This is the 8th page on the 8V thread!!!1

I'm going to go eat a cookie now.

"Whoever should be found guilty of burning coal shall suffer the loss of his head." - Edward I in 1306 for pollution control.

There is alot of messages in the artwork alone. I think the cover itself with the metal balls represents the eight albums. I get the impression the left ball is swinging in which would be WDADU and the right being Octavarium. I think the "Octavarium" is the music buisness and the labels themselves. They have been trapped in it and they are now ready to leave. Thus the last ball swinging away. Also, the four on the back being the albums with other band members and the four balls on the front being the current line-up leaving together. The ones that made the last four albums and will continue to make the future ones. Can't figure out what the asian woman means at all.
 
Inside you have the Dominoes. I wasn't sure if they were tombstones or not but I think they may be now. There are two of them and that is how many labels they have been on. They are dead to them. The three crows may represent the three band members lost during the eight Albums. Charlie, Kevin, and Derek.
 
The Octopus picture. Again, the Octopus is the monster (the music buisness). The fish are the band swimming away from it. The stop sign with the majesty symbol is telling the Octopus to stop. Which is the band saying "we are not going to take this anymore".
 
The spider trapped in the maze maybe represents the eight albums they have made for the labels. No matter what they do in the future those recordings will always be owned and controlled by the label they were on. Therefore the spider cannot get out of the maze.
 
The eight ball representing the band sinking the last ball (album) and then the game is over.
 
Just some opinions I have about some of pictures. I think the whole "Octavarium" thing is about them leaving the labels behind. I think they are going to do something on thier own for sure. They are sick of the control, the lack of support, lack on money, and the leaks.

^^^Good post, good read, good interpretation.

"Whoever should be found guilty of burning coal shall suffer the loss of his head." - Edward I in 1306 for pollution control.

Hey, maybe the octopus represents MagnaCarta and is about to fuck up a fish (MP). How about that?

"It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it" Lucius Seneca

very well thought out.....
 
R.

"sjjvq puv ssv hw Lva!" - Twiddlenutz

Fear not fellow forumers, for I have finally solved the riddle that is "Octavarium".  Let's just take it from the top.
 
On the 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th hour, the 5 members of Dream Theater went to the studio to record their 8th album, "Octavarium".  Upon entering the studio, Mike Portnoy stubbed two of his toes, James Labrie stubbed one, John Myung stubbed 2, Jordan Rudess stubbed 1, and John Petrucci stubbed 2.  This would make eight black toes on five white members, symbolizing an octave on a piano.  "What a coincidence!" shouted, smiling with excitement.  The two stubbed toes that Portnoy suffered caused him to slip a couple of times on the double bass pedal.  It turned out that all of the bass pedal accidents created a morse code message in the song "The Root of All Evil".  The message decoded reads as follows: "This song is the first note of the scale...oh yeah, and eat my ass and...".  For some reason, the word "Balls" was mysteriously missing.  However, later on in the recording process (during the recording of Jordan's parts in the title track, to be specific), John Petrucci jokingly said "Hey, you're recording the 8th track and have exactly 5 hairs on your head...more symbolism with numbers!".  Jordan responded by yelling "I'm going to kick you in the...".  He then yelled "Balls" right as the recording began.  This is why you can hear the last word of the infamous message about 8 minutes into the title track.  The spider, octopus, and other references to "5:8" were all added later on.  However, the question still remains:  Why?  Well, if you look back to the first part of the story, the message is very clear.  I mean, do you really think that all five band members stubbed their toes on the same entrance way all at the same time?  Of course not, because they didn't stub their own toes.  Someone else stubbed them for them.  Yes, another party is involved, but who?  Well, I'll tell you:  MAGNA CARTA.  Magna Carta knew that Portnoy was going to record a new album, and there wasn't a damn thing they could do to suck even more money out of him.  So, they tried stubbing all of the band members toes in an effort to stop the recording of the album from happening.  The plan failed, and the band members devised a plan of their own.  More specifically, a terrorist attack on Magna Carta.  The date on which this attack will be conducted, you may ask?  MAY 8TH (5/8) of next year.  All of the symoblism you are finding is really just a hidden message being sent to Magna Carta that translates to "Your ass is mine on May 8th, bitch".
 
I can understand why you may not believe me, but just give the story time to settle in.  Come May 8th, 2006, you will all see... 

What you are reading right now is less than four lines of text.

Hmmm, seems like Luchitos got to it faster, and in a much shorter fashion.  Well done, sir.

What you are reading right now is less than four lines of text.

8 Miesian Balls?

Methinks some of you should get girlfriends...

http://thelastepic.com/

I guess I'll add my contribution to this thread despite what I said in my above post.

In the pre-track (I guess thats what it is called) before "I Walk Beside You when the clock starts ticking it pans from left to right.  I counted each pan a set of 1.  Before the song goes from track 3 to 4 there are 8 sets of pans and once the track turns to 4 there are another 8 sets. Hmm...

http://thelastepic.com/

ORIGINAL: T8H3X11

Methinks some of you should get girlfriends...

Killjoy.

The first two lyrical parts of Ocatvatium could reflect within the movie Awakenings. The first part Someone Like Him would relate to the Robin William's character risking all to try something new. He marvels, watching Robert De Niro's awakening from his catatonic state, admiring Deniro's new found joy at the simplest of things and appreciating life. Something he could learn from . Meanwhile his own personal life is but one step ahead of the train. The second part Medicate (Awakening)  is the told from De Niro's point of view.

"Music is just a release of all that stuff inside that's trying to kill you. I think just — life is so difficult. The thing I love about music is that you can take painful, deep things that hurt, and turn them into something beautiful." ~ Ray LaMontagne

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

ORIGINAL: Three

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

wow.

ORIGINAL: Three

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

Far fetched, but possible

"It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it" Lucius Seneca

ORIGINAL: J3LV3HL WV3JG

very well thought out.....

R.

Did you post that thing about the interludes and how they fit into the scale...and how they're all in the proper order (from JR.com's forum)...in this thread? Because that was totally f'n bad ass. I thought I read thru this and didn't see it but here it is anyway. It's an awesome discovery...if so, here it is again.

ORIGINAL: J3LV3HL WV3JG
I found out why the times on the Disc don't match up to the times on the back of the case!


Put the CD in an actual CD player and watch the time read out.......there are hidden "countdown" sections to the tracks in question. Their purpose within the ‘concept’ of the album is very interesting. Simply put, they represent accidentals.

Look on the back of the CD case… each track corresponds to a note on the fingerboard. Naturally so, there would need to be notes in between certain songs.


Hence:
1. TROAE
F#
2. TALW
G#
3. TW
A#
4. IWBY

5. PA
C#
6. NE
D#
7. SS

8. 8v

* note that only songs 1 2 3 and 5 6 are labeled the incorrect time.



Something else I found out.....the accidentals are actual in pitch.....lol

That is why there is a bend in the pitch of the last chord in TALW.

I think it would be overstating it, but DAMMIT these guys are fawkin amazing!

Myspace me: http://www.myspace.com/icepick3383
O&A: http://www.opieandanthony.com
Check out this site: http://www.whatitcosts.com

In the history of DT, with albums released there have been 8 members in total: John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, John Myung, Jordan Rudess, James LaBrie, Charlie Dominici, Derek Sherinian, and Kevin Moore. But they have always been 5.

I'm really shocked that no one has nailed this one yet :

The first guitar chord during the intro of TROAE before the drums, is the same guitar chord played during the old WD&DU concert intros in 1989, as well, it can heard on the menu screen for WD&DR DVD

ORIGINAL: JoelHR

did anyone notice on the front of the cd case, the octave is between B and B, and the back, the octave is between F and F. THE MIGHTY TRITONE
i dont think this has been said, but im too lazy to look through 8 pages of mathematical equations about the number 8.

but the tritone is hugely important in the history of music, it basically is a huge foundation for everything. btw, in the old days, (ancient greece) the tritone was considered the devil's interval. hehehhehe

This particular tritone also, correct me if I'm wrong, is the chord that the beginning of TROAE is based off of.

"I can't tell you what hotel I'm staying at, but I can tell you that it's got something to do with two trees." - Mitch Hedberg

I just think 8va is just a huge tribute album, that also goes through the past 7 albums of DT. Some may say there are parts from old DT songs all over this album, along with obvious references to other songs, especially in 8va. That song in itself is the album, the true art form of this album is contained in that one song. I also love the art on the book, just filled with things that are meaningful. My fav is the blueprint picture. You can see all the songs there, in their respective keys along each wall. And on the inside you can see the sharps that represent the moving to the next note on the piano. Obviously nothing between B-C and E-F. I think thats brilliant in itself.

Its a work of art. DT, you really do prove that you can really do anything musically. Its genious. This is beyond a musical creation to me. Its pure art.

Its times like these, I love being a DT fan. Its very fufilling.

Thanks guys, you really know how to make people happy, and complete.

Beautiful.

..::Peace. Love. Harmony. Minor 3rds::..

ORIGINAL: Three

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

 
One itty bitty problem with your theory.  Falling Into Infinity was actually album #4.
 
In Order:
1. WDADU
2. I&W
3. Awake
4. FII
5. SFAM
6. 6DOIT
7. TOT
8. 8V
 
Nice try, though.

I'm addicted to placebos.

A change of Season's surely counts even though the b side is a bootleg. 

ORIGINAL: remo2112

ORIGINAL: Three

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

One itty bitty problem with your theory.  Falling Into Infinity was actually album #4.

In Order:
1. WDADU
2. I&W
3. Awake
4. FII
5. SFAM
6. 6DOIT
7. TOT
8. 8V

Nice try, though.

What about ACOS?
IF you count it as a studio CD. Though that would mean we'd also have to take into account Live At The Marquee, maybe. Bah what do I know.

"It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it" Lucius Seneca

seven seize - seven seas of rye - Queen

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that....

Kevin Wale
Look ma... I'm playin guitar on the interent!
Bipolar Echo
enduvus

ORIGINAL: remo2112

ORIGINAL: Three

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

One itty bitty problem with your theory.  Falling Into Infinity was actually album #4.

In Order:
1. WDADU
2. I&W
3. Awake
4. FII
5. SFAM
6. 6DOIT
7. TOT
8. 8V

Nice try, though.

 
o well.. my bad, but still I think it still goes well with the whole full circle theme ^_^

I have mentioned this before, but what if they are working on this motif to make us conjure up all these theories just like the Beatles did with adding to the rumors that Paul was dead.  Morever, I looked on the net for what symbolism is identified with an octopus.  An octopus symbolizes a <<spiral>>.  It also symbolizes <<unconsciousness>>.  Also, I believe that an Octopus represents big business and government.  An Octopus has been used to describe the Bush administration as well in various books.  Thus, i concur with most of you.  But i think the Octopus has a number of meanings. 

I love teachers... you do something wrong, they make you do it over again. R.I.P. Rodney

Does anyone else think that the chick on the back of the booklet looks like Lucy Liu?  In particular, it looks like her in her Charlie's Angels outfit.

9 pages. I read them but who knows if I missed anything so here is something I noticed...

Also, at the 3:35 to 4:15 is like a combination of the end of A Day In The Life and the end of She's So Heavy. It's also very end of Finally Free. Kind of spaced out a bit though. But like the Bohemian Rhapsody part, it's not exact, just a hint.

I also noticed the beginning of Panic Attack has a very typical Tourniquette riff in it.

Kevin Wale
Look ma... I'm playin guitar on the interent!
Bipolar Echo
enduvus

ORIGINAL: Del Fuvio Monk

Does anyone else think that the chick on the back of the booklet looks like Lucy Liu?  In particular, it looks like her in her Charlie's Angels outfit.

 I thought it was Myung

I am Canadian

ORIGINAL: Three

ORIGINAL: remo2112

ORIGINAL: Three

Okay...
This might be obvious,
but take the number 8...
rotate it 90 degrees left or right, you decide
What do you get?
The infinity symbol.
What is the 5th album? Falling into infinity
Maybe the connection is a bit far fetched.. but... maybe... :)

One itty bitty problem with your theory.  Falling Into Infinity was actually album #4.

In Order:
1. WDADU
2. I&W
3. Awake
4. FII
5. SFAM
6. 6DOIT
7. TOT
8. 8V

Nice try, though.

o well.. my bad, but still I think it still goes well with the whole full circle theme ^_^

Well looks like someone corrected themselves. Rotate "8" 90 degrees and you get the infinity symbol..and FII was their 4th album...and 4 if half of 8, so what now! lol

*is ashamed to have nein life*

The beginning of Octavarium (the song) reminds me everytime of a  Kitaro song.

Not so much a nugget, but the ending to Octavarium is set up in such a way to be easily used for the beginning to a future studio release.

ORIGINAL: KERMITthePROG

Not so much a nugget, but the ending to Octavarium is set up in such a way to be easily used for the beginning to a future studio release.

  thats what I was thinking.     The little bass thing first, then the keyboardthing, then that piano chord (I think thats how it goes. I haven't heard the song enough to remember how the ending is exactly yet).

I am Canadian

Is it just happy coincidence that JLB is f sharp, or is it because the rest of the band ragged on him for killing said note on the commentary for I&W Live in Tokyo, and 5YINL.  Sorry didnt read all of the thread so if this is repeated sorry.

ORIGINAL: KERMITthePROG

Not so much a nugget, but the ending to Octavarium is set up in such a way to be easily used for the beginning to a future studio release.

It is? Sounds to me like it's the same piano note as at the beginning of the album and therefore pretty much only sets itself up for, itself again.

Kevin Wale
Look ma... I'm playin guitar on the interent!
Bipolar Echo
enduvus

My mom listened to 8V this afternoon, she came up with a concept that worked for the tracks 1 to 5.

In track 1, someone tells abou his demons and is being helped by someone in track 2.

In the case of track 3, someone is trapped in a maze and and helped by someone who walks (I walk beside you) along him through the maze.

Here the theory breaks down. Someone is having paranoïa ,but isn't helped by any.

ORIGINAL: Panic Attack

My mom listened to 8V this afternoon, she came up with a concept that worked for the tracks 1 to 5.

In track 1, someone tells abou his demons and is being helped by someone in track 2.

In the case of track 3, someone is trapped in a maze and and helped by someone who walks (I walk beside you) along him through the maze.

Here the theory breaks down. Someone is having paranoïa ,but isn't helped by any.

  The spider is what comes to mind when I think of the album.  The Root of All Evil is someone letting their problems become a maze which they can't get out of. Then, like you said, somebody Walks Beside them and they try to break down These Walls, or something like that.  It doesn't work so they have a Panic Attack. They becaome disoriented and in Octavarium they get back to where they started at the centre of the maze.  Of course, I'm probably wrong.

I am Canadian

quote:

ORIGINAL: KERMITthePROG

Not so much a nugget, but the ending to Octavarium is set up in such a way to be easily used for the beginning to a future studio release.

It is? Sounds to me like it's the same piano note as at the beginning of the album and therefore pretty much only sets itself up for, itself again.

You're absolutely correct. I was thinking more along the lines of when ToT ended ITNOG and it had the single piano note. I was like how he heck are they gonna work with that one note on the next album.

OV did a good job tying it in, however I think that the ending/beginning/whatever is just easier to do...

yeah but like you said, it sets itself up again and again for itself....confusing shit!

ORIGINAL: mr.snruB

ORIGINAL: Panic Attack

My mom listened to 8V this afternoon, she came up with a concept that worked for the tracks 1 to 5.

In track 1, someone tells abou his demons and is being helped by someone in track 2.

In the case of track 3, someone is trapped in a maze and and helped by someone who walks (I walk beside you) along him through the maze.

Here the theory breaks down. Someone is having paranoïa ,but isn't helped by any.

  The spider is what comes to mind when I think of the album.  The Root of All Evil is someone letting their problems become a maze which they can't get out of. Then, like you said, somebody Walks Beside them and they try to break down These Walls, or something like that.  It doesn't work so they have a Panic Attack. They becaome disoriented and in Octavarium they get back to where they started at the centre of the maze.  Of course, I'm probably wrong.

 
 
A (nutty) friend of mine got in deep and made a bunch of connections of how he thinks that the spider reprisents Myung and about him keeping to himself, ex: myung is called 'spider fingers' :D, ex 2: the dtfaq.com voices disection thinking of myung as being the ' spider in a window', ex3: theres a pic of a spider seemingly hiding in the corner of the awake cover, ex4: octa-artwork of a spider in an 8 sided maze with 8 rooms and 8 doors, but cannot escape... also it kinda does look like myung on the cover :P
 
he wrote this long hard-to-read post about it on http://boards.ign.com/Progressive_Music_board/b8310/89296343/p1/ about half way down the page with his ideas of connections between these walls and voices (which i personally think has some flaws)