David Tibet mentions the word "hypnagogic" in a couple of his works. It refers to hallucinations upon waking from sleep but before the mind is fully clear or the body is ready. The best examples are "waking dreams" or fantasies of alien abduction. Many of the images here have an intense hypnapompic/hypnagogic slant, not unlike parts of Imperium and Christ and the Pale Queens..., which makes sense as the two albums are less than three years apart. At the time when the former two were being made, Tibet had just recovered from a near-fatal nervous condition, allowing to produce some of his darkest, most bizarre lyrics. "The Blue Gates of Death" appears to be someone's dying thoughts, thinking back on others who'd died going through various stages of regret, seeking the help of whatever god (the "I believe that Christ..." part; interesting considering Tibet's opinion of religion at the time), and reminiscing about love before falling into unconsciousness...
David Tibet mentions the word "hypnagogic" in a couple of his works. It refers to hallucinations upon waking from sleep but before the mind is fully clear or the body is ready. The best examples are "waking dreams" or fantasies of alien abduction. Many of the images here have an intense hypnapompic/hypnagogic slant, not unlike parts of Imperium and Christ and the Pale Queens..., which makes sense as the two albums are less than three years apart. At the time when the former two were being made, Tibet had just recovered from a near-fatal nervous condition, allowing to produce some of his darkest, most bizarre lyrics. "The Blue Gates of Death" appears to be someone's dying thoughts, thinking back on others who'd died going through various stages of regret, seeking the help of whatever god (the "I believe that Christ..." part; interesting considering Tibet's opinion of religion at the time), and reminiscing about love before falling into unconsciousness...