Recurring Musical Themes in Parasomnia

[RoeDent]

A thread to gather the recurring themes that were promised us in the pre-marketing material.

[Kyo]

Let me just repost this here, then: Alright, now that Parasomnia is out, I've put together a list of themes recurring across the album. Probably not complete – some parts in the overture I can't find the source for, but maybe they are simply exclusive to it? I'm limiting myself to parts that appear in other tracks – of course the A Broken Man chorus does appear in A Broken Man (duh) and obviously the themes and riffs from The Shadow Man Incident that are introduced in the overture and foreshadowed in Are We Dreaming? later appear in the epic itself. The chorus from A Broken Man appears in so many places on the album, we could as well consider it the Parasomnia theme.

In the Arms of Morpheus
0:37 Dead Asleep intro
1:07 A Broken Man chorus
1:24 Are We Dreaming? bells
2:16 Are We Dreaming? bells
3:10 The Shadow Man Incident orchestral theme (2:08) over The Shadow Man Incident riff (3:22)
3:30 Synth lead over The Shadow Man Incident riff (7:08)
4:02 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme
4:33 Guitar lead over Bend the Clock chorus

Dead Asleep
0:33 A Broken Man chorus
9:31 A Broken Man chorus (variation)
10:32 A Broken Man chorus

Are We Dreaming?
0:18 The Shadow Man Incident Terrifying Nightmares theme
0:44 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme

The Shadow Man Incident
17:53 A Broken Man chorus

EDIT: Added the bells from Are We Dreaming? to In the Arms of Morpheus. thanks, RoeDent!

[BeatriceNB]

As I said in the Parasomnia thread, I wonder if anyone can find a connection between the solo at 7:33 in Night Terror and the solo at 14:03 in The Shadow Man Incident.

[RoeDent]

2:15 of In the Arms of Morpheus, that rising pattern is also used as the bells at the start of Are We Dreaming and in the background during the final ambient section of the whole album.

[Fritzinger]

2:15 of In the Arms of Morpheus, that rising pattern is also used as the bells at the start of Are We Dreaming and in the background during the final ambient section of the whole album.

Good catch! I always thought MP was behind those "nuggets" in DT's music, guess that's true, since things like this haven't been that present on their last 5 albums.

[The Letter M]

Good catch! I always thought MP was behind those "nuggets" in DT's music, guess that's true, since things like this haven't been that present on their last 5 albums.

Other than The Astonishing you mean? It's been awhile since I've listened to it but I'm pretty sure, being a narrative concept album/rock opera, there are some repeated themes and motifs throughout the album.

-Marc.

[Kyo]

2:15 of In the Arms of Morpheus, that rising pattern is also used as the bells at the start of Are We Dreaming and in the background during the final ambient section of the whole album.

Good catch! I completely missed those bells for some reason! 

[faizoff]

2:15 of In the Arms of Morpheus, that rising pattern is also used as the bells at the start of Are We Dreaming and in the background during the final ambient section of the whole album.

Damn I would've never have caught that. That is a good catch.

[RoeDent]

Other than The Astonishing you mean? It's been awhile since I've listened to it but I'm pretty sure, being a narrative concept album/rock opera, there are some repeated themes and motifs throughout the album.

-Marc.

That's why he said not *that* present, not not present altogether. There's also the Far From Heaven callback in Breaking All Illusions.

[Wim Kruithof]

Let me just repost this here, then: Alright, now that Parasomnia is out, I've put together a list of themes recurring across the album. Probably not complete – some parts in the overture I can't find the source for, but maybe they are simply exclusive to it? I'm limiting myself to parts that appear in other tracks – of course the A Broken Man chorus does appear in A Broken Man (duh) and obviously the themes and riffs from The Shadow Man Incident that are introduced in the overture and foreshadowed in Are We Dreaming? later appear in the epic itself. The chorus from A Broken Man appears in so many places on the album, we could as well consider it the Parasomnia theme.

In the Arms of Morpheus
0:37 Dead Asleep intro
1:07 A Broken Man chorus
3:10 The Shadow Man Incident orchestral theme (2:08) over The Shadow Man Incident riff (3:22)
3:30 Synth lead over The Shadow Man Incident riff (7:08)
4:02 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme
4:33 Guitar lead over Bend the Clock chorus

Dead Asleep
0:33 A Broken Man chorus
9:31 A Broken Man chorus (variation)
10:32 A Broken Man chorus

Are We Dreaming?
0:18 The Shadow Man Incident Terrifying Nightmares theme
0:44 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme

The Shadow Man Incident
17:53 A Broken Man chorus

One of the many reasons why I love this forum.

So many gifted ears here... thanks!

[RoeDent]

Pretty sure the guitar solo at 8:08 of Night Terror returns in the music box at the start of The Shadow Man Incident.

[Northern Lion]

Other than The Astonishing you mean? It's been awhile since I've listened to it but I'm pretty sure, being a narrative concept album/rock opera, there are some repeated themes and motifs throughout the album.

-Marc.

Yes, and there are lots.

[Trav]

So I guess the "A Broken Man" theme is the main theme of the album.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Is the implication that the PTSD and post-war anxiety of A Broken Man leads the person to commit the horrifying acts described in Dead Asleep? Or am I not thinking about this properly?

[The Letter M]

Is the implication that the PTSD and post-war anxiety of A Broken Man leads the person to commit the horrifying acts described in Dead Asleep? Or am I not thinking about this properly?

I've been wondering if there was some sort of lyrical/narrative connection given that "Dead Asleep" begins and ends with the musical motif from ABM's chorus, and both songs were paired together and fit on Side 2 of the vinyl.

-Marc.