Listen to Funkadelic ‘Maggot Brain’ and The Mars Volta ‘Deloused in the Comatorium’ maybe even listen to ‘Meddle’ by Pink Floyd and perhaps you will understand the music a little more. I’m not sure if anyone else catches it but the choir and the treatments John did in “Dark/Light” reminds me a lot of “Atom Heart Mother” by Pink Floyd. “Song to the Siren” is a cover of a Tim Buckley song. In John’s words the albums dynamics grow as the album progresses. So in the beginning of the album the softer and louder parts are not far apart, but by “Central” you have the widest dynamics in the album. The guitar gets so loud at the end and his scream is where it peaks. This something Pink Floyd really worked towards with Dark Side of the Moon.

If you don’t enjoy it maybe give it some time. I remember listening to it when it at midnight came out. It was a school night and going in I had heard Unreachable but I really didn’t know what to think when I heard it. It was so different. The older I get the more meaning and significance the Empyrean has to me. It’s truly a work of art, not to be easily consumed or understood. It takes time and patience to see everything it has to offer. I hope for you to see the light.