Photo by Nat Lacuna – Dreamwell
The Rhode Island band’s third full-length sharpens its metalcore and screamo attack across ten songs examining belief, morality and division.
DREAMWELL has released its third full-length album, Hymns For The Denial Of God, through Prosthetic Records, extending the Rhode Island band’s increasingly heavy approach into a record centered on religious hypocrisy, institutional power and the consequences of weaponizing belief.
Across ten tracks, the album brings together the screamo, post-hardcore and metalcore elements that have shaped DREAMWELL’s previous work while placing greater emphasis on aggression and more compact songwriting. The record runs approximately 34 minutes and follows 2023’s In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You and the band’s 2021 debut, Modern Grotesque.
The thematic focus is considerably more specific this time. Rather than presenting religion itself as the sole target, DREAMWELL examines what happens when faith is used to justify prejudice, oppression or moral superiority.
According to material accompanying the release, the album looks at the contradictions created when something intended to offer connection instead becomes a source of division. That perspective runs throughout songs including “Anti-Christ’s Testimony,” “Apostates & Gentiles,” “Your Ichthys Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” and previously released single “Carrion Birds On The Ark.”
The subject matter also marks a shift from some of DREAMWELL’s earlier writing, which frequently dealt with more inward-looking emotional struggles. Hymns For The Denial Of God redirects much of that intensity outward, with vocalist Keziah “KZ” Staska addressing systems, behavior and the people who use religious belief as justification for harming others.
Musically, that anger is paired with a heavier interpretation of the band’s existing sound. DREAMWELL retains the abrasive vocals and emotional volatility associated with screamo while drawing more noticeably from metalcore, punk and extreme metal. Breakdown-driven passages and irregular riffing sit alongside the band’s established sense of chaos and emotional release.
The change did not come from abandoning the collaborative process that shaped the group’s earlier records. DREAMWELL began developing the album during in-person rehearsals in 2026, writing together before returning to Silver Bullet Studios in Connecticut to work with producer Chris Teti.
That collective approach arrives after several years of stylistic development. Modern Grotesque introduced the band in 2021, while In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You pushed DREAMWELL further into heavier territory two years later. The latter drew attention for incorporating more pronounced metalcore elements into the band’s post-hardcore foundation, including on “Obelisk Of Hands.”
On Hymns For The Denial Of God, those heavier instincts have become a more central part of the songwriting rather than an occasional detour.
Two songs from the album received video treatments ahead of the full release. “Carrion Birds On The Ark” offered an early look at the record’s more confrontational direction, while “Plath Vs. Kafka Vs. Romance” also appeared prior to the album’s arrival.
The album has already drawn notice for both its musical aggression and its subject matter. Reviews cited in the release have focused particularly on the combination of screamo, 2000s-influenced metalcore and lyrics examining organized religion, hypocrisy and the idea that religious belief alone establishes moral authority.
Those themes give DREAMWELL’s third album a defined place within the band’s catalog. Where previous records often turned emotional turmoil inward, Hymns For The Denial Of God channels similar intensity toward institutions and ideologies that can shape relationships between people.
The current DREAMWELL lineup consists of Staska on vocals, Ryan Couitt on guitars and backing vocals, Justin Soares on bass and Anthony Montalbano on drums.
Hymns For The Denial Of God is available digitally through Prosthetic Records.
Album Information
DREAMWELL — Hymns For The Denial Of God
Label: Prosthetic Records
Album: Third full-length
Producer: Chris Teti
Recording Studio: Silver Bullet Studios, Connecticut
Tracks: 10
Track Listing
Hypercrucifixation
Sissy Hate Machine
Anti-Christ’s Testimony
A Crisis Of Realization
Apostates & Gentiles
Plath Vs. Kafka Vs. Romance
I Dreamt I Survived An Extinction Event
Carrion Birds On The Ark
Your Ichthys Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore
Cherub Rock Of Gibraltar
Band Lineup
Keziah “KZ” Staska — Vocals
Ryan Couitt — Guitars, backing vocals
Justin Soares — Bass
Anthony Montalbano — Drums
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