Illumination Theory - I love how this is perfectly composed in terms of the mirroring structure. All musical choices made sense. And best drumming in a full DT song.
What do you mean by that? Maybe something to do with the movements (I: epic, II: heavy, III: mellow, IV: heavy, V: epic)?
This is a modification of an analysis I made back in 2014:
FIRST HALF: The Unilluminated Half
Song Intro. Crescendo drum roll
Section 1: Paradox of the Black Light. Slow, majestic, a bit heavy so it is not yet "illuminated". This is an overture to the un-illuminated sections of the song.
Section 2: The heavy riffing section. At first this seems to be just a wanky instrumental but it actually acts as a bridge between Section 1 and Section 3. This serves an important narrative function once we get to the later sections. Note also that it is mostly a standard rocking beat, with some time signature changes only at the end upon approaching the Live, Die, Kill section.
Section 3: Live, Die Kill. The section poses the questions: What are you willing to live for? to die for? to kill for? It is asking for "an answer that begs to be found". The section has two subsections: the first has lyrics playing to a main riff, the second is the instrumental section that has plenty of time signature changes.
Section 4: Embracing Circle, ambient section. If Live, Die, Kill referred to a more down-to-earth plane of existence, to grounded reality, the Embracing Circle is situated in a transcendental plane. The ambient section is formless and lengthy, which signifies that the questions posed in Live, Die, Kill remain unanswered even in a moment of transcendence and it remains quite unanswered for a long time. The length of the section is important because it serves the narrative function of indicating that illumination or enlightenment does not come easily.
BREAK in the Narrative: Start of TRANSITION
Section 5: Embracing Circle, first orchestral movement. We are still in the transcendental plane, but unlike Section 4, illumination starts to creep in slowly with the build-up of the orchestra.
BREAK in the Narrative: TRANSITION to second half complete
SECOND HALF: The Illuminated Section
Section 6: Embracing Circle, second orchestral movement. This mirrors Section 4. Illumination climaxes with a moment of enlightenment, signified by the orchestral, more uplifting version of the melody in Section 1. It sort of mirrors Section 1 as well, as this now serves as an overture to the "illuminated" section of the song. The two overtures (Section 1 and Section 6) share the same melody.
Section 7. The Pursuit of Truth. This mirrors Section 3. The section starts with reverse swells, which signals a return from the transcendental plane to grounded reality. After the moment of enlightenment in The Embracing Circle, the song now has answers to the questions posed in Section 3, Live, Die, Kill. What are mothers willing to live, die and kill for? Their children. Husbands are willing to live, die and kill for their wives. Martyrs are willing to live die and kill for the kingdom. And so on and so forth. The Pursuit of Truth answers the questions of Live, Die, Kill. Still mirroring Section 3, the section also has two subsections: the first has lyrics playing to a main riff, the second is the instrumental section that has plenty of time signature changes.
Section 8: The heavy riffing section. This mirrors Section 2. It follows the same structure and uses the same riff! This serves as a bridge between Section 7 and Section 9. While Section 2 bridged the Paradox to the questions, Section 8 bridged the answers to the Paradox. Like Section 2, this section has a lot of wanky instrumentals and plays to a standard rocking beat, with a change in the tempo at the end approaching the Surrender, Trust and Passion section.
Section 9. Surrender, Trust and Passion. And now we have come full circle. This mirrors Section 1. Section 9 is also slow and majestic, but unlike Section 1, it is uplifting because illumination has already been achieved. Section 1 is titled the Paradox of the Black Light, and the lyrics in Section 9 spell out what the paradox of the black light really is.
Even the lyrics in this section are symmetrical:
Introduce with a paradox:
"To really feel the joy in life
You must suffer through the pain"
Surrender: Lyrics refer to illumination by referencing light.
"When you surrender to the light
You can face the darkest days"
Trust: Middle section, still in keeping the visuality of the Illumination Theory, we refer to opening one's eyes.
"If you open up your eyes
And you put your trust in love
On those cold and endless nights
You will never be alone"
Passion: Mirror the Surrender subsection. Lyrics refer to illumination by referencing bright.
"Passion glows within your heart
Like a furnace burning bright"
Mirror the first two lines of the section. End with a paradox:
"Until you struggle through the dark
You'll never know that you're alive"
Song Ending. Mirroring the intro, decrescendo drum roll.
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This is how I viewed IT. Which is why I don't think I will really understand how it can be described as disjointed. It is very cohesive not just lyrically but structurally as well. The disjoint that some people feel, I think, is because the narrative of the song is really about transitioning from dark to light but ending up in a paradox where light is in the darkness. There is a deliberate disjointedness, from grounded to transcendent, from fast to slow parts. The transitions serve a narrative function.
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