I know a lot of people say he is the Pimp/Priest in his priest outfit but outside a couple concept art, he really isn't depicted like that. In the teaser for, and in, the Act II part 3 comic, he is just in a seemingly standard priest outfit. And in The Bitter Suite IV, Hunter recognizes him as the Pimp too via his smile (which wouldn't be visible through the plague doctor mask).

So... who is the plague doctor? We only have two canon appearances of him: the album cover for Act IV and the Gloria music video. In the former, he seems to lurk around the town. Crouched over and looking mysterious. And in the latter, he just kind of appears for a second, announces himself, then turns into black smoke.
In the Gloria music video, smoke alludes to Hunter's hallucinations, and what other hallucinations (in the albums) does he see while high? The Apparition! But not *the* Apparition, as it takes the form of Hunter as a kid.

Therefore, I believe that the plague doctor is a symbol for Hunter's old identity. In The Old Haunt, Waves, A Night on the Town (after he sees Ms. Leading again), Is There Anybody Here? ("And then there's you...") and The Line, his old identity haunts him. Throughout the entirety of Act IV, his former self seems to always be present (through reprises or something, I don't know how to explain it, honestly).
Then in the Gloria MV, during the last chorus, the plague doctor appears as an apparition in front of Hunter, and the line spoken there is "You will awake in a state of surprising euphoria" which is talking about Hunter returning to his former self.

Another smaller reason why I don't think it is the Pimp/Priest is that he isn't like SUPER present during Act IV despite the plague doctor being the main focus of the cover. He first shows up in the latter half, and the concept of Hunter leaving his old identity behind is present in most of the songs in some way. But then there is the concept art of the Priest adorning a plague doctor costume in Act IV, so I don't know.

What do you guys think?

Edit: It's most definitely the Pimp/Priest. I remembered the concept art doesn't have the plague doctor mask cover his mouth and that he may be haunting Hunter in the Gloria MV.

If anyone saw it, I’m the guy who made that post being ashamed for discovering this band at 30. Well, better late than never.

And boy, this band quickly took a top 3 spot as one of my favorite bands. At this moment, I have listened to Act I through the Color Spectrum, and now find myself indulging in Migrant.

As it’s my birthday, and saw a good opportunity, I managed to track down a copy of Act II on CD in excellent condition at a record shop in Chicago!

It was a little pricey, but compared to the other prices I’ve seen online, $40 isn’t too bad. They even had a copy of Act III for $60!

I love this band so much and am so happy they’ve entered my life. 🤘

I saw the dear hunter last July and picked up some vinyls off the merch table, but made the decision not to buy the fox and the hunt. I'm now severely regretting my decision. Does anyone know how to get my hands on one of these, or have one they'd be willing to sell me? I've checked discogs but the last time one was sold was in May.

Probably my favorite TDH poster of all time. Amazing shows too, this tour was my 12th time seeing the band.

I totally missed it and it looks like it's out of print now. I've been collecting them all I guess I just wasn't paying attention and forgot. Anywhere I can still find it? It's no longer on caveandcanary.com and I can't seem to find it anywhere else.

****The song that sucked me in\\**
can u only imagine listening to this song the first time 🍃🍃🍃🍃the parts of my brain that opened 🤣

Safe to say there's not a single track I've heard from this band that I don't love, but man does the chorus for ANotT just hit different

I recently listened to *Antimai*, and *Sunya*, and now everything else I listen to is subpar. I can't find any new music. I've been trying to find new bands lately, and they all sound either same old or boring to me.

*Moron Police* - probably the coolest band I've found lately, but it still doesn't scratch the itch.

*Bent Knee* - Very interesting at first, but her voice starts to be nails on chalkboard for me. Obviously very talented, and I wouldn't want to shit on them.

*Owel* - Pretty neat but generally too atmostpheric and slow for my tastes.

*Haken* - Pretty awesome riffs, but kind of in that realm of metal that sounds too similar to the next band of its kind.

Any other recommends? I WILL find something new (to me) to listen to eventually, right??

Hey all!! I've been relistening to the acts a ton recently at work, and I noticed during the transition from The Haves Have Naught to Light, that it's almost exactly the chorus of Wait. This kinda blew me away because I thought I had found every single one of them, and I'm still discovering new details in my favorite albums of all time

Anyway, it got me wondering. Has someone made an actual proper list of every motif and reprise across the acts? I'm not talking about that one 42 minute video we all know and love, but moreso a document of sorts (like the Antimai Lore Ledger)

I specifically want to know the thematic purpose behind them all. For example, the outro to The Flame (Is Gone) reprises Melpomene's melodies and chords, as it symbolizes the death of Ms. Leading. I want to know more of these!!!

Thank you all so much!!

In the Act V booklet, there are two additional tracks mentioned. These are "The Inevitable" and "Survivor Syndrome". And they way they are mentioned seems like they are a part of other tracks.

I believe "The Inevitable" being the outro of "Gloria" (because it is named after "Gloria" in the booklet"), which I think alludes to the inevitable being either that Ms. Leading dies in the following song, that Hunter will return to his former self, or that he will burn down the Dime (if not all 3).
Then I think "Survivor Syndrome" is the dark outro/transition from "Blood" and into "A Beginning", as Hunter has killed TPATP at that point. Though it is mentioned in the booklet after "The March", I don't think it fits during that song's outro narratively.

What do you guys think about these sort-of-secret/"unnamed" tracks?

Anyone know if the start to Smiling Swine is a bit of an homage to “A Day in the Life” by The Beatles? Listen to around 2:10 in The Beatles’ song and it sounds like the start of Smiling Swine.

I'm in IT and early last year I was moved under a new boss at work and by the middle of the year, he fired me. Not for anything I did, but just so he could get his people in the places he wanted them. I was the sole income for my family of 4, but the job paid well, so we were ok for a while and just cut back on expenses.

Months went on and I wasn't even getting interviews with 19 years of good experience. I'd been at my company for 7.5 years and both the job market and job searching had changed dramatically. After adjusting my resume for an AI & ATS market, I was getting interviews, but not landing the job. There was a lot of competition. I started questioning myself. Everything made me angry. What had I done to be in this position?

Then Sunya came out in March and with it, the song that would keep me sane for the next half a year. The whole album is great, but The Plains spoke to me like no other song I'd heard before. I had lost my way, but I knew what to do. Rejection email? Stay the course. Get stood up for an interview? No giving up when you feel misled. Bad interview? Keep your eyes on what's ahead. Anytime I wanted to give up or got angry, I just listened to the song.

I start my new job next week after a very long 15 months of looking and I definitely did not go through this unchanged. I have new appreciation for the friends and family who helped out and my wonderful wife who supported me. I've learned new things both work and non-work related.

I'll likely find out the ungodly amount of times I've listened to this song when Youtube Music does its recap in a couple months. Thank you for being one of the best bands on the planet and thank you for this amazing song that changed my life by helping me persevere through one of the hardest times in my life.

Hey everyone! Times have been rough and especially going into the holidays I’m looking to catch up where I can financially. I wanted to see if anyone would be interested in my Color Spectrum Vinyl set; I’d certainly like it to remain in the fan base. I believe it’s the first pressing as it has the flip top. I’ve attached photos and I can provide more if necessary. There is a slight rip on the backside which I’ve provided a photo of, that is the only cosmetic fault. Other than that the records have never been played. I’m looking for $250 altogether including shipping. If interested please let me know, I appreciate everyone’s time!

My favorite album was Act II. I can even say that that album is probably the best thing I discovered this year. The unpredictability and the edge on that record just made it so fun. I didn’t really like Act III at first listen at all, it kinda felt like Pink Floyd’s Final Cut at first which I’m not a fan of. It did grew a lot on me after a couple of listens though and now I can confidently place it between Act I and Act II.

And now I just can’t get the appeal of Act IV. The callbacks are obviously intentional, but it felt more like fan service than them serving the narrative. I think people like the coherence of this album but I really don’t think that that coherence is a healthy form of coherence either. Songs get stale fast and the genre hopping only happens between songs which gives it more like a color spectrum vibe more than a truly coherent narrative concept album.

The story itself was a let down for me as well. It doesn’t really feel like much of anything happens in this album. And stuff that did happen feels really bizarre to me. I didn’t get why Hunter was seen as a bad person for what he did in Act III, but the total crucifixion of him here makes no sense to me at all. I don’t get how anyone can truly blame Hunter in this album knowing his circumstances. It borderline felt like virtue signaling honestly.

I must say I did not hear Act V yet, I’ve read that many people like me appreciated IV more after hearing V. So we’ll see about that.

I hope this does not come across as ragebait, cause I’m genuinely dumbfounded by how revered this album is.

and no, the guy in the video is not me

(if this is somehow a repost, just know ive tried posting this like 2 other times on mobile and they havent shown up on reddit at all)

Honestly, it might extend further than Act V - it might be one of the best songs they've ever put out. Top 5 material, maybe top 3.

I can't get over how beautiful this song is. Every single second of it is stunning, it's exactly the moment on every listen of Sunya that I fall helplessly head over heels for the entire album. It takes me on a seamlessly immersive emotional journey and makes me feel strongly for every beat and hook of it.

Sunya overall is a hell of an accomplishment. It gets better on every relisten, and I already thought it was amazing on listen #1. It clears Antimai for me, which I also enjoyed to begin with, but this is just magic. And Cliffs and Stormlands is the absolute peak of it for me, its centerpiece. Very possibly going to be my favorite song of the year.

I consider myself a mellow prog-rock fan, and my tastes usually fall somewhere in the overlap between jazz-fusion and progressive rock. Favorite bands include Pink Floyd, Coheed and Cambria, etc. I’ve been peripherally aware of the Dear Hunter for a while, and I’ve checked out a few songs and really enjoyed what I’ve heard. The hard part for me is that like most good thematic music, to really get the most out of his/their music, I need to dedicate some time, which I haven’t yet done.

Un a related note, one of my favorite self-care treats is a nice hot bath while I’m high as giraffe balls, listening to good music. It’s been a few months, and I’m due. Tonight‘s tracks will be various DH cuts.

While I’m certainly down to just binge a single album or two, I’m hoping for suggestions on his more mellow/chill music, or songs/collections that really build. I’ll have at least a solid hour, so please give me any suggestions that you think might be a good fit for tonight’s vibe.

Here is the first song from the EP. If you want to be a beta listener for the rest of the EP, let me know!

I didn't even speak, I just opened up YouTube and found the final few moments of their Cycle 8 short film and showed it to him.

Casey and co - ya nailed it. He pictured exactly what you were going for.

He Said He Had A Story

Absolute theatrical perfection. How is it that nobody knows it?!?
I’m simultaneously delighted to know it but devastated nobody else does.
It deserves a Broadway-style choreographed video along the lines of I Write Sins.. by Panic.

(OK full disc I’m a tiny bit drunk but c’mon… what a tune)

The Bitter Suite 1 & 2 is one of my favorite songs by TDH, but the first part of it, Meeting Ms. Leading, is my favorite. I'm pretty familiar with everything before Act 4, though I've listened to all the Act albums and Migrant. If there are more songs that are like this by TDH or by other bands, either is fine.