Dean Michaels is also a singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Washington D.C.-based band, Novarium; a gothic metal outfit founded in 2013 marrying elements of doom, progressive, and symphonic metal with the dark ambience of synth and orchestral elements in a way that La Suricate Magazine (Belgium) describes as “…music that cleverly mixes sweetness with aggressiveness.”

Following the success of Novarium’s debut album, the band wasted no time in bringing their style of sonic therapy to the masses, playing nationally to both small clubs and large venues. The band later paid homage to gothic metal titans, Type O Negative, by releasing their rendition of “Christian Woman”, which has been a featured staple of Sirius XM Liquid Metal’s “Corridor of Covers.” The band continues to tour and release new music as a recent signee to Pittsburgh, PA-based record label, DI Records.

In 2019, Dean was asked by American doom metal band, While Heaven Wept (signed to Nuclear Blast Records), to fill the second guitar slot live at ProgPower USA; a power metal festival held annually in the United States.

Along the way, Dean earned the endorsements of such companies as ESP guitars and Sinister Guitar Picks.