Hello all,

This is my first post here, so I figured it might as well contribute something (if even a little entertainment).

So, I'm pretty sure we're all aware of mentions of DMT and the like in some of Tool's songs, and of course the awesome psychedelic artwork on their album covers, even of the Fibonacci sequence in Lateralus.

What about other artists that are inspired by DMT, whether they come out and say it in an interview or not? It could just be your perception.

When I say inspired by DMT, I am really trying to convey that they are inspired by the universe, not just a "drug."

One of my favorite bands, Northlane, is definitely inspired by it (or at least the person who is or was writing their songs).

When I first started listening to Northlane, I figured it was just a cool Australian metalcore band with an awesome album cover for their second album "Singularity" (and first really, but just focusing on the second here).



Here's the cover for their first album, Discoveries (not really focusing on it, like I said).



Their apparel is pretty cool too, and I saw some interesting (maybe familiar) geometric patterns in some of it, but again, it's completely normal for bands (especially metalcore/genres like metalcore) to smack whatever is "cool" or occultish on their shirts (examples below).






Okay, so, we know they have cool t-shirts and artwork. But that's not anything about the music, right? I was driving around earlier today and listening to "Worldeater" when I had this weird realization and started reading all their lyrics.

Let's examine the tracklist of "Singularity" (2nd album):

1. Genesis
2. Scarab
3. Windbreaker
4. Worldeater
5. Quantum Flux
6. Dream Awake
7. The Calling
8. Masquerade
9. Singularity
10. Aspire

Kind of mysterious and occultish track names, but they are a metalcore band.

Looking at the lyrics that reached out to me the most in this regard, from the top:

1. Genesis: I can't even quote a portion of this song... It's the whole song that makes sense.

2. Scarab: Quoted from the first three stanzas.


3. Windbreaker: First stanza, ongoing until the half of the second. Honestly, all of these lyrics could be interpreted in this way, but again -- just relaying what stood out to me.


4. Worldeater: In bold because this song alludes strongly to DMT, even referencing "Dimethylated spirits" and mentions an "organ of intuition, suppressed and maimed" mentioning things that "watch us from above ... I hear the voices of an ancient race peering through the veil of time and space."


5. Quantum Flux: An interesting turn of lyrical tone.



6. Dream Awake: Again, just quoting what stood out to me in particular.


7. The Calling: I might be crazy, but this is just a constant theme.


8. Masquerade: You guys can look up the lyrics -- honestly, there's nothing here in particular that really screams "DMT inspired," but I could definitely draw lines if I needed to.

9. Singularity: My personal "WTF" moment. Thinking I'm crazy because I believe that all these lyrics allude to DMT, and then realizing after a quick Google search that what I thought was just an inspiring melody/speech is actually an excerpt from a Terrence Mckenna speech.


10. Aspire: This, following that Terrence Mckenna speech, is uncanny.


Okay, so, a wall of text and stringed together interpretations (which, on my part, is just finger pointing to certain words and not really any in-depth examination).

Well, I thought about it for a little bit, and I've come to the conclusion that this album catalogs ego death. Hey, I may be wrong...

But he starts out confused, unsure of what to say, unsure of what reality really is "How do I speak of what I see through my own eyes Without telling you that the truth you've known is a lie." (First experience)

He goes on to make conclusions about the pointlessness and suffering held through life and humanity... "Just a man who's lost in time ... The truth is we all suffer."

Then, there comes the idea of leaving his sense of humanity, or at least what humanity wants him to be: "I hear the wind howling my name ... Leaving behind me everything I thought that I should be"

Next, he understands a little more about what he has been witnessing. The lyrical tones are not as riddled with despair as they were in the first 3 songs, and there's more of a sense of urgency and understanding... "I've seen the world with the clearest of eyes ... They watch us from above ... Can you feel the chaos overtaking us"

Now, there's a complete turning point in the emotional tone of the song. At this point, he leans back and enters into a singularity. "Set me free! Feeling all the love, I swear that it's in the air Leaving me floating forever, into infinity ... Infinite bliss, infinite love"

He's dreaming awake now (in the song aptly titled, "Dream Awake". At this point, he's received the "phone call" of spiritual intuition and hangs up, hoping to dream awake. "Chaotic patterns unfold It's such an elegant mess ... Wake up from the nightmare And become the dream"

In the next song, he decides that he wants to spread his knowledge. "I am here to show you there is hope in a dying world (I can hear the calling) ... And if you don't believe me you won't even see that what you're living in is hell"

I'm not really sure what to interpret the next song individually as, maybe a realization of the fakeness of human ego throughout society...

But, finally, we reach the Terrence Mckenna speech...

...And then the final song, completely uplifting, where "he" decides to live his life beyond societal norms in order to live his "dream."

So, ego death through an album. Maybe I'm wrong. What artists do you believe are DMT-inspired? What are your thoughts on Northlane?

Beautiful! I just started listening to Singularity. Thank you for this!

Mmmm metal