A Review of Act III: Life and Death by The Dear Hunter
Act III: The Boy is on the same boat he was on at the end of Act II when he left The City as The Oracles narrate what will happen if he continues and emphasize how he should've taken their advice but know there's no going back now.
The story moves ahead in time a ways to find The Boy is now a soldier in The Great War but displays a fear he can't shake over fighting in this brutal war.
The Boy becomes horrified over the sight of all the fallen soldiers and begins to pray for an end but gets no response. His platoon manages to dodge bombs in combat but comes across an enemy tank.
His platoon fails at trying to overcome the tank and as he loses all hope, The Boy abandons the battle.
The Boy comes to a forest at the edge of a destroyed city and encounters The Poison Woman. She had unpleasant experiences with soldiers from both sides of the war but realizes early that The Boy would do her no harm. Before she leaves, the Poison Woman gives The Boy a vile of her poison.
The Boy has a change of heart and makes his way back to camp but encounters a Thief who is robbing the bodies of the fallen soldiers. The two debate on which is more criminal, robbing or killing in the name of war. Without reaching a conclusion The Boy makes his way across a battlefield.
While crossing the field, the enemy forces drop mustard gas that unfortunately hits The Boy but it's not enough to kill him. The Boy falls in a hole as enemy forces look on from a distance.
While in the hole, The Boy is in extreme pain and wishes to die but is eventually saved by an ally (a soldier who turns out to be The Boy's half-brother who is referred to as The Son). The Boy and The Son soon become friends while neither realizes their kinship
A group of soldiers are telling stories of their past, one soldier in-particular tells a story about an experience he had with a girl at The Dime. The girl had wished the soldier would go easy on her but the soldier explained with how well he paid he, he would do exactly what he wants and how he wants. The name of the girl (Ms. Terri) catches The Boy's ear and realizes this soldier is his father.
As the war continues, The Boy reflects all the people he met, how he met them and what he's had to go through. The Boy curses the prophecy told to him by the Oracles, admitting they were right and he should've never left his home by The Lake.
Another brutal battle takes place, The Boy and The Son fight beside each other. The Father is almost killed but The Son sacrifices his life to save his Father. The Father shows no sadness at the sight of his dying son as The Boy comes to the side of The Son. In his final moments, The Son realizes The Boy is his half-brother, noting how much they look alike. In The Son's final moments, he asks The Boy to look after his mother.
Later that night, The Boy is in a rage over The Father's lack of a reaction to the death of his son and decides to the vile The Poison Woman had given him and poison's The Father in his sleep, a decision The Boy shows no emotion over.
The Boy is never caught for killing The Father and The Great War ends. The Boy assumes the identity of his half-brother and leaves to care for The Son's mother.
Kue: After an introduction (Act I) and a very character-based piece (Act II), this third act feels like an epic. The lead in track, “Writing on the Wall” sets the stage, and “In Cauda Venenum” wastes no time in dropping us in the middle of the action. The first two-thirds of the album feels like a landscape of numerous fight scenes in a war, similar to the climax of Return of the King. The tracks are distinguishable, however, as not to make any two fights seem too similar or stale. Starting with “Saved”, the action slows down into the denouement, as if painting the scene of the aftermath of the battle.
The progression of the album is incredibly cinematic, even more so than the last. Standout tracks include “The Tank”, “The Poison Woman”, and the beautifully composed “This Beautiful Life”.
Chris: Credit to Kue for basically saying what I was going to say myself. The first two acts were a magnifying glass onto the specific life of The Boy and those around him with an intimate sound whereas Act III zooms out with a grander sound that illustrates the entire landscape of the war being fought. Its the first time, really the narrator of the album is looking outward more than inward because it's difficult not to when you see death and destruction all around you. The biggest theme is that those who aren't killed in battle, the battle will kill their innocence with such an emphasis on The Boy's naivety in the previous Acts, it's safe to say that's all gone now after being hurt by Ms. Leading in Act II, witnessing the war and seeing the emotional cruelness of his father. However, with all the bad comes a moment of purpose for The Boy as Act III ends with him determined to make good on his promise to The Son to care of his mother after his death.
Musically, you have to be most impressed with the piano work in Act III as it is even more of a driving force throughout the album (exceptional moments of this occur in The Tank and Saved). But the piano is accompanied by an ever-expanding instrumentation from Act to Act. Act II is still a better album beginning to end but Act III still packs an emotional punch and is enough of a chance of pace to keep the listener fully involved.
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