*Potential lyrical spoilers ahead (for those who don't have Decon & Ghost yet)-

Hey all,

I just wanted to share an observation I noticed; the last lyric or song of each DTP album seems to link directly into the next! Tell me if you think this is drawing a long bow, but:

1. The last song on Ki, 'Demon League', lyrically seems to be all about the problem of addiction ("the demon call"); old habits that can resurface etc. Obviously that theme connects to the title of the next album;
2. Addicted - the last main lyric in 'Awake!' is "get up, get up, now deconstruct!" which links to the next one;
3. The last song on Deconstruction is called 'Poltergeist' - another word used to mean 'Ghost';
4. Now this is the one I could be wrong about, but if you listen really closely to the last 10 seconds of 'As You Were', it sounds like he says "here's the Ki". He may have meant "here's the key", but it makes sense in light of all the above that he says "here's the Ki" because the idea is that these 4 albums are basically all part of a circle of some kind; a journey in which each connects to the other. He's saying "now you're done with Ghost, go straight back into the experience - here's the Ki..."

Well, that's my theory. Has anyone else noticed these little connections before?

Cheers!

That's awesome! Having not heard Decon or Ghost, I'll look out for those endings when I'm listening. The link from Ghost to Ki is so poignant, like it's telling us to go back and experience the albums again with a clear mind. Damn Devy, you're good.

It's sheer brilliance.


I can picture myself in 30 years saying to myself and my kids - "listen to these albums; music this inspired and creative just doesn't exist anymore."


But the sad reality is - aside from Devin, does it even exist today?

Well Ki is pronounced Key........

That makes perfect sense.
A Monday is also played at the end of As You Were

Well Ki is pronounced Key........

Oh, absolutely. I just meant that it's possible that Dev was meaning to say "here's the key", which would have a different meaning to "here's the Ki". But I think the coincidence is just too strong for it not to be "here's the Ki".

It's sheer brilliance. I can picture myself in 30 years saying to myself and my kids - "listen to these albums; music this inspired and creative just doesn't exist anymore." But the sad reality is - aside from Devin, does it even exist today?

Barely. I think Meshuggah have been doing some pretty original/inspired work for a while, but there's not much else in metal, imo. Everything is becoming a repeat of what the pioneers of the 90's created. Deconstruction is a real breath of fresh air because of how original it is as an album. Sure, there have been other groups/individuals who have tried to create similar opus-like albums (Ayreon, for example), but the music on those efforts hasn't been anywhere near as original (compared to Decon) as far as I'm concerned. Could be wrong, though - I certainly haven't heard everything! **Decon spoiler alert coming...


...And let's not forget Dev's lyrical nod to Meshuggah in 'Planet of the Apes' - "We all rip off Meshuggah. Meshuggah. Meshuggah..." Clearly, he also feels that they are the main pioneers in metal at this time.

Ki means Earth in Sumerian, one of the songs on Deconstruction. Also a theme on Deconstruction "Give it up.. the earth, the earth". One of centerpieces in the translated Sumerian tablets is about the end of the Earth.. tied in with visitors from Nibiru (supposedly the 10th planet that is in sort of a very large elliptical orbit, so it only comes close enough to our solar system to have a gravitational impact every 26,000 years, or possibly 13,000 if you consider there are two middle points on an ellipsis) who came to our planet to harvest materials needed to stop the demise of their own planet. I don't know if I buy into every detail in these alternate theories of our beginnings, but there is a large body of evidence in just about every early civilization of an alien influence. Another thing that Devin talks about is appreciation of the infinite. To quote Tool "The universe is hostile, so impersonal, devour to survive, so it is, so it has always been".

I'd say talk of demons and addictions is more about the addiction to power and fame. People who have no conscience, who you could call demons, have no limits on what they will do to gain more power. Others are willing to sell their soul for fame and money. If you go against the system, you are making a bold and risky move, particularly if you are a mainstream icon.

The 4 albums are definitely connected. I'd draw a couple parallels to Howl, a controversial 4-part poem by Allen Ginsberg written in the 50's. Ginsberg was a friend of Jack Kerouac but didn't reach the same level of success as him. People were focused on the vulgarities in Howl rather than the message. It was based on the personal experiences of Ginsberg to portray the struggles of a generation and movement that was widely ignored. The poems publishers were even put on trial to determine if it had any literary merit (the publishers won).

That makes perfect sense.
A Monday is also played at the end of As You Were

indeed it is! thanks for that, hadn't realized!! Nice.

I noticed that the last lyric/song of the album links to the next (which is genius!), but never noticed Ghost linking back to Ki. I didn't even notice "A Monday" being played at the end of "As You Were." Wow. That is really fucking awesome!

You the man, thank you, I never quite got the link between Ki and Addicted. I knew there had to be one, because I had figured out the links between the rest, but you put it perfectly Say tomorrow it comes, and then... I'm alone. Suppose... I know... I know...The demons call

I'm surprised I never picked up on that Sometimes I'd listen to Ki and shut it off before Demon League came on, just because it seemed like the character had all the issues solved after Ki and Quiet Riot, and then Demon League would come on and screw everything up. Now I know why that song is there.

This whole DTP series keeps me thinking about my own personal "addictions", and since the series ends in happiness and peace, I feel like I'm going in the same direction. So glad Devin took the time and effort to come up with such a crazy musical metaphor for it all. If this one guy can conquer his own fears and bad habit cycles and whatnot, then sure as hell This random guy can. Maybe that's the main reason I'm a Devin Townsend fan Power over self via personal enlightenment, over the medium of awesome music.

All of As You Were is on top of A Monday, isn't it?

I don't think As you were is on top of A monday

I have noticed something else. On each album, there seems to be a version of the same riff.(except addicted...)

Ki - Heaven send
Addicted - Numbered??
Deconstruction - Stand
Ghost (2) - Watch you

Is there a lyrical connection with these tracks as well ?

I love how Ghost doesn't exactly end on a downer, but it isn't pretending everything is going to be ok.
After all these grandiose revelations and epiphanies it's just kind of quietly resolved.

[djskrimp]

I don't think As you were is on top of A monday

I have noticed something else. On each album, there seems to be a version of the same riff.(except addicted...)

Ki - Heaven send
Addicted - Numbered??
Deconstruction - Stand
Ghost (2) - Watch you

Is there a lyrical connection with these tracks as well ?

Stand and Watch You share the same lyrics, yes.

*And obviously Heaven Send and Stand both have the "Burn!" part.