I don't want to overexplain anything and ruin the experience of new music for you, but just to give some context...
Both of the Contortionist's last two albums were written about a friend of the vocalist's that passed away. Language, the first one, tells that story metaphorically, whereas Clairvoyant is much more direct, especially towards the end of the album.
As far as TDH goes, all five of their Act albums are directly connected - they all cover the same story. You actually have a couple of options with it, though. You can listen to them all chronologically, obviously, but the band's songwriter has also said a few times recently that he actually thinks the story is more interesting from a narrative perspective if you start with Act IV and then treat the first three as flashbacks that reveal everything that led up to the events in Rebirth in Reprise. (I could go into more detail but it'd be very spoiler-y and it doesn't sound like you want that.) Either way works, just wanted to throw that alternate path out there since you thought so highly of IV.
Glad you enjoyed them both.
Hmm. If that's the case I may as well dive into Act IV before seeking out the rest. It's actually perfect since I've been thinking about the album throughout the day and I'm really excited to get back to it. I have a feeling the rankings will be shaken up this weekend.
Let me know if you've got other questions or anything, I could chat about TDH forever. ---
