EVERY SONG IS A SONIC TREAT // The Dear Hunter - Antimai // Composer Reaction & Analysis

[@axelthesot]

The reason Tower is so different is because The Tower is XCV and XCV is The Tower. Therefore it is the one CHARACTER song in the whole album. It is told specifically from XCV's perspective. It isn't a commentary on his position as his position laid bare is commentary enough. The song ironically starts as an R&B song not because of a mutual love but a twisted and absorbed self love. Also, I am thrilled to have sat through that four hours with you. Hope you start the acts sooner rather than later! I'm so stoked for Sunya (the next album in The Indigo Child).

[@caseybluecrescenzo]

Thank you so much for giving this record such a dedicated and focused listen.

[@axelthesot]

The man himself! Great album sir, excited for Sunya!

[@drew4b]

im subscribing just for the sheer effort of thought that was put into this. i dont have any friends that like the dear hunter, certainly nowhere near as much as me no matter how hard i try. ive wanted to "have this conversation" so to speak, since the albums release. watching this felt like i got to nerd out with someone about the absolute masterpiece of sound and world building it is.

[@drew4b]

also you look like you could be one of my cousins on my dad's side lmao your face shape is very similar to the genes in my dad's family. im adopted though xD ironically our last name/his last name is Bryan

[@XenoPoopz]

Thank you for doing this! Still looking forward to you analyzing the Acts as well!

[@Ibefartin]

Ring 5 is so fucking amazing

[@StringHead92]

A few bits I'd like to comment (that I already didn't on the discord). Definitely like your take on the "dissonance" between the mood of the music and the lyrical content. This is a tradition that many artists have delved into, as Per mentions its something a few prog acts do, I already mentioned the whole progressive/psychedelic soul scene (which imo is the biggest "new" influence on this album) on the server, but this is pretty common in pop too (ABBA were masters at that imo). Related to the previous item, I believe that the tone actually works for different reasons on different places. Poverty is about wishing for a better life inside Antimai (and hopefully either joining the Patrol or the Emperor's living servants) and also about hopefully awating salvation, both of which fit the "upbeat" mood of the track imo. Industry makes it even clearer, it's a song about camaraderie between outcasts, imo it could easily fit the whole "dancing through the pain" idea. And even if Tower is a pretty upbeat song I still consider the music to be pretty dark, beyond the obvious spots, there's a bit of dissonance in the songwriting and a lot of clashing instrumentation, specially on the heavily orchestrated sections. It's been already mentioned but this album will flow right into the next one. I'm sure this is partially in response to streaming making it possible and I'm intrigued by the potential of having multiple albums/EPs/whatever that might flow together as one piece (or are simply connected) even if they are released separately. Regarding the "bio-pariahs" from Industry, this becomes a lot more easily understandable as you progress through the album, but I'm pretty sure that beyond LGBTQI+ people, this probably includes people living with disabilities, people with fertility issues (reproduction/gender is every bit as important as production/class through Antimai's lyrics) and in general outsiders, which in this particular state might even include people who simply don't adhere to gender stereotypes (and could still be cis and straight) or just don't want to have kids. If you're not fit for reproduction then being forced into labor makes a ton of sense. And yeah, you're definitely right that this album was heavily influenced by current world issues, in particular by post 2016-US politics. This was confirmed by Casey pretty much after Roe vs. Wade was overruled. Great insight as always, Byran! And I hope the ending to Middle Class grows on you, it's more of a "vibing with it" kind of section rather than one to pay too much attention imo (even if it works thematically 100%).

[@CriticalReactions]

The bio-pariahs thing is starting to make more sense when peeling back the layers of metaphor and seeing what it represents in our world. And I love your insight on the musical tone. I was heading in the right direction by the end of the album, trying to find themes outside of the surface lyrics to tie them to, but I didn't make the connections that you did.

[@Arrow2theACL]

Considering the Acts all connect with each other, I think it is assumed Tower will connect with the new album Sunya. Also, much like the emperor’s playful music here, the villain in the Acts has similar circusy juxtaposition to his actual character as a pimp and a priest.

[@goodkingp7925]

Loved this reaction. Now you're invested in this world, here's a possible plot detail that might be an easter egg (or might just be an error). In the official album livestream (can still be found in their Cave and Canary channel), in the very last few seconds of music, Ring 6/LoTown disappears from the display entirely. Is the implication that the Emperor makes good on his threat and wipes it out...?

[@TheTurophile]

First-time viewer, big-time TDH fan. Loving this analysis. I especially like how Critical Reactions' analysis gets more literary than musical as he starts to buy into the concept 😊

[@bmusic4213]

Casey has actually posted the beginning of Sunya, the next Indigo Child album, and it starts the exact same way Tower ends, basically seamlessly continuing it. So you were right on the money there.

[@TimAyro]

Loved this. Would still love Act album reacts too. Ring 1 is insane. My favorite. It's like a cliff hangar to this world he built. I'LL BLOT THE SUN OUT!! (I think it's literal as the tower can cast shade and kill the crops, therefore, life.)

[@CriticalReactions]

Fantastic detail! Not only is a good callback to the farmers talking about not having enough sun but it's also social criticism, pointing towards how the ruling class blames the work class for issues that they themselves have created.

[@redroses_player1019]

I'm just in love with the composition and writing of this album, seriously amazing work! This is why the dear hunter is my #1🙌

[@muskett00]

I ran through into this from one of your earlier videos and I'm at almost 2 1/2 hours in. This is probably one of my favourites you've done, not only because of the music featured (which I have little knowledge of and now adore) but also for your analysis and discussions. It's a pleasure. This might end up being one of my favourite albums of all time at this rate... but its been special to listen along.

[@Arrow2theACL]

Do you know The Dear Hunter Acts? If not, you are certainly in for a treat.

[@muskett00]

@@Arrow2theACL I don't, but I'm looking forward to the journey

[@muskett00]

Finished off today. Can't wait to listen through the back catalogue

[@muskett00]

@@Arrow2theACL I've listened to Acts 1-3 today. 3 was my favourite.

[@Arrow2theACL]

@@muskett00 The fascinating thing about the Acts is the band's maturity improving as Hunter matures within the story. Fascinating fact about Act 1. All the parts are done by Casey's immediate family. Mom, Dad and brother play/sing on the album. All things considered when taking that into account, I can appreciate Act 1 alot more. But Act 3 is where the band hits their stride.

[@TBaggins96]

I'm still early in the reaction, so you may have picked up on it later, but one key thing to contextualize this album is the use of irony. This is a very ironic album in both its musical and lyrical presentation, so what you might expect to hear and read in a song called Poverty or Middle Class, etc, will come from an extremely ironic, if not outright counter intuitive angle.

[@TylerSampson51]

This album is everything to me. I saw them perform the album and I will remember it as one of my all time favorite shows.

[@warofages13]

I really love your full length reactions! It’s a long shot but I’d love to see you react to Cosmo sheldrake’s “the much much how how and I” especially with his new full length coming out April 12! It’s pretty unusual music bringing lots of classic aspects into this strange but amazing fairy tale landscape

[@CriticalReactions]

That sounds quite interesting. I've add it to my release radar so, if nothing else, I can check it out on my own.

[@chasespell7293]

Thanks for doing this album, Bryan! This is my favorite The Dear Hunter album.

[@TBaggins96]

Excellent! This is one of my favorite albums of recent years. But then again, how dare you swoop in and steal four hours of my Saturday? Oh well!

[@evergreen_monster]

OMG this was an amazing listen! I loved every freaking second of it. Looks like I've had TDH locked in the "to listen" list for far too long. No more, I'm going down the rabbit hole! During the reaction I had these flashback images of another concept album with some pretty heavy lyrics, and it all came full circle with the "I AM" line in Nature. I'm talking about Be, from Pain of Salvation. If there's ever a full album recommendation from me, it's this one. Not the highest-regarded album by PoS fans, but you gotta love how ambitious and varied it is, and the story, exploring concepts of god, the creation and humankind's neverending greed, is very thought-provoking and engaging. I wish you take it into consideration! Keep being awesome 🤟

[@CriticalReactions]

We'll probably check out Be sometime this month so keep an eye out for that.

[@evergreen_monster]

@@CriticalReactions oh wow talk about good timing! Looking forward to it!

[@Arrow2theACL]

Yup. Think you are getting that this album is more of a scene setting prequel then a story. How people make their life work. Makes me so curious how the story proceeds from here. I love Middle Class guitar groove, thus I like the extended ending. I describe TDH to new listeners as theatrical prog. The music changes based on the characters, the story or in the case here, the setting.

[@Ouzala]

Oh my goooood you finaly reviewed this album !!! I've been introduced to this fantastic band because of one of your analysis on the Indingo Child. I love what they do and this album is my absolute favourite ! Those funky vibe they added to their sound with all those brass instrument and synths is sooo good on this album. I also love the mix of the different instruments tone they chose, it feels really unique to my ear. Antimai is also really different from their other albums and this is cool ! I'm so happy to hear your thoughts on this especially for the lyrics that intrigued me but not being a nativ english speaker it's not that easy to get a clear grasp on what they say :( . Btw I haven't watched your video yet i'll update my comment after i watched the 4 hours :D ! Thanks !

[@Ouzala]

Okay I finaly watched the entire video. I'm amazed by how many thing you can pick up on your first listening and how relevant your thoughts are. I love the fact that you anticipate so many things on the album only with the first track. Also hearing your opinion change through the listening of the album (especially on the dissonance between the groovyness and hapiness of some songs and the heavy topic they adress that bothered you in the beginning) is really interesting. I'm really happy to have watched your analysis, now I love this album even more. It helped me understand and appreciate more how well this album is crafted and how every choice made has a purpose that serve the story. I can confidently say now that Antimai is my favourite album discovered in 2023 (even though it's been released in 2022). I love the whole world they describe, this type of dystopian city with this cast system is clearly not new, especially in cyberpunk/sci-fi art. It makes me think of midgard in FF7 or Zalem and Kuzutetsu in Gunnm where the rich and powerfull people live above and out of reach of the poor people. But the way they describe it through the eyes and subtule intricate thoughts of different character that live in the different rings make it feels so real and plausible. Also the analogy between Antimai and our western society is pretty obvious but also really accurate. I'm sure that everybody listening to this can relate to some character or rings. I also watch the short film they made and wow ! This is so well put together, feels really professional, the acting, the fx the photography and the art direction are great ! I really recommend anyone to watch it. I would love to have a full lengh movie like this although it seems really unlikely since it would cost a lot of money to make :'(. I'm looking forward for the follow up of the story. I'm really grateful that you shared your thought on this. Sorry if I made some english mistakes in my comment.

[@CriticalReactions]

I'm glad I could increase your appreciation for this album. You're right, they do a fantastic job at describing this world and painting a clear picture about it. And you've made me quite excited to get to the short film. For some reason I was expecting something animated but knowing it's live action and well shot/produced is exciting!

[@ShadinCore]

3:58:06 lmao HE KNEW TOO MUCH shouldn't have mentioned illuminati at 3:06:54, i guess

[@OTProd]

IDK if you recognize my occasional commenting but I've been watching and enjoying your content for a long time now, ( since 2020 I think). Huge respect to the grind my dude. I've also been asking for that Act(s) reaction since the beginning so my heart sank when I saw The Dear Hunter Album Reaction, then a wet fart slipped out when I saw Antimai 🤣🤣🤣🤣. So close. Anyways, looking forward to this reaction and more TDH (and BTBAM). 🤟

[@janeg6759]

BTBAM has been my favorite band for the last 14 years. I joined this community to find new music. This is my first time hearing a full TDH album. Cheers 🥂

[@OTProd]

@@janeg6759 Oh no ways! That's awesome. Although they are DRASTICALLY different, there is, idk how to describe it, but, like, spiritual connective tissue between TDH and BTBAM. I Started listening to both bands around the same time (2004 and 2008) and have always had similar emotional reactions to both. You definitely need to check out TDH "Acts". It's one of the only projects that has been able to rival BTBAM for me personally.

[@Swollen_Goat]

FINALLY IT HAPPENED! I have been waiting for you to do a full album from them for so long. Honestly, the Acts are still THE BEST work they have ever done, but I absolutely love this album. It feels very much like the acts, but it has such a different feel. Personally, I really think you should do Act 1-5. 1 is the weakest, but has 2 of my favorite songs. Act 2 is my absolute favorite and my actual favorite album of all time. 3/4/5 are all equal in my opinion. Such strong albums each with their own theme and feel but perfectly equal in how good they are.

[@ClowdCow]

God, i love this album

[@M1nn0wLIVE]

So there are a few terms you should know that are made up for this world. Meka-Nik means the ideal citizen of any given ring by the standards of the guides/emperor XCV Bio-Pariah is somebody that in some way refuses to procreate or depending on the ring failing to conform to gender stereotypes (there is more acceptance of this in the luxury ring) The guides seem to be robots but actually there is some living creature beneath their robes. They are the many hands of the emperor who are sort of like a senate with no care of anyone below their caste, but people from lower castes come to them for guidance for a fee or tithe. The Patrol are soldiers that work directly under the guides who are most similar to a storm trooper. Including that they were taken as children from “ring 8” and were seen as exceptional in their work camp/school. The rest either go to ring 7 or 8. Not mentioned in this album. Sunya (seemingly pronounced like Sonia) is the title of the upcoming album and the name of a promised land that the indigo child is said to lead her people to. Fishermen, formerly fissure men are sort of a clan of extremely smart engineers and mechanics who used to live in fissures outside of antimai but after inventing a sort of aircraft and using such to offer water from the outside world to Antimai their uses were seen and the Aircraft tech is now used by the patrol luxury and tower as well as the fishermen.

[@chrono5108]

thanks for this

[@M1nn0wLIVE]

@ no problem

[@PhilMyu]

Fantastic album and reaction. Industry, Tower and LoTown are my favorites. I once saw someone write that the ending of „Ring 3 Luxury“ is basically „Crash Bandicoot-Core“ and I always have to chuckle when thinking about it.

[@drew4b]

that is the exact reason why ring 3 is one of my favorites lol

[@Wandering841]

I just saw your review of The Sprawl and tada! Subscribed.

[@TheFamousYakTamer]

I only made it to your analysis of ring 7 yet, so you may address this further into the video. But regarding the lyrics not being reflected in the music - I absolutely see what you mean but it has never bothered me. The way I have always interpreted this album is that it's a collection of "theme songs" or "anthems" for the different rings in this authoritarian society. The lyrics subtly underline the actual feelings of the people living there, but they're either scared of repercussions or desperately trying to convince themselves that everything is okay. It's a propaganda piece. But then the interesting thing is also that as you get closer and closer to the center, I feel like the songs get more honest and music aligns more to the tone of the lyrics. The people in power have the freedom to not self-edit. Just my interpretation, figured it was worth throwing out. Super cool analysis, gonna enjoy the rest now!

[@tommaw3204]

Humorous comparisons have been made between The God Emperor and Kuzco by the fandom already. There was an edit going around a while ago of Kuzco doing his dance to Tower and it fit perfectly! I never understood the point of the dance section at the end of Luxury. I always thought it was out of place compared to the rest of the album. Turns out it contextualises the entire song and is arguably the most important part! That’s some amazing analysis skills on your part Bryan! Also, in Luxury, the first section is in 6/8 and the second (when they start partying) goes back to 4/4. From an analytical point of view, it may symbolise the luxury class puffing out their chests and putting on an intimidating character. Then going back to the chill 4/4 once the people are rightfully in their place. Plays into the duality theme you identified.

[@CriticalReactions]

Good call and interpretation on the end of Luxury. I totally missed that.

[@Garamondable]

The last half of Ring 5 is some of the most flawless songwriting to exist 😂, this band is on another level man. Always have been

[@poison9893]

Hi, please analyse Amun-spectra and obssession. It's a long one but the musicianship is insane and they are extremely underratted!

[@divided123]

Nice! Looking forward to watching alongside you for this one. Really enjoyed the album

[@Arrow2theACL]

Industry. The first bit of lyrics “walk this way” I take it as a person who is well versed in the ways of the ring welcoming and showing the ropes to a new member to a new family made up of other outcasts.

[@morgue_file]

YESSSS this is my favorite band 🤩

[@janeg6759]

My first listen. I'll have to give it another listen now that I know what it's about. Very nice. I especially liked your commentary. And, I've never seen the Emperor's New Groove. Going to have to check it out also. 😁

[@CriticalReactions]

You're in for a treat! There was a period in the early 2000s where Disney had just acquired Pixar and was transitioning to primarily 3D animation and they let their Florida animation team run without much corporate meddling. In their final years of operation they put out five films with three of those being, in my opinion, some of the best films Disney has ever made. They are The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet. They were also responsible for Lilo & Stitch during this time which is great as well but I don't view it as highly as the other 3. Regardless, this team was firing on cylinders and it's a shame that Disney focused away from the stuff they were doing at the time.

[@willy_wonka5]

Still making my way through your reaction but I love this, great work!

[@Arrow2theACL]

Looking forward to this. And I have a long bus ride home. Perfect!!

[@SrVerataro]

Damn, ring 4 still sound like an anime opening... i wonder why...

[@TheWickedEnd2012]

just finished the analysis of the first song. As a fan of the album, the weakest part of it is that it's mostly 1-note tone wise. You had mentioned that it may start upbeat, then end more somber or dark, and it never really changes in tone throughout the rings. As you noted, it would have been nice for the lower rings to lean more into the tone of the lyrics. Edits below: At 1:25:00 , I think you're onto something. I think this album is to introduce what the rings *are* then the next album will set up the story within. I would have still liked a change in tone throughout, but the idea that it's more of a stony description of the rings makes sense to me.

[@janeg6759]

Im not done with the reaction but wanted to thank you for the 7/8 explanation. And that 7 is 2 syllables. There is a BTBAM song where Tommy is counting to 7 underneath other lyrics and it drives me crazy because I think the 8 is missing and I wonder now if it is intentional. The song is The Future is Behind Us. I'll comment again when I'm finished listening.

[@progperljungman8218]

Gorgeous stuff! Maybe you could learn to appreciate that English prog habit (or actually way beyond prog as well) of pairing somber lyricism with brighter music, if you try to look upon it as a tongue in cheek thing. Not as in fooling around but like a playful way of going about serious/deep/somber topics. I think you're absolutely right about TDH being inspired by that.

[@janeg6759]

Hi Per, nicely put. Probably why I'm so attracted to progressive music 😁🤔

[@progperljungman8218]

​@@janeg6759Hi Jane! Yeah, I'm not saying all English prog music is bright, since there's quite some sinister stuff made by the classic bands (King Crimson being the most obvious). But there was certainly this combination of brighter music with darker lyrics occurring quite frequently among many of the bands. Might be tied to "The English Aestethic" - a very interesting feature defined and explained by the great prog KZbinr Andy Edwards (through a series of videos) . Check him out. Search for "The English Aesthetic" 🙂

[@xcforce9067]

Ring 7 is so catchy. It was one of my most frequent listens in 2022. Sadly, I could not get into the rest of the album.

[@richardthresh3587]

Fabulous stuff - what a great album!

[@Arrow2theACL]

Impressive you are getting it in first listen. It tells me you do your homework in prepping your reaction. It took me a while to figure this stuff out. Very well done. Love the line dance depicted as a party. Yes they think they are having a good time and free to do what they want, but the God Emperor is the one dictating their unison step even in celebration.

[@CriticalReactions]

I didn't do much pre-listen research. Just the little bit I detailed at the beginning of the video about how it was connected to The Indigo Child. But I do have a lot of lyrical help along the way with the Genius annotations. That's sort of like getting the homework answers during the test 😅

[@AllKnowingCabbage]

If you haven't yet you should definitely check out Sleep Token. You made me think of them when you said "if you only listen to metal then you will only write metal" Sleep Token write music that blend much more than metal

[@CriticalReactions]

I've checked out a few of their songs over the years: Jaws, Thread the Needle, Take Me Back To Eden. They're certainly an eclectic bunch of musicians.

[@AllKnowingCabbage]

Yeah definitely eclectic, also loving the video so far, only have about 10 minutes left but great video.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Heard this once back when it came out. I really enjoyed it but I've mostly been exploring classical lately so I haven't gotten back to it. Surprised this hasn't been as well received as their Acts. Personally, at least after a single listen, I'd probably rank it just a notch below Act IV and Act V and around the same as Act II, and The Color Spectrum. 18:17 I think you're referring to the romantic period rather than the Renaissance era. The Renaissance era came before the baroque and was probably the most complex classical period as polyphony was the dominant compositional mode. It was actually the baroque period where homophonic music started becoming increasingly dominant, with Vivaldi and Handel especially leading the way (JS Bach was something of an anomaly in that he was writing Renaissance-esque polyphonic music with baroque-style melodies, and he was thought very "old-fashioned" in his time). After the baroque period came the classical period and the pioneering of most of the major genres and forms that would dominate for the next several hundred years (symphony, string quartet, sonata form, etc.). The classical period was even more homophonically dominantly than the baroque. Then we get to the romantic period where things like program music (depicting narratives, landscapes, weather, emotional states etc.) became popular, mostly in the wake of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. The romantic era did start becoming more harmonically complex, especially with guys like Chopin and Wagner really pushing at the limits of what tonal music can do.

[@Arrow2theACL]

I think it is recieved rather well for an intro into the next story. I don't think it will get full appreciation until we get more in depth with the story of the Indigo Child.

[@CriticalReactions]

Yuup, Romantic Period is what I was thinking of. Guess it's time for a refresher for me. It's been over a decade since I learned that stuff and, while this might have just been a brain fart, I'd rather not misspeak again in the future 😅

[@paravarium]

This is going to take me like a week to get through lol. Bravo.

[@CriticalReactions]

I totally get it. I love long form videos too but I usually only watch in 30 minute session. Recently it took me about two weeks to get through a 9h30m video essay. 😅

[@PabloSaavedra84]

This band is still Summer👌

[@ShadinCore]

3:23:53 i imagine he's singing this while talking a bath (also i think you've mistakenly put timestamp to tower's reaction at 2:23:23 instead of 3:23:23)

[@CriticalReactions]

Thanks, I fixed the timestamp. And I love the idea of the God Emperor singing sweet, vain songs about himself to himself while bathing.

[@ncdice1]

Dream theater connected 5 albums like that and then looped the last one. I always thought that was very cool.

[@intheshadowofathousandbean563]

Which albums are those? (Excuse a newbie Dream Theater listener lol)

[@ncdice1]

@@intheshadowofathousandbean563 I meant to say 4 albums. metropolis pt2, six degrees of inner turbulence, train of thought, and octovarium. The first song on six degrees starts how metropolis pt 2 ended. They did that until the end of octovsrium where that album looped in on itself

[@jukedem]

YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[@fartpunch3937]

First time hearing this band, what an amazing song! This is why I love this channel, I'm always finding bands that are amazing.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Just wait until you get into the Acts! Five albums telling a cohesive story, and I think they get progressively better as they go along. The full Color Spectrum is pretty great too.

[@Swollen_Goat]

The acts for sure get better with every release they did. Act is still my favorite though as it was the first one I heard when it released. ​@jonathanhenderson9422

[@Arrow2theACL]

Just going to comment between each song as I see fit. Poverty. I interpret the 7/8 as children on their 8th birthday go missing or rather taken from their families until they are 20. The family is compensated for their service as we see in the movie. I think in general there is an overall upbeat tone throughout the entire album, and knowing Casey these concepts will return in a reprisal later on in the story.

[@reaper2r]

🎉FUCKKKKKK YESSS🎉

[@jordanfletcher-berna6549]

Yes, Finally