An Aria award-nominated metalcore quartet, Melbourne's Dream on Dreamer emerged in 2009 with a sound that paired the fury of post-hardcore with the melodic scope of modern rock. The group found success in 2011 with the release of their debut album, Heartbound, and continued to make a strong showing on the charts with subsequent efforts like Loveless (2013) and Songs of Soulitude (2015). Citing myriad personnel changes, health problems, and legal issues, the group elected to disband in 2020 after the release of their fifth long-player, What if I Told You It Doesn't Get Better. The group formed in 2009 around the talents of vocalist Marcel Gadacz, lead guitarist Callan Orr, drummer Aaron Fiocca, bassist and clean vocalist Michael McLeod, and keyboardist Daniel Jungwirth, all of whom had done time with a host of regional acts. Dream on Dreamer issued their debut EP, Set Sail, Armada, later that July. A second EP, Hope, was released the following year via Boomtown and caught the attention of American punk/metal behemoth Rise Records, which quickly scooped the band up. Produced by Cameron Mizell (Sleeping with Sirens, Skylit Drive), the band's first full-length effort, Heartbound, arrived in 2011 and earned a nomination for Best Rock/Metal album at that year's Aria Awards. High-profile shows with contemporaries Avenged Sevenfold and We Came as Romans helped to elevate the group's status outside of Australia, and by 2012 Dream on Dreamer was touring internationally; that same year saw the departure of McLeod, who had just become a father. The following year saw the Dream's Zachary Britt join the band on rhythm guitar and clean vocals, as well as the arrival of their sophomore long-player Loveless, which was released on Melbourne indie UNFD. The band promoted the album with shows alongside A Day to Remember, Silverstein, and the Devil Wears Prada, but many of the gigs were without drummer Fiocca, who was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time. Jungwirth departed in 2014 and was replaced by House vs. Hurricane's Chris Shaw, who made his studio debut on 2015's Songs of Soulitude. 2018's It Comes and Goes saw the band electing to focus more on clean vocals, though the post-hardcore attack of prior outings remained largely undiluted. Two years later Dream on Dreamer announced that they would be disbanding and releasing a final album. The resulting What if I Told You It Doesn't Get Better arrived in April 2020. ~ James Christopher Monger