In Which I Attempt to Analyze The Parallax II: Future Sequence (Between the Buried and Me)

First of all, note that this is an outdated picture of the cover art; it's been changed from "Part 2" to simply "II," a decision I didn't like at first but have since warmed up to.

Between the Buried and Me are a.. well, they're a band. They make music. They happen to be my favourite band at the moment. This is because they are more than just a band; they're storytellers, rather surreal storytellers primed in the stream-of-consciousness prose-poetry hybrid they call lyrics. When they released The Parallax II, I was stoked to see what an album-wide story by these guys would end up like. The predecessor/first part to The Parallax, an EP labelled Hypersleep Dialogues, provided a rich look into the two protagonists of the story, simply referred to as "Prospect #1" and "Prospect #2." Now, rather than spend time analyzing the lyrics of Hypersleep Dialogues, I'll just link you to an incredibly handy and commendable two blog posts I read on Heavy Blog Is Heavy. Here's the first part, and here's the second. These two posts explain and make sense of the EP's story far more than I possibly could have, and I will be using this analysis as the basis for my own.

The key information to keep in mind, though, is that Prospect #1 is the protagonist from Between the Buried and Me's earlier song "Swim to the Moon," off of The Great Misdirect, and Prospect #2 is a character mentioned in the two-part song "Lost Perfection," off of The Silent Circus. In "Swim to the Moon," a businessman gets tired of his stressful daily life and goes off to the beach, lies on his back on the water, and floats off. The song details his thoughts during three days out at sea. "Lost Perfection" talks about the end of the world as brought on by three lovers (who happen to be expanded upon in "Prequel to the Sequel" off of Colors, where we're treated to an allegorical tale about how their world ends), Prospect #2 turning out to be one of these three characters.

And to sum up Hypersleep Dialogues, Prospect #1 finds land, sends a signal, and is found and taken back to civilization. Meanwhile, Prospect #2 sets out in a spaceship on a mission to start new life out in the stars, developing a Godlike complex at having survived the end of his world, and coming to terms with the fact that his world is gone.

So, then! Let's dive into Future Sequence. My information will be a mixture of the lyrics that came with the album, anything I can vaguely remember the band disclosing about the album, and speculation based on all kinds of things including the art that came in the album's liner notes.

"Goodbye to Everything"

I wonder if I'm alive
Breathe slowly
Open your eyes

Can you hear me?
Look at what's in front of you
An endless journey
Our end
What do you see?
What do you feel?
Were we ever really alive?
You know this is the right choice

Let's switch off together
Let's float to no more
Goodbye to everything


From what I have gathered in my research of this album, I at least know "Goodbye to Everything" serves as a sort of in medias res introduction; this actually takes place at the end of the story. The art accompanying the lyrics in the booklet consists of a spaceship flying through space.

My interpretation of this is that the first three lines are Prospect #1's inner monologue, while the rest is Prospect #2 speaking to him. By this point, both Prospects have ended pretty much everything and are floating off into space (or the sun, hard to tell).


"Astral Body"

Prospect 2:
Analyze my own matter from above
Blacked out eyes in an existence overgrown
Never fall back down
Trapped in myself

Sold my hands
Envy them
Can't find the one

I slowly start to cut pieces of flesh from my body
Dig in and dissect
Collecting examples of what the outside world sees
Under it all
I know the devastation I have caused
Upon myself and this world

Speak to me freely
I am listening


Accompanying art is that of Prospect #2 with a surreal disembodied hand touching him from above. And also a surreal disembodied eyeball looking at the hand. ..I think.

Right. So we've left the end of the story, yeah? Let's call this a direct continuation of Hypersleep Dialogues; Prospect #2 has just come to the cold realization that his world is forever gone. He doesn't seem to be taking it very well ("I know the devastation I have caused upon myself and this world"). The 'chorus' of the song ("Speak to me freely, I am listening"), I take to be an attempt at humility by subverting Prospect #2's "Lost Perfection" title of the man who talks too much. Here, he shows signs of wanting to change his ways.

Of course, there's a notable sci-fi element to this (aside from the whole "THE WORLD HAS ENDED AND YOU ARE IN A SPACESHIP" part, I mean) in that Prospect #2 has the ability to observe himself in a sort of out-of-body experience, his "astral body." In fact, I'm willing to bet he reaches his astral body by entering hypersleep, a vague subject mentioned in Hypersleep Dialogues. This would explain his "blacked out eyes." The line directly following that, "Never fall back down, trapped in myself," seems to suggest that he might be stuck in hypersleep.

What does Prospect #2 do with his astral body? Well, from the looks of it, he analyzes himself and cuts pieces from his body. My speculation is that he wants to see if there's some fundamental part of his body that makes him terrible in his eyes (it's worth mentioning that Between the Buried and Me songs do often deal with the less appealing aspects of human nature, so this would fit in with that).


"Lay Your Ghosts to Rest"

Prospect 2:
Under it all
A new world
A new world made with the hands of madness
These hands
They will always do the cutting
Piece by piece the pain gets worse
If only I could see myself right now

The gathering of flesh
Transforming my face into an unrecognizable state
Smooth out the eyes
Smooth out the lips
Every mirror is a past idea smashed upon recognition (These selfish reasons... the letter is all I have left for explaining)

Will it be found?
Will the right hands deliver?
The heartache I left

Cut until all that is left is new material
Myself
Day in, day out
Deep down I know what I must do

So much happens behind closed doors
So much happens behind our closed doors
This key will open them
Expose us all

Crusty-eyed symphony
Awakened by my grunts and moans
Why do I do this to myself?
I suppose the choice was all mine
God felt so much better before the mirror glimpse
On the surface I know what I must do

Folder 502:
The precaution documents
The failsafe way back "home"
Should I end it right here and now?
That would be far too selfish
I shall end what I've begun
The creation of more
More of us
The skin and bones of destruction
An army of weak souls
Weak minds
Weak life

(Written in a language I can understand. My brilliance seems questioned with these instructions. Fairly obvious for precaution documents I suppose. The "Night Owls" always send me back. Seems to be in their DNA.)
.fade out.

I wake to my own whimper
Ship is counting down
Must regroup myself

The end starts now


The accompanying art is a sort of ship diagnostic reading, and I quote,
FOLDER 502 INITIATIVE

CURRENT LOCATION [NORTH GP]:
12h 51m 26.282s +27(degrees) 07 42.01 [J2000] (192.859508, 27.128336)

DESTINATION [GALACTIC CENTER]:
17h 45m 37.224s -28(degrees) 56 10.23 [J2000] (266.405100, -28.936175)

**
COURSE PLOTTED
**
AWAITING COMMAND...

SHIP DIAGNOSTIC...
ZERO POINT VORTEX DRIVE: 99.0231%
HULL INTEGRITY: 97.8792%
**
AWAITING COMMAND...

So, where to begin analyzing all this. It seems like Prospect #2 has taken to cutting himself almost entirely, trying to make new humans using pieces of himself. ..maybe. Actually, no, let me tell you what my exact interpretation is.

"Folder 502" seems to be something Prospect #2 did not write, whatever it says. I'm betting it was written by the Night Owls, a cryptic race of aliens from The Great Misdirect's "Fossil Genera (A Feed From Cloud Mountain)." Considering they're mentioned by name in this song's lyrics, I don't think it's that farfetched. (It's worth mentioning that, in Hypersleep Dialogues, Prospect #2 frequently mentions a drive for "moving forward." At the end of "Fossil Genera," it's hinted that humanity's drive to keep moving on left it wide open to be taken over by the Night Owls.) If I had to guess, I'd say Folder 502 basically says "Fly into the black hole at the center of the galaxy. End it all, it's the only way to be sure." They're referred to as "precaution documents," after all.

So with that in mind, let's break down that particular lyrical segment.

Folder 502:
The precaution documents
The failsafe way back "home" (Considering Prospect #2's home is now silence and nothingness, this can probably be seen as a metaphor.)
Should I end it right here and now? (I take this as him asking if he should just stick with killing himself alone.)
That would be far too selfish (And then realizing that that only solves his problems rather than that of humanity's, which would be selfish.)
I shall end what I've begun (He had set out on a mission: Create new life.)
The creation of more
More of us (At first, I thought this could have meant, by "end what I've begun," seeing it through to the end. But then the next lines came in.)
The skin and bones of destruction
An army of weak souls
Weak minds
Weak life (If I'm right, this would be Prospect #2 revealing his contempt for humanity's flaws. If he created new life, it would just be, to him, an army of weak life. This works well with a line from Hypersleep Dialogues, "They let these people recreate. Maybe I should have ended it all. Too late?" Which would be him reflecting on the humanity he once knew. When we consider all this, Prospect #2 "ending what [he has] begun" would be ending new life before it just ruins another planet again.)

So what we have here is a masochistic space-traveling protagonist with a God complex, probably following orders from Night Owls.
I admit, what "The Night Owls always send me back. Seems to be in their DNA" could mean, I don't know.

There's also the curious line "the letter is all I left for explaining." My first thought of this was that Prospect #2 had written a sort of explanation note on his home planet for anyone to read, but if that's the case, it's never mentioned again. My second thought, which I developed much later in the album, is that this is the same letter as a letter integral to Prospect #1's story. But we'll talk more about this one when we get there. Just.. keep the letter in mind for now.

To wrap this up, let's recap. Prospect #2 wakes up from hypersleep/his astral body ("Crusty-eyed symphony awakened by my grunts and moans/I wake to my own whimper") to find that his ship is flying towards the center of the galaxy/wherever Folder 502 is telling his ship to go.


"Autumn"

This is a short instrumental track acting as an ambient interlude, with the sounds of space and alien noises (according to the album credits, at least). The accompanying art is of two planets crashing into each other.

As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't think any story happens here.


"Extremophile Elite"

Prospect 1:
To see one's self is hard to explain
Last night was the first notion of this
Once again real life and dreams are whirling amongst one another
Space flight navigator
A walking mirror
Galaxy drifter
Entwined together
To grasp the other hand
To hear the other speak
Carve one's skin out of their own soil
Sends chills throughout my body

Wake up to a dirt covered surrounding
Machines in the distance
Something far too familiar
The world comes to a screeching halt when I cover my ears
Lift off the hands and the claws work again
Digging graves
Deeper graves
The machines deafen my ears with such extremity
Constant maze from digging graves
I bury my head in the dirt
It all stops

This sends bliss throughout me
Upside down dreaming
The sound of earth soothes my entire body
Real life and dreams are whirling
(A hand lifts my head out of the dirt)
Pulling hairs from what seems to be my brain
I see him... me... us?
The walking mirror
.fade out.

Prospect 2:
Eyes slowly open as dust clouds surround me
Speak to me freely
I am listening

The clanking of machines scream in the distance
I strain in order to get up
Soon I stumble down a dirt hill and see a buried man
Just his skull is underground
Once again real life and dreams are whirling amongst one another
Walking into a certain state of desperation
(Dig deep into the soil to lift the man's head. It pulls out of the ground with ease.)

Carve one's skin out of their own soil
Sends chills throughout my body
It is a corpse
Something is buried where his head once lay
A note... my note
My hands shake and I fall to my knees
Slowly read... "please know I love..."


Accompanying art is of both Prospects, looking fairly identical, reaching out to shake each other's hand.

Here, the events are told twice, once through each Prospect's eyes. Do note that the only context we have had since Hypersleep Dialogues is of Prospect #2; Prospect #1 has context that is still to come. The basic events of this song are Prospect #2 finding a man with his head buried in the ground, pulling him out of the ground to discover it's Prospect #1.

Prospect #1's perspective: He had dreamed the previous night of meeting Prospect #2 ("To see one's self is hard to explain, Last night was the first notion of this"), and in his dream saw the whole cutting-up-pieces-from-his-body deal ("Carve one's skin out of their own soil, Sends chills throughout my body"). ...I think. He wakes up in a graveyard of sorts where nearby machines are digging new graves, and the noise fills Prospect #1 with such anxiety that he buries his head in the dirt to get away from it all. And then he's pulled out to meet his mirror.

Prospect #2's perspective: He wakes up, vowing to keep his humility going ("Speak to me freely, I am listening," though the way the line is sung in the song makes me vaguely believe it's more of a cynical application of sarcasm), noticing he is now on a new planet (his ship had probably landed by this point). He finds Prospect #1, digs him up, and then sees a note that he says is his note. ..the end.

The note is the most confusing part for me. The most likely option is that it's the note he left for explaining that he mentioned in "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest," but then why would it be buried on Prospect #1's planet? As I mentioned earlier, Prospect #1 does have a letter that is integral to his arc, but  Prospect #2 shows no sign of it being that letter in question. So this part is a bit of a mystery.

OH BUT I HAVE SPECULATION ON IT: Perhaps Prospect #2's letter was a suicide one, left on his planet to inform whoever may find it that he has gone and will never return. Perhaps, leading off this, Prospect #1's letter was also a suicide letter, written exactly the same. Prospect #2 sees it and mistakes it as his own, then coming to the realization that both Prospects parallel each other. This works well when considering it's the transition to the following song.


"Parallax"

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my astral body in space
For nights on end I watched myself
I knew our pain was the same
Loss
Self-doubt
Isolation
Neither constructed nor taken away
We have always known our options
It was the relativity of time and space in our shared conscious which brought us together
Now we are one
Two forces intwined to make a decision


Art is same as "Extremophile Elite's."

So this is basically Prospect #2 explaining that both Prospects share a lot of the same beliefs and pains.


"The Black Box"

I see all
I hear all
Build it from nothing
Let fringed wings free
Come soar with me

We build mountains to crush oceans
You're in danger from our creations

can you? will you? build you?


Accompanying art is of an ominous owl perched atop a mini planet.

Admittedly, this is another fairly difficult song to analyze, at least when we're not fully certain what the context is. If we're leading off my analysis so far, this would be Prospect #2 proposing that Prospect #1 join him. The "We build mountains to crush oceans, You're in danger from our creations" bit would be him speaking of humanity as a whole, pointing out the inevitable danger of humanity's growing ambitions. After all, Prospect #2 was one of the people who ended his own planet; he knows what he's talking about here.


"Telos"

The Decision (Prospect 2 speaks):
Built to destroy
Born to compress
Every worry
Every idea
Push it deep down
The blood vessel cover
The skin suit of anxiety
Never speak a word
Just do as you're told and compete
Compete for success, for health, for sport
Climb the mountain of limbs

Build the walls around me
A covered land mine
Every smile, every itch
A covered land mine
Push it deep down
Put your head under the ground
Worm discussion

Built to destroy
Born to dominate
As I am you
You will never know
Just like all the fools before you
Here, is what we must do

She Writes:
I awake to a cold touch. Two arms in four-armed bed. The touch of wind wrapping around me. I'm trying to follow its scent. The scent of isolation. Every door opened, every aspect of our life... gone. Hauling around our memories. Every corner a display of our life. A life I assume will never be the same again. No signs, no clues. A game that I will question until the end. Where have you gone? Was I ever important? The late nights lend ideas, but nothing to gather actual progress.

Years go by. The constant stare. The constant grip inside. Every organ grinding. Every day seems easier until I step back into our box. Boxed in. Surrounded by life, while suffocating inside a poor version of one. Grip the match, set the fire. Don't save a thing.
Rebirth. Reborn. Now this is progress. The black box will reveal only this. I will sit. Sit and wait until not a breath escapes my body. Burning in our box. What did all of this even mean? More objects to represent a status. One we can't even prove. Hide behind what we have taken. You have done this. The memory of me will leave with the ash of lost treasures. Goodbye to you. Goodbye to everything.

She Speaks:
Was I ever really alive?
Did I stay in his mind?

Goodbye to all I've known
I love you
Rebirth
Reborn

Prospect 2:
Do as we are built
Machines for the future
Bright eyed and ready for life
The dual gods of our time
Of all time
They will never see us coming
Let's end it all
Start from scratch
Patch the uniform and let the galaxy form a comfortable replacement
We will not be missed
Goodbye to everything

Prospect 1:
Doing as one's told
A puppet through fear
The crossed finger clicking sounds
Inner anxiety with a smile
(Will he even know this? Will she notice? I haven't even begun telling her the truth, or telling you about her for that matter.)
Why can't we step back?
Are we really this important?
Just because we can doesn't mean we should
(Let things happen naturally)
Personal resets through selfish release
At least I will enjoy
The worry slips under the door
(I will never see him or I again)
You won't see me coming


Art is of an asteroid belt.

Okay, so clearly a lot happens here. Before I talk about the Prospects, let me discuss that big prose section labelled "She Writes." My interpretation of this is that this is the lover of Prospect #1. "Swim to the Moon" consisted of Prospect #1 going out to sea for a few days, but then Hypersleep Dialogues contained this bit when he was being taken back to civilization:

Many days and fewer nights... so I'm told.
I've lost my time years ago... so I'm told. (This could be taken as saying that the people who found him told him that he had been gone for much longer than he'd assumed.)
The explaining. The whispered words. (Whispered words, almost like they're trying to hide something from him.)
This will be the hardest part... so I'm told. (The hardest part would be, in this case, breaking the news to Prospect #1 that his wife had killed herself.)

..because yes, that's my interpretation: Prospect #1's wife killed herself because her life lost its meaning without her lover. He left without letting anyone know, just so he could selfishly escape from his daily stresses. So, after years ("I've lost my time years ago"), she decides to set their entire house on fire and burn to death with all her memories. Either that or she literally stepped into a box and set it on fire. But I'm pretty sure it's the house.

There are only two parts of this I'm not sure of: "Rebirth, reborn," and whether or not Prospect #1 actually knows his wife is dead by this point. "Rebirth" makes me think there's more I'm missing, though it could just be a poetic end to her life. As for the second point, Prospect #1 mentions a "her" in his lyrics, but the events of "Melting City" later on lead me to believe he either doesn't yet know she's dead or is repressing the knowledge. ..actually, it could very easily be repression; that would give him a parallel with Prospect #2 coming to terms with the loss of his world in Hypersleep Dialogues.

So then! Let's now take a look at what happens with the Prospects during "Telos." The basic summary is both Prospects discuss what they must do.

Prospect #2's decision: Basically, Prospect #2 talks a lot about his views on human nature that he'd been hinting at before. Anxiety controls us and drives us down the wrong paths, fueling us as a species and surely bringing us to nowhere but destruction. The line "You will never know, Just like all the fools before you" would refer to Prospect #2's foreknowledge of his humanity ending their world, and Prospect #1's humanity heading in the same direction. So he proposes that they, the "dual gods of our time" (more of that Godlike complex), end not just their lives but the lives of all humanity. "Let the galaxy form a comfortable replacement. We will not be missed" sums it up fairly well.

Prospect #1's reply: Okay, this is where I start really speculating and might very well be wrong. Let me give a breakdown:

Doing as one's told
A puppet through fear (Could either be an agreement with Prospect #2's thesis on human nature, or as I speculate, realizing that he doesn't know if he wants to be Prospect #2's puppet through fear)
The crossed finger clicking sounds
Inner anxiety with a smile
(Will he even know this? Will she notice? I haven't even begun telling her the truth, or telling you about her for that matter.) (The way he speaks about "her" implies that he doesn't know she's dead yet.)
Why can't we step back? ("Why should we jump straight to suicide?")
Are we really this important? (A denial of the God complex.)
Just because we can doesn't mean we should
(Let things happen naturally)
Personal resets through selfish release (I speculate this refers to the events of "Swim to the Moon," resetting his life and selfishly taking him out of his life. My theory is that this is Prospect #1 secretly saying he intends on running away from Prospect #2, shirking the responsibility #2 claims #1 has so that #1 can be content in isolation, or with his wife if he doesn't yet know of her death.)
At least I will enjoy
The worry slips under the door
(I will never see him or I again) (This seems to support my theory.)
You won't see me coming

So, to recap: The Prospects have met. Prospect #2 views humanity cynically and proposes they end it all. Prospect #1 is unsure, intends on running off in the face of this anxiety #2 is presenting (the fact that Prospect #1 was found with his head in the ground, which Prospect #2 mentions as an anxiety coping mechanism, shows that Prospect #1 does not know how to cope well under pressure, especially when you add his "Swim to the Moon" escapade). In the middle of all this, we're given the life and death of Prospect #1's wife.


"Bloom"

Get down here and sing the songs we sing
In bloom we come
Tentacles swing with the water's breeze
In bloom we...

Crowd around
Drift down slowly
Get rid of your undesirable oxygen
Just drift on down with us
In bloom we grow
Together as one
This underwater village
Bebop skippity tippity tap those toes

Queen Sea will take you in
This is your new home now
Ignore the laughter
We will not hurt you
Your last wishes
Queen Sea will take you in

In bloom we know what life is all about
With not a worry in the world
Let the water move you
Move to the sweet sway of nutrition
Move to the sweet sway of melody

Queen Sea will give back life
We used you
Your purpose is clear
We never knew

Floating back to the surface

(Tentacle hearse transportation...
Actual happenings or the distant mind?)


Accompanying art is of an underwater nude woman with dozens of blooming tentacles entangled around her (probably coming out of her). There are also what seem to be jellyfish surrounding her.

Ah, this song. One of my two favourite songs on this whole album, my god. Just plain beautiful, practically one big Big Lipped Alligator Moment in both music and lyric. But let's try to make sense of it.

So, either when Prospect #1 was floating over the course of "Swim to the Moon," or at this current point in the story if Prospect #1 reacted to his anxiety by simply going to the ocean again, he is pulled down underwater/asked to come down underwater to meet the cryptic Queen Sea character. Though this could very easily just be a dream sequence, with Queen Sea being a metaphor for Prospect #1's desire to drown. The last line ("Actual happenings or the distant mind?") makes it clear it probably isn't meant to be clear whether it happened or not.

..personally, I would love it if it turned out "Bloom" really happened. Maybe I just love Between the Buried and Me's disturbing antagonist characters, which is why I also love the Night Owls.


"Melting City"

The Black Mask:
Creep in
Before the rise of the sun
Execute a story never told
Do not think
Just do
No human emotion
Who says I am even human at this point?
A poor example of life
No morals
Just a huge display of direction
Hear, then do
Profit
Sneak in the box before the rise of the sun
A four-handed bed occupied by only two
The window is yawning

Faceless in a sea of space
My propulsion from their pain

In, out
Profit
Why would they need me for a simple confession?
Collect, then destroy
Collect, then destroy
Before the rise of the sun

Faceless in a sea of space
My propulsion from their pain

Years Later:
Frantic writing
Not meant for my eyes
Why did I keep this? What inside forced me to see the ink?
Smoothed out, then in pieces.
I can't live with this
I must let her know

A valley of smiling despair
Self doubt would be my first guess
Confusion, sadness, the other half
But lost through selfish measures
I can't live with this
I must let her know

(One heart in a two-heart bed. She woke to nothing. Because of me, she woke up to nothing.)

The robot has stepped out of his box
Foreigner in my own land
No profit
For once no profit
Walk in
After the rise of the sun
Conclude a story never read
A burning smell creeps up my nostrils (the box is gone)
A trapdoor locked from the inside
Incomplete me
Impossible conclusion
Me

Faceless in a sea of space
My propulsion from their pain


Accompanying art is of a sci-fi planet landscape with mountains. There is a house on a mountain with smoke coming out of its windows.

Okay, so I came up with another interpretation of "Bloom" while transcribing those lyrics there. According to this new interpretation, one I will use for the remainder of this analysis, it would have been a dream Prospect #1 had years ago that led him to go out to sea in the first place. The lyrics call him to the ocean, after all, and they also mention that they "used" him.

So directly after Prospect #1 has this dream, "Melting City" happens. While we're still going with this interpretation, the Black Mask would be Prospect #1 himself. He sneaks into the box (his house) "before the rise of the sun," before his wife wakes up. He takes whatever he needs and gets going.

Then, years later, we see the current point in the story; the "Black Mask," Prospect #1, returns to his home. He sees the note his wife wrote for him ("Frantic writing, Not meant for my eyes"). He has to let his wife know he's here, but he smells smoke and finds her dead.

The chorus ("Faceless in a sea of space, My propulsion from their pain") is cryptic, I admit. A lot of parts of this song are. I have the feeling this song is the point where probably everyone's theories on the album get muddled, as this song seems to introduce so many new elements, including a new character name (The Black Mask). But I'm willing to bet that Between the Buried and Me stuck to general writing conventions and made sure not to introduce a new essential character this far into the story (ignore the fact that Prospect #1's wife wasn't even mentioned until "Telos;" technically speaking that's just about the halfway point for the album, so it could pass). I think this song is about Prospect #1 because-- well okay because it seems to deal with his wife's death, so he's a good contender for the song focus. But aside from that! Aside from that, it's the three-chorus song structure, the epic metal feel, and the constant wordplay and metaphors. I feel like this song can be compared to the general feel of "Swim to the Moon," which would work considering this is basically what happens before and after the song.


"Silent Flight Parliament"

Prospect 2:
I know what I must do
I'm coming home

Strigiformes:
Fixed socket threat
Binocular vision
I see all
I hear all
Superior intellect
I'm the night owl
Built by the alien gods
A necessity to the existence of all life
Fixed socket threat
Binocular vision
I see all
I hear all
I'm the night owl

I return in the day but you won't ever see me
Only my eyes
The blaring yellow sphere
A sharp distortion
The TV screen you stare at night after night
Over and over

You are staring into me
Cut the wires and cut your ties
You aren't what you think
An experiment
They will send us to warn, but that's part of the game as well
Fucking weaklings

Prospect 2:
I still know what my mind tells you to do
Cut out pieces to form new

Am I me?
What is he?

It's come to the point of opening the box
Carved in the side are the words: Property of the Night Owls
Smash to unlock the desperate measures

Am I me?
What is he?

He is found and I will drag him to his end
It's not selfish if it's what's right
He knows I'm looking for him
This thievery is for the bettering of all humankind
So it seems

Creep in
Before the rise of the sun
They are sleeping
Holding each other like it's the last...
And it is
Open the valve
Fill the room
Say goodbye to everything

Am I me?

Strigiformes:
Seek the day
Never again
Weightless in a sea of space

Prospect 1:
Eyes open to the sound of laughter
Like a mighty God casting his spells on the world below
The man is me

Jet propulsion disengage
Dancing towards our future
A future of nothing
A future towards nothing
Goodbye to everything


Accompanying art is of the silhouette of a crumbling asteroid.

..okay so there's even more confusing stuff here. We're presented with monologues from "Strigiformes," which Google tells me is the fancy name for owls, so this is basically the part where the long-discussed Night Owls finally come into play. ..uh. Where to begin.

Let me tell you what my interpretation is of the Night Owls in this song. The way I see it, that large Strigiformes section translates to a description of how evolved the Night Owls are, as well as a reveal that all of humanity (or at least just the Prospects) has just been an experiment, a game. They're basically the masterminds behind everything. And then I also have this interpretation that the world Prospect #1 lived in was also the same world of "Fossil Genera," but then that's more of my theory that all of The Great Misdirect is a dystopian view of a dying world, and that's for another day!

As for Prospect #2's part in the song, I see it as him deciding, with absolute determination, on ending everything one way or another. So he makes it to the burning house of Prospect #1 (ominously stamped "Property of the Night Owls," possibly supporting my wilder theory of #1's world) and finds #1 sleeping with his dead wife. ...but wait, it says they're "holding each other," and she wouldn't be able to hold him back if she were dead. Unless it's just metaphorical, which is fairly likely. Hell, I don't even know if #1 and his wife truly are the "They" the song speaks of. It's very hard to tell! And then the bit about the "Open the valve, Fill the room," goodness. No idea what the hell that might mean. So for the purpose of my interpretation, I'll simply.. assume it to be very metaphorical.

Then the Night Owls laugh over the Prospects being weightless in a sea of space, because by this point Prospect #2 will have taken #1 back to his ship. Or somethWAIT GOT IT

THE VALVE BIT will have been Prospect #2 working on killing the humans on Prospect #1's world. .....let's stick with the metaphorical interpretation, at least it made sense.

The point is that the Night Owls are laughing because their plan went well and Prospect #2 went and did it in the end anyway.

Then Prospect #1 wakes up just in time to see it all end. Or at least for Prospect #2 to disengage the jet propulsion so the two can dance towards their future of nothing (FLOATING TOWARDS THE SUN, THE SUN OF NOTHING).

What I'm trying to say here is that, by this point, I don't think definitive conjecture is possible without the band themselves giving us more context. Whether they will or if they'll expand upon characters or themes in later albums (I would love to see more Night Owl focus, or for it to turn out Queen Sea was real), I don't know, but as it stands Future Sequence's lyrics make it incredibly hard to even come up with an accurate hypothesis.

..oh yeah, and


"Goodbye to Everything Reprise"

Goodbye to everything!


There, album's over. The booklet ends with a picture of stars saying "Goodbye to everything," a picture of Prospect #2's disembodied astral body hand, and a picture of a Night Owl (or at least of an owl).

So, to wrap up my interpretation, the Prospects have either ended human life or at least just ended their own lives, either by flying into a black hole/a sun or into the emptiness of space forever. "Goodbye to everything," and all that. Only it turns out it was all planned all along by the Night Owls. Because those guys are freaking awesome. And Prospect #1 has nothing to live for now that he knows for sure his wife is dead or whatever it turns out to be, and Prospect #2 has had nothing to live for ever since Hypersleep Dialogues but at least now he has company and can bask in his Godlike complex until his death. Whenever that will be.

Thus ends the tales of "Lost Perfection," "Prequel to the Sequel," "Fossil Genera (A Feed From Cloud Mountain)," and "Swim to the Moon" as I have attempted to interpret them! ...well, probably the end. I doubt Between the Buried and Me will make The Parallax III. Or even a small song on a future album giving an epilogue, though that would be pretty neat.

..so yeah. Thank you for reading along, whoever decided to read this. All lyrics and the music I refer to is written and performed by Between the Buried and Me. And the art I refer to is.. credited in the lyric booklet somewhere.

The end!

Now go home.

On St. Anger and What I Think of It

St. Anger was Metallica's eighth studio album, released in 2003. It had a long and strenuous development history, with band members freaking out and going into rehab and probably exploding or some shit. It had eleven songs, three music videos (that I know of), and EVERYONE HATED IT.

This confuses me to high hell. I had heard so much anti-hype for St. Anger when I was getting into music. Even my friend Paul Botsford, normally a very open and intelligent musician, told me to basically be wary of the album, as it's a radical departure from Metallica's previous works.

So when I finally got a chance to listen to the album, I was expecting something outrageously bad. What I got was, in my opinion, their best album since ...And Justice For All. And for reference, ...And Justice For All is one of my favourite albums of all time. So yes, I am officially saying right now that St. Anger is one of my favourite albums of all time.


Let's break it down.

St. Anger is a concept album, first of all. Fun fact about Metallica: They are fucking progressive as hell. They make concept albums regularly, they often have extensive instrumental passages, and their music has all kinds of influences. Their most-praised works, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice For All? Concept albums (Death, Control, Corruption of justice, respectively). So what's St. Anger's concept? Not anger, but controlled anger. Productive anger. Expression of anger. To quote a comment from metalsucks.net:

The reason people hate St. A so much, I think, is that those amazing first four albums were about power where St. Anger is about powerlessness. "Kill" through "Justice" were about strength, catharsis, in a way even uplift. You finish "Battery" (still my fav Metallica song) and feel like you just kicked someone's ass and it was AWESOME and no matter how shitty you felt before, now you feel GREAT. That's the sweet spot a lot of us metal heads live for, when you put your fist in the air with a sense of power and purpose and say "THAT FUCKING RULED."

St. Anger is a betrayal of all that. It doesn't feel awesome because real rage, the kind we don't like to touch, feels too horrible. It consumes you and makes you miserable. It ruins your life. The Metallica guys learned that the hard way and then they made an album about it. They made an album that deals with anger as it actually is, not as we wish it to be. In that way, it is totally and fundamentally honest.

The sound of St. Anger is fierce, aggressive, almost punk-ish. Repetition is used full-force, but it's not just repetition; riffs are played with. The same riff is rarely played exactly the same twice. The guitars are probably as heavy as they'll ever get, the drums are infamously mixed (the best word to describe them is "they sound like steel"), the bass is difficult to hear (...And Justice For All was mixed similarly), and the vocals are extremely angry (as should be expected!).

People dislike the end result, and I honestly can't figure out why. I often hear people criticizing both St. Anger and ...And Justice For All because you can't hear the bass in them. Maybe I don't have the right sound system or something, but personally, I don't care. xD The guitars are the bass, they do all the bass is supposed to do: Keep a rhythm. I mean, hell, guys. THEY HAVE TWO GUITARISTS. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? If anything, these albums sound heavier without bass! They're heavy enough that they don't need bass! But now I'm just defending it. My opinion is that I love the sound, and I legitimately don't understand what people mean when they say they don't like it because there's no bass.

See, I have this bit of logic when it comes to subjective subjects like art: I don't worry about what it doesn't have. I worry about what is there, what it is trying to convey, and what it does convey. St. Anger is trying to convey sheer aggressive anger and, as the comment above said, powerlessness. And it conveys that very well. I don't even notice a missing bass.

Which brings me to my next point! A common complaint of St. Anger is that it's missing guitar solos. There are no guitar solos in the entire album. o: Personally, I find that interesting! It's different. I mean, look. I love guitar solos as much as the next guy. Arguably moreso! But... once you've heard enough of them, you kinda hear 'em all. Personally, I really don't worry much about a missing guitar solo. >_> If anything, St. Anger really doesn't call for guitar solos. The songs are supposed to be aggressive and repetitive; they play with riffs, they don't show off talent. But my main argument is just that guitar solos are not necessary. Not even in metal.

Next complaint! The songs are too long! ....I'm not even gonna fucking touch this one. xD OKAY FINE SO I WILL. The songs are not too long. It is physically impossible for an art work to be too anything; what matters is what the artist intends. And if Metallica intended for these songs to be as long as they are (which they did. Know how you can tell? Because they released the songs at those lengths), then they aren't "too long." So yes, in people's opinions, the songs are too long for their tastes, but in that case, that's your own problem, buddy.

...also, the fact that the same people who criticize St. Anger for being too long are the same ones who love "The Outlaw Torn" and the black album.. well, that's pretty annoying to me. 'Cause hey, let's use some more logic: If you can't sit through eight minutes of Metallica, you're not a Metallica fan. Or maybe you are and you just can't sit through that much music, period. That's fine! But don't blame the music for it.

So then. What's my opinion of St. Anger? I think it's a fascinating album. It is a drastic change from Metallica's earlier works, but I appreciate the sound and the concepts touched upon. The sound fits the concept brilliantly, and the lyrics are goddamn beautiful. Oh yeah, that's another complaint people usually have! "The lyrics are shit!" I respectfully disagree. St. Anger's songs are ripe with wordplay and metaphors, and the emotive language is just the kind of thing I love. :3

I love St. Anger, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

On Dream Theater (History and Studio Discography, The Twelve-Step Suite, Meta-Album, "The Octavarium Mirror")

When it comes to music, my preference is with progressive rock. I get very analytical about prog, you see. I once wrote a long and extensive thread on the Fear Mythos forum breaking down and linking to Dream Theater's works. The thread has sinked very far down into the depths of the forum, but the analysis was just too good, so I have decided to bring it here.

On Dream Theater

History and Studio Discography


Each album name links to the full album in a video of some sort. In the album paragraphs, each song name links to a studio recording of the individual song. This is all for convenience's sake.


In 1985, John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy got together with keyboardist Kevin Moore and singerChris Collins, formed the band Majesty in Berklee College of Music (New York!), and recorded a demo tape. One copyright infringement later, they dumped Collins, found Charlie Dominici, and renamed themselves Dream Theater. In 1989, they released their first album.


When Dream and Day Unite (Full album live in concert, couldn't find the studio recording in one long video)


This album is very 80s-sounding, but the band's technical prowess is evident and quite strong. Highlights include"Afterlife" (just catchy, I dunno, I enjoy it), "The Killing Hand" (Five-movement piece about a man who hunts down a murderous tyrant, complete with Tomato In The Mirror climax), and "The Ytse Jam" (One of the band's catchiest instrumentals AND I SAW IT LIVE AND IT WAS AMAZING).


After this, they dumped Dominici and found Canadian Kevin James LaBrie, stage name just James LaBrie. In 1992, the band released their second and most famous album.


Images and Words (Full album, studio recording, in one single YouTube video)


This album is very 90s-sounding, with the band really shining with their technical strengths and songwriting abilities. If you looked anywhere else on the internet, you'd find Dream Theater fans endlessly praising this masterpiece, but I'm sick of them, so I'm just gonna tell you to listen to it for yourself. I don't think it's aged too well, personally. Highlights include "Pull Me Under" (MTV music video, song shortened), "Metropolis, part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper" (A song about the creation of Rome, with one of the most awesome instrumental sections ever), and"Learning to Live" (their first song over ten minutes, got some beautiful sections to it). ..I saw "Under a Glass Moon" live and it kicked ass.


"Pull Me Under" gave the band a boatload of new fans, all eagerly awaiting Dream Theater's next album. So they gave 'em a doozy in 1994.


Awake (Full studio album, one video)


Still sounding very 90s, this album showed off the band's heavy side. And I really mean it showed that off. >W> Once again, if you look elsewhere, you will find endless praise for this "hidden gem," so I'll just tell you to listen to it yourself. Personally, I think the songs are hit-and-miss. Highlights include "A Mind Beside Itself" (three-song suite [Erotomania, Voices, The Silent Man] about mental disorders, comes to be around twenty minutes, I SAW "THE SILENT MAN" LIVE), "The Mirror" (My personal favourite off this album, this is a really heavy song about Mike Portnoy's alcohol addiction, will become important later), and "Space-Dye Vest" (a very Kevin Moore-centric piece, written about a broken relationship, atmospheric beauty ;w;).


After Awake, Kevin Moore left the band. In came Derek Sherinian! Dream Theater decided now to release a song they had written back in their Majesty days: The 24-minute epic "A Change of Seasons" (full song in one video!). This became an instant classic among fans, being released in a separate EP dedicated to the epic and some covers of other bands' songs. After this, the band wanted to record an extremely-progressive double album, but their record company kinda ruined all that, so in 1997, we got their "improved" fourth album instead.


Falling into Infinity (Full album, one video)


Still sounding 90s, this album.. was actually pretty damn good. Many Dream Theater fans hate it, but I gotta say, there are some really good songs on here. ..a lot of not-so-good ones, yes, and the good ones were originally so much better, but I digress! Highlights include "New Millenium" (Really catchy, really badass, this is considered to be the 'theme' to Rapture's second act!), "Peruvian Skies" (Freaking badass, this song's about child abuse. :c It's really good, though!), "Hell's Kitchen" (A gorgeous instrumental, absolutely gorgeous), and "Trial of Tears" (three-movement thirteen-minute song, I cannot.. emphasize how pretty this song gets).


Because Falling into Infinity bombed so hard with critics and fans, the record company did what no record company ever does: They said "Screw it, go ahead and do whatever you guys wanna do." So, with this new free rein, Dream Theater started by swapping keyboardist Sherinian for Jordan Rudess, thus completing a lineup they'd keep for over a decade. Then they decided to release the project fans had been waiting for: A sequel to a certain Images and Words track. ..as a full album in 1999.


Metropolis, part 2: Scenes from a Memory (Full album, one video)


No longer sounding like any time period, Dream Theater's fifth album is a rock opera telling the story of Nicholas, who dreams every night of some girl named Victoria. As the story unfolds, he finds out some pretty crazy things that I'll prolly explain in another post. This album is also highly-praised by fans, yet oddly it's probably my least-favourite Dream Theater album. o_o; Highlights include "Overture 1928" (The overture and start of the second scene, a nice little instrumental track), "Fatal Tragedy" (A pretty catchy track from the third scene, has a badass instrumental section, I SAW THIS THING LIVE AND IT WAS AMAZING), "The Dance of Eternity" (Instrumental from the seventh scene, has literally 128 time signature changes in it, really progressive and technical), and "Finally Free" (the ending to the whole album, you'll have to find it yourself or listen to the whole thing, as I don't wanna spoil it :c).


Metropolis, part 2 gave the band an even bigger underground following, solidifying the band's status as the most famous underground act in music. They followed this powerful album up in 2002 with an even more powerful concept album!


Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Full album in one video)


This is one of my favourite albums of all time, absolutely. It has only six songs on it, yet it's Dream Theater's only double album and longest album to date. The album revolves around the concepts of inner conflict and the number six. Every goddamn song is a highlight, but I'll stick with just two songs: "The Great Debate" (Thirteen-minute technical marvel about stem-cell research and abortion, mesmerizing goddamn intro, one of my favourite songs of all time) and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" (Dream Theater's first title track, a forty-two-minute eight-movement epic about six different cases of mental disorders, this thing is just... you have to see it to believe it. owe).


During 2003, the band decided to do something pretty amazing: They covered Metallica's Master of Puppets live in its entirety, recording the whole thing. I cannot find the whole thing in one video, so here's "Master of Puppets." It was during this touring that the band decided they really would love to record their own metal masterpiece, so in late 2003, they released their seventh album.


Train of Thought (Full album, one video)


I can tell you right now that this is another one of my favourite albums of all time. It's basically Six Degrees' darker half, in terms of the sound and songwriting. It has seven tracks, and the highlights include "As I Am" (Goddamn badass little metal 'single' of sorts, catchy, and the main guitar riff is what Bound by the Moon turned into The Camper's leitmotif), "Stream of Consciousness" (can't find the full studio recording, used a full live video; this is a gorgeous eleven-minute instrumental), and "In the Name of God" (Fourteen-minute 'mini-epic' of sorts, features one of the most badass riffs and most.. eyemelting guitar solos I've ever heard). ..I saw "Endless Sacrifice" live. :3


On their next tour, the band occasionally covered Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast in its entirety. Again, I can't find the full thing, so here's the title track. For 2005, the band released a really special album for their eighth.


Octavarium (Full album, one video)


This eight-song, five-interlude album serves as a concept album revolving entirely around the numbers eight andfive, which seem to come up a lot in Dream Theater's history. Plus, they represent a musical octave and the five chromatics. Highlights of this album include "Panic Attack" (fifth song, eight minutes, video cuts out the ending >_>, WAS IN ROCK BAND), "Sacrificed Sons" (seventh track, eleven minutes, gorgeous song about 9/11), and the title track "Octavarium" (eighth song, twenty-four minute epic [eight times three!], has five movements dealing with cycles and eight instrumental sections dealing with the band's influences [going back full circle]).


Then they toured and covered Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon," not even gonna bother looking up videos of this. AND THEN the band signed on with Roadrunner Records and recorded their ninth album, releasing it in 2007.


Systematic Chaos (Can't find the full album, so here's.. an hour-and-a-half documentary of the making of the album, titled Chaos in Progress? <:D)


This is another one of my favourite albums, gotta admit. Yet oddly, most Dream Theater fans bash it repeatedly. ;___; This album isn't a concept album, just being a simple collection of songs, though the songs tend to revolve around more fantastical concepts than normal. Highlights include "In the Presence of Enemies" (25-minute six-movement epic about resurrection and revenge on the deity of your choice), "The Dark Eternal Night" (Video of the band recording the song set to the actual studio recording, this song's about Lovecraft's own Nyarlathotep! It's also ridiculously heavy, with a ridiculously-technical instrumental that breaks down into a ridiculously-impossible guitar solo that, yes, is actually a guitar solo when played live, despite how it was recorded), and "The Ministry of Lost Souls" (fourteen-minute ballad-esque song about a girl whose life is saved by a man who sacrifices himself for her, but she spends the rest of her life with guilt and regret that she can't just join him. Ends beautifully. ;w; Song inspired a significant part of Jordan Eats Normally Now's climax!).


What did the band do next? Well, they recorded yet another album. Their tenth album was released in 2009, and it was pretty damn awesome. .w.


Black Clouds & Silver Linings (Couldn't find the full album in a video, but I did find and link to a full playlist of all the songs! All videos past "The Count of Tuscany" are bonus tracks.)


Only six songs again, but oh well, Dream Theater's shown themselves to be good with small amounts of songs. This album is a concept album dealing with that ever-familiar phrase "Every cloud has a silver lining." ..but this album is a little lacking in terms of lyrical amazement, I admit. >.>; Highlights include "A Nightmare to Remeber"(Sixteen-minute song about a car crash and trippy trip to the hospital when John Petrucci was young), "The Best of Times" (fourteen-minute memorial song written for Mike Portnoy's then-dying father, gorgeous and-- to me-- tearjerking), and "The Count of Tuscany" (nineteen-minute epic about John Petrucci's surprising trip to Tuscany, with some absolutely beautiful musical sections). ...don't hate the latter song for its lyrics. :c Personally, I've learned to laugh with them, not at them.


After this album, in a dramatic turn of events, Mike Portnoy left the band. Dream Theater held auditions for their next drummer, and eventually settled on Mike Mangini, Berklee College of Music professor. Together, the new lineup recorded and released their eleventh album in 2011.


A Dramatic Turn of Events (Full album, one video)


This nine-track album is... really, really good. In my opinion. The drums are quieter, but I can tell you this: They're far more technical and difficult. The songwriting seems even better than ever, and just.. I really enjoy this album! Highlights include "On the Backs of Angels" (single! music video!), "Bridges in the Sky" (eleven-minute heavy powerhouse with a gorgeous chorus), "Outcry" (eleven-minute progressive powerhouse about the middle-eastern protests), and "Breaking All Illusions" (twelve-minute technical marvel by all means owe). Yes, I have seen all four of these songs live. 83


They are currently still touring for their new album, and I happened to catch them in Atlanta in October. Still happy about that. (EDIT: I have since seen them a second time, in London, in February.)

The Twelve-Step Suite


As you know, in 1993, Dream Theater released Awake, which featured heavy progressive song "The Mirror." This song was about former drummer Mike Portnoy's alcohol addiction, and his regrets with it. The song featured call-and-response vocals, a repeated guitar riff with a changing drum rhythm (creating the illusion of a changing riff), a light interlude to discuss regret, and key lyrical phrases "Look in the mirror, my friend," "Let's stare the problem right in the eye," and "Reflections of reality." Take note of all this.


In 2002, Dream Theater released Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, whose first track was a three-movement piece titled "The Glass Prison." This song marked the first of five in Mike Portnoy's "Twelve-Step Suite," dealing with his recovery from his alcoholic addiction and the twelve steps Alcoholics Anonymous led him through, each movement being dedicated to a step.


2003's Train of Thought featured two-movement "This Dying Soul." 2005's Octavarium had two-movement "The Root of All Evil." 2007's Systematic Chaos featured two-movement "Repentance," and 2009's Black Clouds & Silver Linings finished the suite with three-movement "The Shattered Fortress."


The entire 56-minute Twelve-Step Suite, "The Glass Prison" through "The Shattered Fortress," is contained in this single video. I will now analyze the suite for you so you can fully appreciate it. Be warned, as this is one of the single heaviest things the band has ever recorded.


The first movement, Reflection, starts with static and bells taking us into a catchy ostinato (played on a six-string bass and a seven-string guitar), breaking down into a heavy guitar riff in 13/4. And then John Petrucci goes crazy on our faces. We are then taken into the proper 6/4 riff with call-and-response vocals. Back to 13/4 for a bit, and then we are treated to a spiraling reflective chorus (including beautiful line "Desperate attempt, stop the progression at any rate, lift this obsession" that I used for EAT!) and then we are given the "glass prison" break, the 'chorus' of the song itself.


The second movement, Restoration, starts with the catchy ostinato from movement one (complete with ambulance noises! WHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHIRRWHOOOOOOOOOOO 83) before breaking into... a repeated guitar riff with changing drum rhythms. Case in point, the riff starts in 3/4, but when the vocals come in, it's suddenly in 4/4 even though the guitar part is exactly the same! o___o;; Cue call-and-response vocals, this movement is very much inspired by "The Mirror." We are then given the restoration chorus, complete with key lyric "I can't break out of this prison all alone/on my own/whatever it is." Cue more fierce call-and-response vocals! The guitar part here has been played with, modifying it into a simple 4/4 rhythm. Cue restoration chorus two, "I can't break out of this prison all alone." And then breakdown!


Third movement Revelation starts with a goddamn kickass bass riff before taking us into the full-band utter wankery. Nothing to contemplate here; just kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride. It lasts a while, and it's all wankery, and that's exactly why I love it. After all this has happened, we are treated to a faith talk. Done pretty well, and it even mentions an ominous door. :3


Fourth movement is a play on the first, Reflections of Reality (Revisited), the title itself being a reference to "The Mirror's" "Reflections of reality". This movement introduces a catchy little.. riff I can't explain very well. It's staccato and stuff. o_o; And then we have beautiful guitar wankery and the melodies are introduced. And then Rudess plays a rad rendition of the "Kingdom" melody to come up later. ..and then, we are treated to "DOO-DOO-DOO, DOO-DOO-DOO." And then "doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo." And then key lyric "Hello, mirror, so glad to see you, my friend. It's been a while." Direct reference to "The Mirror" there, too! Oh, we're gonna have a lotof fun with this suite, friends. >W> "Now it's time to stare the problem right between the eyes, you long-lost child!" "The Mirror" reference right there! Cue "body-breaking" chorus. ...break-down, Mike Portnoy raps to thecatchy little staccato riff. "DOO-DOO-DOO, DOO-DOO-DOO." And then rap part two. And then "DOO-DOO-DOO, DOO-DOO-DOO." And then body-breaking chorus two. Notice how the chorus is set to "DEH-DEH-DEH,DEH-DEH-DEH?" These guys play with riffs a lot. :3 And theeeen we are treated to the aforementioned Kingdom melody, introducing the key lyric "Now that you can see all you have done, it's time to take that step into the kingdom." Plus a reference to a prison, "The Glass Prison."


Movement five, Release, is pretty heavy. Starts with the exact same repeated guitar riff from movement two, and the drums play with it as before. And then we move on to quirky call-and-response vocals. And then, recognize it? It's the restoration chorus three. Yep, the same chorus from the second movement. Oh, we're only getting started. >W> We are now treated to our second faith talk, complete with deep voice! And then the "response" torestoration chorus three. ...and then the band just goes all-out heavy-prog on us in 6/4, time for more wankery! owe Ends with catchy little staccato riff.


The sixth movement, Ready, starts with the start of Octavarium and slowly reintroduces the catchy little staccato riff from movement four. And then it breaks into the "Root" ostinato, which I find to be pretty catchy. .w. We are then given a simple little verse or two before being introduced to the "Ready" chorus, calling it that for convenience. "Take all of me," et cetera.


We go quickly into the seventh movement, Remove. Playing with all kinds of stuff. Cue "I can't break out of this prison all alone." And then, recognize it, cue body-breaking chorus three! "DOO-DOO-DOO, DOO-DOO-DOO!" ..and then crazy wankery breakdown into the Root ostinato and straight into the Ready chorus two, followed byfour Root ostinatos and then the "Octavarium" motif played over a bunch of playful renditions of the Root ostinato.


The eighth movement is unexpected. Regret is a noticeably softer movement, starting with a quiet "doo-doo-doo,doo-doo-doo." You may notice that this follows "The Mirror" as being a light interlude to discuss regret. As the movement begins, we hear our old lyric "Hello, mirror, so glad to see you, my friend. It's been a while." And then a verse. And then the "Regret" chorus! You can probably see the pattern by now, can't you? We're then given a second verse, and then a Regret chorus two, ended with a deep voice mentioning something related tofaith. Hello, pretty John Petrucci guitar solo.


Hello, my favourite movement! Movement nine, Restitution, starts off with that all-familiar "doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo" before introducing famous voices such as Joe Satriani and Steve Vai all discussing their regrets. It all ends on the chilling "It still haunts me" before treating us to a nice relaxing instrumental with backing vocals by John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy. John Myung goes a little crazy with the bass here, too. And then we are given full-throttle the faith talk by Mike Portnoy's deep voice before the movement ends!


Movement ten, Restraint, starts with a lengthy instrumental introduction taking us back into the world of heavy with a bit of a scenic detour. Get ready, this is where things all start to fall together. We're treated to a bit of a play on a "Dying Soul" melody before being given a heavy first movement-esque riff for the verses, where we are given againcall-and-response vocals! And then beautiful old lyric "Look in the mirror, what do you see?" AND THEN, RECOGNIZE IT? A spiraling reflective chorus. ..two. Yep, all the way from the first movement. And then catchy little staccato riff. And then verse two. "Look in the mirror" number two, spiraling reflective chorus number three, and then hello Regret chorus three! This movement is wrapped up by an extensive in--OH GOD I MUST TALK ABOUT THIS. This instrumental, not the solo but the background, has two parts to it. The first part is made up of two different riffs: The repeating guitar riff to changing drum rhythms from movements two and five as well as some part from movement five. The second part is also from "This Dying Soul," though I can't quite place where.


Movement eleven, Receive, starts with a quiet arpeggio, giving us more faith talk by Mike Portnoy's deep voiceand then reintroducing our old friend, "Now that you can see all you have done, it's time to take that step into the kingdom." And theeeen... Ready chorus three, followed by exactly four Root ostinatos and then a wankeriffic Petrucci guitar solo over playful renditions of the Root ostinato.


This solo extends into movement twelve, Responsible. The solo ends and then we are treated to the final verse of the entire suite, "I am responsible; when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want my hand to be there." Then repeated once. Then we come to a gorgeous close before.... well. I'm going to let you find out what the suite ends on. >W>

Dream Theater's Meta-album


The last song of Metropolis, part 2: Scenes from a Memory (Wow, they don't have the ending on YouTube), "Finally Free," ends to the sound of static.


The next album, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, begins with "The Glass Prison," which begins with the sound of static. The album ends with the title track, whose final movement ends with a grand chord fading out.


The next album, Train of Thought, begins with "As I Am," which begins with a grand chord fading in, the same chord from "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence." The album ends with "In the Name of God," which ends on a low F on piano.


The next album, Octavarium, starts with "The Root of All Evil," which begins with a low F on piano. The album ends with title track "Octavarium," which ends with the same low F at the start of the album. This reflects the album's concept of ending where it began, of cycles.


Metropolis, part 2 through Octavarium is said to make up Dream Theater's Meta-Album, one long continuous collection of music that is not separated by any limits of album.


"The Octavarium Mirror"


There is no official name for this, so I dubbed it "The Octavarium Mirror" as it centers around Octavarium.


Let's start by defining the difference between a "song" and a "track."


If you rip an album to your computer, it will give you the number of tracks. An album may have, say... two tracks. But they're both labelled "Song part 1" and "Song part 2!" These are not individual songs; they are one song split into two tracks.


Are we clear on this? Okay, good. Now we can begin.


Look at the number of songs on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.


"The Glass Prison"
"Blind Faith"
"Misunderstood"
"The Great Debate"
"Disappear"
"Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" (Split into eight tracks on the CD for the sake of easily moving through the song; each track is a movement)


That's six songs. Now let's take a look at the number of songs on Train of Thought.


"As I Am"
"This Dying Soul"
"Endless Sacrifice"
"Honor Thy Father"
"Vacant"
"Stream of Consciousness" (I consider this and "Vacant" to be part of the same suite, but a suite is made up ofsongs anyway so they are still separate songs)
"In the Name of God"


That's seven songs, one more than the previous album. Now let's look at Octavarium.


"The Root of All Evil"
"The Answer Lies Within"
"These Walls"
"I Walk Beside You"
"Panic Attack"
"Never Enough"
"Sacrificed Sons"
"Octavarium"


That's eight songs. The number of songs has been increasing sequentially. But wait, let's look at Systematic Chaos.


"In the Presence of Enemies Part 1"
"Forsaken"
"Constant Motion"
"The Dark Eternal Night"
"Repentance"
"Prophets of War"
"The Ministry of Lost Souls"
"In the Presence of Enemies Part 2" ("Part 1" and "Part 2," same song, so that's only one song)


That's seven songs (eight tracks). One less than the album before it. Finally, let's look at Black Clouds & Silver Linings.


"A Nightmare to Remember"
"A Rite of Passage"
"Wither"
"The Shattered Fortress"
"The Best of Times"
"The Count of Tuscany"


That's six songs, one less than the album before it.


The numbers of songs have been a mirror focusing on Octavarium. Isn't that neat? :D






...Optional Addendum: Before Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence was Metropolis, part 2. Let's look at that album's number of songs.


"Scene One"
"Scene Two"
"Scene Two part 2"
"Scene Three"
"Scene Three part 2"
"Scene Four"
"Scene Five"
"Scene Six"
"Scene Seven"
"Scene Seven part 2"
"Scene Eight"
"Scene Nine"


That's twelve songs, but wait, those are "parts!" That's actually nine songs, technically. Well, the sequence can't go "9 6 7 8 7 6," can it? That doesn't make sense.


..but wait. Let's take a look at the album after Black Clouds: A Dramatic Turn of Events.


"On the Backs of Angels"
"Build Me Up, Break Me Down"
"Lost Not Forgotten"
"This is the Life"
"Bridges in the Sky"
"Outcry"
"Far from Heaven"
"Breaking All Illusions"
"Beneath the Surface"


....nine. The sequence goes "9 6 7 8 7 6 9." It's still a mirror.


We know for a fact that the Six Degrees-Black Clouds mirror is intentional, but whether or not Metropolis, part 2and A Dramatic Turn of Events are included in this is up to you. Personally, I say it is. I say it's just too awesome to be coincidence. At the very least, Dream Theater should say it was intentional, even if it wasn't.

(That was the entire multi-post analysis. I may add to this later, but this is pretty damn extensive, as it is.)