Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional is the seventh studio album by American rock band The Dear Hunter. It was released on September 9, 2016, via Cave and Canary Goods and Equal Vision Records The album is the fifth installment in a six-part series. It follows the conclusion of "," in which the story's main character is confronted by his nemesis and forced into blackmail. Development. Roughly a month prior to the announcement of "Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional", Casey Crescenzo began performing a new song  entitled "Light" at live shows during the band's early 2016 tour. The song was not accompanied by the full band. On June 20, 2016, the band mailed out numerous packages to fans who had purchased the "Lifetime" membership in 2010. These lifetime members received a sheet of laminated material in the appearance of a postcard. The postcard had the words "HYMNS WITH THE DEVIL IN CONFESSIONAL" printed across one side, and on the other a message signed by a "Mr. Usher". The postcard also had grooves that could be played on a turntable, revealing a spoken message in relation  to the story accompanied by a reprise of the end of the song "City Escape" from "". The card also contained a URL to the website "hymnswiththedevil.com", which contained a picture of a burnt playing card and a countdown timer set to end on June 22, 2016, at 1:00 pm EDT. At the end of the countdown The Dear Hunter officially announced "Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional" on their website and via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Preorders for the album, and a new single "Gloria" were made available immediately. In addition to the announcement of the album, Crescenzo  put a personal message on the website. This message discussed his thoughts on his career, the production of Act V and the future of Act VI: On August 5, a single entitled "The Revival" was released. "Light" was also released as a single on August 25.