heard and appreciated. The amount of mediocre output heard on popular radio stations is a crime when there is so much talent falling under the radar. And this album is a fantastic example of what's... Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melodramatic Prog-Pop "Show Tunes", August 25, 2009

By 

rocker (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Act III: Life And Death (MP3 Download)

I own Acts I-III, all of which are stellar releases, amazingly high quality music. This is heavily produced, highly emotional prog-pop. A lot of it plays like old time show tunes, or like Broadway musical tunes. There are multilayered harmonies (gorgeous), punctuating horns, and soaring string arrangements, alongside inventive guitar and keyboard parts. This Crescenzo guy is a genius with first rate writing, playing, vocal skills. He recorded Act I demos with just his brother and his mom, I guess.

On any of these three releases is some of the most beautiful rock music you will hear this year. I guess there's a story and six albums planned to tell it, but I could care less about that, the quality of this music is quenching, independent of a story. Really great.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Continued Evolution, June 27, 2009

By 

Michael Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Act III: Life And Death (Audio CD)

We hold these truths to be self evident, that all musicians were not created equally. In the case of The Dear Hunter master mind Casey Crescenzo, this is especially true. Amongst the legions of mediocre artists bleeding over into todays music scene, a virtuoso such as Crescenzo is certainly a breath of fresh air. It's a shame that a great majority of people have never heard of Crescenzo, or his band.

For those unfamiliar, The Dear Hunter is like the illegitimate musical love child of Elton John and Pink Floyd-add a creative ragtime/jazz/prog blend with strings and the occasional Beach Boy's-esque vocal layering thrown in for good measure, their sound is a wonderful amalgam of many different styles and instrumentation.

Their current Album, Act III: Life And Death, is the third part of a planned six act concept opus. While many bands have crumbled under the weight of gasp, a concept album, Crescenzo flourishes. With each subsequent release being better than the last, The Dear Hunter (or TDH) is one of the rare groups out there that are consistently bettering themselves instead of remaining stagnant.

The TDH's previous album, Act II: The Meaning Of & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading, was critically praised and helped catapult the band (somewhat) out of obscurity. Act II offered a wide variety of musical styles and sounds, and it was clear that this album was Crescenzo's playground for experimenting with his brand of music writing. In comparison, Crescenzo went for a more streamlined approach for Act III, but this is not a bad thing; the album as a whole sounds more cohesive than their previous efforts.

The Tracks on Act III form a beautifully woven tapestry of sound, continuing the story of The Boy (the unnamed protagonist of the Act albums) and his journey through war, lost love and death.

Stand out tracks include the opening track "Writing On A Wall", a haunting, wall-to-wall vocal arrangement not unlike Act I's "Battesimo Del Fuoco", the blistering "In Cauda Venenum", which is reminiscent of Crescenzo's previous band, The Receiving End of Sirens, the operatic and ominous "The Tank", which conjures up the image of a crazed dictator leading his faithful soldiers, the brooding track "The Thief" which pounds out a bass line seemingly ripped right out of the mind of Tool bassist Justin Chancellor , and of course, the numerous ballads scattered throughout-including the eerily introspective "Life And Death" and the upbeat "Saved".

Overall, I have no qualms with any track on the album. Act III might not initially seem as groundbreaking as Act II, but when listened to sequentially, all three Act albums blend beautifully. I would also like to commend Crescenzo's evolving vocal work. His vocals are getting progressively better with each outing, surpassing his previous work and extending in both range and depth. By the time the man is finished, I'm sure he'll be considered the musical savant I know him to already be.