The Globalist

[Finn.]

Then they should destroy the world using candy and puppies instead of nuclear bombs, to make the agony (and the riff) longer.

[White Heat]

Riff isn't heavy enough, i hope they tear the fucking place down live.

[Matt's Jawbone]

Then they should destroy the world using candy and puppies instead of nuclear bombs, to make the agony (and the riff) longer.

Or they could just put the French part of I Belong To You on repeat for 10 hours. That would cause major chaos worldwide.

[Citizen_Eraser]

It might be a controversial opinion but I think that the heavy part is the dullest part of the song. Not even the piano part. It's just the same easy riff all over with little changes. THe parts before and after are even more versatile.

But I love the heavy part as well just everyone seem to lose their minds for that part.

 

But when that tremolo bit kicks in and chaos is ensuing all around it. Who didn't get a massive grin and instant chills when that part happened?

[JessicaSarahS]

But when that tremolo bit kicks in and chaos is ensuing all around it. Who didn't get a massive grin and instant chills when that part happened?

 

I repeat that part quite a bit.

[Furygirl]

Overall this song is pretty good. I love the beginning. The piano part is the weakest imo, but it's growing on me.

[jonisdead]

Drinking game: take a shot for every hater that complains about the outro and mentions the song not living up to the hype in one breath

 

Take 2 shots every time someone mentions Explorers in the same post

 

You'll be dead within 5 minutes of reading this board or Reddit

[JessicaSarahS]

Drinking game: take a shot for every hater that complains about the outro and mentions the song not living up to the hype in one breath

 

Take 2 shots every time someone mentions Explorers in the same post

 

You'll be dead within 5 minutes of reading this board or Reddit

 

Not everyone is a hater! People like parts of the song.

[Finn.]

Not everyone is a hater!

 

Indeed, that guy'll be equally dead if you drink every time i praised this song.

[topo_musero]

I'm impressed on why I don't like it at the beginning. It has growing inmensely on me, and it's now amongst my favourites in the album. It takes me some time to dig the piano part, but it has an excelent vocal delivery. And I love the song's concept, it seems like it's not cohesive but it is. Rise-destruction-regret. The music fit these concepts great.

[jonisdead]

Not everyone is a hater! People like parts of the song.

 

People should like the whole thing

[JessicaSarahS]

Indeed, that guy'll be equally dead if you drink every time i praised this song.

 

Hehe, yup!

 

People should like the whole thing

 

I really wanted to!

[manualex]

But when that tremolo bit kicks in and chaos is ensuing all around it. Who didn't get a massive grin and instant chills when that part happened?

 

Yes, I was jumping and then I stood still and waited and Im still waiting patiently.

[TrebleRose689]

I really don't want to dig through many pages of discussion, so apologies if I'm repeating something

 

Anyway, I was just wondering -- How do you guys interpret the lyrics to The Globalist? My bf and I were talking about it, and we came up with an interpretation (though I'm not sure if it's "right")

 

Anyway, we feel like that first part of the song is the "bad guy" kind of taunting the protagonist, basically saying "You beat me, and I see potential in you. You can be great like I was." Then the middle section is the rise of a second wave of chaos and destruction (led by the album's protagonist), and the ending is the protagonist seeing the ruins of everything around him and realizing that he's become the very thing he sought to destroy, but has now destroyed the world himself (and now it's just him and his love interest from Aftermath left standing... the "babe" he sings to at the end ).

 

Now, we could be 100% wrong on this hahaha. I don't think it's ever been concretely stated whose POV the song is from, has it? Not by the band, at least (I know reviewers have speculated). This is probably what they mean by an ambiguous ending to the album-- depending on whose POV you imagine it from, it could be a "happy" or a "sad" ending?

[Hay]

Right after the lyrics ¨Now you have finally have the code, I have given you the code¨ you can hear what sounds like reversed and sped up voices. Threw it into Audition, slowed it down to 250% and reverse it. Attached the file below.

 

I'm pretty sure the voices are bits of lyrics from the others songs on the album.

 

¨Dead Inside..¨

¨A fucking psycho!¨

¨The world just disavows¨

(Backing track possibly from Reapers/The Handler)

¨Now I'm a defector¨

(Something possibly from Revolt/Aftermath)

 

The Globalist tells the same story as the rest of the album but with a bad ending, so it makes sense that right before the bad ending there are these flashbacks. If anyone can figure out what the others are or correct me that'd be cool.

NowYouHaveTheCode.MP3

[TrebleRose689]

Right after the lyrics ¨Now you have finally have the code, I have given you the code¨ you can hear what sounds like reversed and sped up voices. Threw it into Audition, slowed it down to 250% and reverse it. Attached the file below.

 

I'm pretty sure the voices are bits of lyrics from the others songs on the album.

 

¨Dead Inside..¨

¨A fucking psycho!¨

¨The world just disavows¨

(Backing track possibly from Reapers/The Handler)

¨Now I'm a defector¨

(Something possibly from Revolt/Aftermath)

 

The Globalist tells the same story as the rest of the album but with a bad ending, so it makes sense that right before the bad ending there are these flashbacks. If anyone can figure out what the others are or correct me that'd be cool.

 

Woah! Great find!

 

I guess that fits with my original interpretation -- just means that it's not what "really" happened, but what could have happened.

[jonisdead]

Woah! Great find!

 

I guess that fits with my original interpretation -- just means that it's not what "really" happened, but what could have happened.

 

Matt said himself it's an "epilogue" to the main story. This is clarified by the seamless transition from Aftermath into The Globalist. All Matt is doing is giving you more information about the story and asking you to decide which version you'd rather believe in, and that your choice reflects who you are as a person: whether you'd want to feel pain and move past something or ignore the pain and become a drone/killing machine. He said all of this verbatim in his interview today.

[JessicaSarahS]

Right after the lyrics ¨Now you have finally have the code, I have given you the code¨ you can hear what sounds like reversed and sped up voices. Threw it into Audition, slowed it down to 250% and reverse it. Attached the file below.

 

I'm pretty sure the voices are bits of lyrics from the others songs on the album.

 

¨Dead Inside..¨

¨A fucking psycho!¨

¨The world just disavows¨

(Backing track possibly from Reapers/The Handler)

¨Now I'm a defector¨

(Something possibly from Revolt/Aftermath)

 

The Globalist tells the same story as the rest of the album but with a bad ending, so it makes sense that right before the bad ending there are these flashbacks. If anyone can figure out what the others are or correct me that'd be cool.

 

Wow. I think it would have been cool to hear these in the end in the background somehow, without having to listen to it backwards, that is.

[manualex]

Yeah someone posted on reddit about that yesterday, but I could only hear Dead Inside and disavows in there.

[TrebleRose689]

Matt said himself it's an "epilogue" to the main story. This is clarified by the seamless transition from Aftermath into The Globalist. All Matt is doing is giving you more information about the story and asking you to decide which version you'd rather believe in, and that your choice reflects who you are as a person: whether you'd want to feel pain and move past something or ignore the pain and become a drone/killing machine. He said all of this verbatim in his interview today.

 

Gotcha, I had missed that interview, so sorry for sounding dumb with my interpretation

[jonisdead]

Gotcha, I had missed that interview, so sorry for sounding dumb with my interpretation

 

By no means did I mean to imply your interpretation is dumb or wrong! The beauty of concept albums is that people can interpret the meanings as they wish. But I think it's important to know what the artist thought about the concept since it can act as a decoder of sorts as well.

[Matt's Jawbone]

I really don't want to dig through many pages of discussion, so apologies if I'm repeating something

 

Anyway, I was just wondering -- How do you guys interpret the lyrics to The Globalist? My bf and I were talking about it, and we came up with an interpretation (though I'm not sure if it's "right")

 

Anyway, we feel like that first part of the song is the "bad guy" kind of taunting the protagonist, basically saying "You beat me, and I see potential in you. You can be great like I was." Then the middle section is the rise of a second wave of chaos and destruction (led by the album's protagonist), and the ending is the protagonist seeing the ruins of everything around him and realizing that he's become the very thing he sought to destroy, but has now destroyed the world himself (and now it's just him and his love interest from Aftermath left standing... the "babe" he sings to at the end ).

 

Now, we could be 100% wrong on this hahaha. I don't think it's ever been concretely stated whose POV the song is from, has it? Not by the band, at least (I know reviewers have speculated). This is probably what they mean by an ambiguous ending to the album-- depending on whose POV you imagine it from, it could be a "happy" or a "sad" ending?

Basically:

 

In Revolt, their plans for a revolution fail, and Aftermath represents the people coming together as one to help each other fthrough such desperate measures.

 

The western part to me represents the leader coming to the people. In westerns, that kind of music usually signifies an entry of some sort. The tense drumrolls hint at something going on behind the people's backs and in this case they've captured the main character.

 

Basically, when Matt begins singing, they're brainwashing the protagonist. He sings in a somewhat soft voice; probably representing hypnotizing. When the heavy part kicks in, he's snapped. He is now a drone and has brought a second wave of chaos. The drums and tremolo begin the world being destroyed and everything pushed over the edge.

 

The sudden jump cut to the piano is like something of a fade to white. Everything has been destroyed and reduced to rubble. The lyrics are then basically a "what have I done" moment. Then he's telling his "babe" that he only gave in because he didn't want to be left out and was tired of feeling rejected. Then she leaves him.

 

Then in "Drones", as I stated earlier, the fact that it's a bunch of different tracks of Matt singing the same lines over and over, that could represent everyone who has died in the global catastophe. They've been killed by Drones. Then they ask, "are you dead inside?". Basically I think they're asking him "Are you happy you've brought this shit upon us."

 

Not sure what the "Amen" signifies, but probably just a means of bringing an end to the story, and the souls sleeping now.

 

That or it could also be something of a requiem for those who died too.

 

Just my interpretation.

[TrebleRose689]

By no means did I mean to imply your interpretation is dumb or wrong! The beauty of concept albums is that people can interpret the meanings as they wish. But I think it's important to know what the artist thought about the concept since it can act as a decoder of sorts as well.

 

Oh no, I know you weren't implying it! I just felt silly after learning that it was already explained by Matt himself, but I was treating it like some big mystery

[Spectrum IV]

I think you need to take it in the context of CE to understand the meaning, which might require a little reinterpretation.

 

Perhaps CE is about brainwashing and indoctrination. "Break me in, teach us to cheat" is an easy one, 'cheating' is a metaphor for disregarding others and manipulating your way into power (lie, cover up what shouldn't be shared). "Truth's unwinding, scraping away at my mind" is contrasted by "stop asking me to describe," another hint that we're dealing with a brainwashed individual. He's believing in what is stated as truth, but can't explain why it is true.

 

The choruses, then, could be sung from the antagonist's perspective, trying to convince this guy to let go of his reservations (I wish you'd hold your stage with no feelings at all). He knows what it's like to be young, so open minded and free, but it doesn't last.

 

I think CE represents a failed attempt, hence the slower, sombre feel after the final chorus. The outro could represent a vaguer version of The Handler's ending; let me go, let go of the expectations you had for me, I've seen enough destruction for one lifetime.

 

If this back and forth continues in order, the first part of The Globalist is sung by the antagonist, trying a more empathetic approach to win over his target. "You were never truly loved, only betrayed" ... "you were never truly nurtured." He's forming parallels to the rest of the album, before employing a more optimistic tone: "but you can rise up like a god ... you can be the commander in chief."

 

It finally works, so he tells the guy what he should think and do: "you can hide your true motives to dismantle and destroy... now you finally have the code."

 

The rest is pretty simple imo. He ends the world, "oh shit my bad." One thing I noticed though is how the ending is similar to Aftermath's, with the chanting and drum explosion into a power ballad. Seems like the riff section is a rewind then fast forward through the story from a negative perspective, and then we have a familiar sounding ending, only he is now alone in the world, haunted by ghosts.

 

He played God and killed everyone in the process. Amen.

[jonisdead]

I think you need to take it in the context of CE to understand the meaning, which might require a little reinterpretation.

 

Perhaps CE is about brainwashing and indoctrination. "Break me in, teach us to cheat" is an easy one, 'cheating' is a metaphor for disregarding others and manipulating your way into power (lie, cover up what shouldn't be shared). "Truth's unwinding, scraping away at my mind" is contrasted by "stop asking me to describe," another hint that we're dealing with a brainwashed individual. He's believing in what is stated as truth, but can't explain why it is true.

 

The choruses, then, could be sung from the antagonist's perspective, trying to convince this guy to let go of his reservations (I wish you'd hold your stage with no feelings at all). He knows what it's like to be young, so open minded and free, but it doesn't last.

 

I think CE represents a failed attempt, hence the slower, sombre feel after the final chorus. The outro could represent a vaguer version of The Handler's ending; let me go, let go of the expectations you had for me, I've seen enough destruction for one lifetime.

 

If this back and forth continues in order, the first part of The Globalist is sung by the antagonist, trying a more empathetic approach to win over his target. "You were never truly loved, only betrayed" ... "you were never truly nurtured." He's forming parallels to the rest of the album, before employing a more optimistic tone: "but you can rise up like a god ... you can be the commander in chief."

 

It finally works, so he tells the guy what he should think and do: "you can hide your true motives to dismantle and destroy... now you finally have the code."

 

The rest is pretty simple imo. He ends the world, "oh shit my bad." One thing I noticed though is how the ending is similar to Aftermath's, with the chanting and drum explosion into a power ballad. Seems like the riff section is a rewind then fast forward through the story from a negative perspective, and then we have a familiar sounding ending, only he is now alone in the world, haunted by ghosts.

 

He played God and killed everyone in the process. Amen.

 

Your closing sentence sums it all up, but I don't think this is necessarily tied to CE in any meaningful way, as evidenced by Matt's antics. Although he did admit he tried to "write a song like one of those on Origin of Symmetry" and specifically referenced CE, I can thus see The Globalist as its antithesis. I can try to link the two, although I'm fairly certain Matt had no desire to use Citizen Erased as a decoder for the narrative.

 

The closest thing that would make sense is that Citizen Erased can basically summarize the entire main arc of the narrative, closing out with The Globalist as the epilogue. My reasoning for this is that in the process of turning this guy into a drone, he had to be erased from society, indoctrinated, handled, and forced to carry out heinous acts. So in essence, he is "citizen erased", the erased citizen. I view The Globalist as this erased citizen developing a lust for power, "wanting to be loved" by man rather than by just one person as that wasn't enough (Aftermath), and rising to be the person who "erases" all the other people on earth via nuclear warfare. So if I were to refer to The Globalist, I would refer to it as "Citizens Erased", and this aspect of the loss of life seems to eclipse the entire story of the dictator meaning there was no intent to generate sympathy, since it closes out with Drones, an explicit lamentation for the dead. Depending on how effective the previous tracks were, I guess you could consider the protagonist/dictator as one of the casualties/"dead" because he lost his way twice throughout the entire thing, and killed himself off in a metaphorical sense, "erased" himself, after becoming The Globalist.