The Final GONG At The End.....

[scar]

i listened to these songs at least a few dozen times before i got this idea. at the beginning of "wings," there are eleven "gong" sounds, or at least what seem to be representations of clock bells. there are eleven of them before the music kicks in, the next one being at the end of the song. i believe the song (wings for marie) is told in the time of her "eleventh hour." a euphemism for the final moments before death. he obviously talks of her, or to her, more in the present tense in part 1. then after the 12th "gong" at the end of "wings," she is now gone and the story in part 2 is told from what seems to be a eulogistic, or mournful point of view.
i believe that this "gong" represents her death.
did all of that make sense? if not, can someone that does understand what i'm trying to say, please explain it correctly?

[chrysanthemum81]

Sounds like a pretty good interpretation.

[davelisowski]

Sounds like a pretty good interpretation.

Agreed.

I'll have to give this a listen again to let you know what I think/hear, but what you've said works.

[WitlessLiar]

Yeah the intro to 10,000 days is kind of agressive (especially compared to WfM).

Really great find man.

[Alex in Chains]

I was trying to decide if that was the gong at the end or not. Can anyone verify this? But I like your theory. To me, that final gong is the casket closing. The first part is the funeral, and the second part is (mostly) her journey to the gates.

[Paradigm619]

That's the weirdest sounding gong I've ever heard, but whatever instrument it is.... you most definitely have a very solid argument. I always kind of saw that last hit as Judth's death, but never realized the whole connection to the beginning. Nice work.

[Wonko The Sane]

SCAR - Sharp, i like it.

[Nicolai]

I'm not completely sure but the intro gong sounds like a thai gong from a roland handsonic (patch A44 I believe).
If you turn up the volume you can also hear a strange scraping sound going from left to right in background during the gong intro, the count is 10 with the gong being sounded on 1.
The dramatic gong that ends part 1 sounds so familiar but I can't tell from where, it has something to do with the resonating sounds.

[davelisowski]

I'm not completely sure but the intro gong sounds like a thai gong from a roland handsonic (patch A44 I believe).
If you turn up the volume you can also hear a strange scraping sound going from left to right in background during the gong intro, the count is 10 with the gong being sounded on 1.
The dramatic gong that ends part 1 sounds so familiar but I can't tell from where, it has something to do with the resonating sounds.

Yes, the scraping sound is there. I like it now that you pointed it out. It's mechanic and machine-like... sorry to be repetetive.

Good find. I wonder what it means (if it means anything)....

[xPOGOx]

I haven't heard the scraping sound...however...

Typically when a gong is played, the percussionist will take the mallet and sort of rub it in circular motion around the gong to kind of warm the gong up a little. I believe that this is to reduce the crashing sound and make a very nice resonance (so it doesn't just sound like a huge ass cymbal).

That said, that MIGHT be what the scraping sound is...but I haven't heard the sound...so if it sounds like REALLY REALLY scrapey...that's probably not it.

[fugitive538]

Very nice find, congratulations! I think it is more than possible.

EDIT: i counted them, maybe im wrong, but there are only 9 gongs before the music starts, or if we count those that are whilst the guitars are playing, but before the vocals come in, then it is more than 11, its 13 or so.
It still might be the ticking of a clock, i like the idea of the timeline symbolism, but than the 12th gong theory is wrong...

Or an other idea: maybe 12 gongs represent the life of a human, but her life cannot be finished until Maynard makes peace with his memory. So the clock keeps ticking.
And when Maynard reaches the conclusion, that now it is time for him to let her go, then can the final gong be heard. No matter it has passed twelve now.
What about this?

[Matt8]

sounds good to me.

[scar]

Very nice find, congratulations! I think it is more than possible.

EDIT: i counted them, maybe im wrong, but there are only 9 gongs before the music starts, or if we count those that are whilst the guitars are playing, but before the vocals come in, then it is more than 11, its 13 or so.
It still might be the ticking of a clock, i like the idea of the timeline symbolism, but than the 12th gong theory is wrong...

Or an other idea: maybe 12 gongs represent the life of a human, but her life cannot be finished until Maynard makes peace with his memory. So the clock keeps ticking.
And when Maynard reaches the conclusion, that now it is time for him to let her go, then can the final gong be heard. No matter it has passed twelve now.
What about this?


I absolutely see what you are saying. i'm almost leaning toward you now instead of myself. however, my count now has it at ten "gongs" before the guitar really comes into rhythm, and one softer, fading "gong" by itself, until THAT sound becomes part of the music. i was definitely wrong about the eleven "gongs" before the music. i guess it's more like, eleven until it becomes PART of the music.

anyway, the other "theory" i have is that perhaps the final "gong" at the end is the eleventh and the next "gong" is thirty-six seconds into 10,000 Days. so maybe the time 11:36 has something to do with JMK's passing. dunno

i still think the euphamistic "11th Hour" is here somewhere.

[lessthanmurf]

i agree with the gong at the end being her death. i posted about that here;

http://toolnavy.com/showthread.php?t=45488

[deerollman]

i studied southeast asian music in my most recent semester of college. indonesia in particular relies very heavily on the gong. there is an entire genre called gong orchestra. the large gong, called the gongageng, is revered and considered to be the heart of the orchestra. it is almost a rule that at the end of any given piece of music the gongageng will be struck last, as happens in the song. and yes it is a gong in the song- most gongs dont sound like those seen on TV, which sound like crash cymbals. danny obviously has been studying south asia music for some years now- perhAPS HE IS EXPANDING IN TO southeast asian. makes sense to me. and maybe it does signal marie's death- i dont speculate on such things as im more likely to be wrong than right. i choose to analyze (sp?) the emotions that the music conjures, erather than assign a specific meaning to any one sound. but thats just me. what i want to know is, who the hell is marie? was she 28 at death, or did she suffer for 28 yearas prior to it? hmm...

[scar]

i studied southeast asian music in my most recent semester of college. indonesia in particular relies very heavily on the gong. there is an entire genre called gong orchestra. the large gong, called the gongageng, is revered and considered to be the heart of the orchestra. it is almost a rule that at the end of any given piece of music the gongageng will be struck last, as happens in the song. and yes it is a gong in the song- most gongs dont sound like those seen on TV, which sound like crash cymbals. danny obviously has been studying south asia music for some years now- perhAPS HE IS EXPANDING IN TO southeast asian. makes sense to me. and maybe it does signal marie's death- i dont speculate on such things as im more likely to be wrong than right. i choose to analyze (sp?) the emotions that the music conjures, erather than assign a specific meaning to any one sound. but thats just me. what i want to know is, who the hell is marie? was she 28 at death, or did she suffer for 28 yearas prior to it? hmm...


please listen to the song again and again and again, and read some posts on here about Judith Marie Keenan.

[earational]

The dramatic gong that ends part 1 sounds so familiar but I can't tell from where, it has something to do with the resonating sounds.

it is very very similar to the end of Merkaba from salival.

[deviever]

Very cool.

Here are some numbers that might be correlations between the gong numbers and the album artwork :

http://toolnavy.com/showthread.php?t=46109&page=3#86

devi-

[panocha21]

I don't know about you guys, but I counted 10,000 gongs in this song.

[Muladhara]

Am I just going mad or something? The gong sounds at the beginning sound nothing like the very last sound on the end of the song, the sound at the end sounds like a bass guitar being hit and bass drum, this sound then continues throughout 10,000 Days, like the gong did at the beginning of Wings for Marie.

[scar]

Am I just going mad or something? The gong sounds at the beginning sound nothing like the very last sound on the end of the song, the sound at the end sounds like a bass guitar being hit and bass drum, this sound then continues throughout 10,000 Days, like the gong did at the beginning of Wings for Marie.


i agree. the last sound (which you described perfectly) is completely different from the first eleven sounds (which end up blending into the music.)

i believe that this difference marks the significance of the symbolism for death, as opposed to the eleven that signify the moments leading to the passing.

EDIT: by the way, it's "their album" (possesive) not "there album"
"taken for granted" not "taken for granite"
"realize" not "realise"
"peace of mind" not "piece of mind"

IjustthoughtMuladharawouldlikethat

[third_eye77]

To me, the final "gong" sounds more like a door shutting. Like a metaphor for leaving or going from one room (this life) to another room (the after life). I never tied in the intro gongs, but that was my interpretation of the final "gong" sound as it seemed to tie the 2 songs together better. I like Alex In Chains idea also of the casket closing.

[DON IOTAE]

i listened to these songs at least a few dozen times before i got this idea. at the beginning of "wings," there are eleven "gong" sounds, or at least what seem to be representations of clock bells. there are eleven of them before the music kicks in, the next one being at the end of the song. i believe the song (wings for marie) is told in the time of her "eleventh hour." a euphemism for the final moments before death. he obviously talks of her, or to her, more in the present tense in part 1. then after the 12th "gong" at the end of "wings," she is now gone and the story in part 2 is told from what seems to be a eulogistic, or mournful point of view.
i believe that this "gong" represents her death.
did all of that make sense? if not, can someone that does understand what i'm trying to say, please explain it correctly?
Makes perfect sense. I don't think anyone can explain that better.

AE=Alt146

[lessthanmurf]

"realize" not "realise"


IjustthoughtMuladharawouldlikethat

where i'm from it is 'realise'.

not everyone is from the US.

[scar]

where i'm from it is 'realise'.

not everyone is from the US.


point taken.

[calumny]

to me, the final hit before tenthousanddays starts, sounds like a bass guitar, recorded without it's signal, but instead with a mic recording the sound of the string rumbling. then of course, the delay carries the part over until the basses signal returns, and commences part ii.

2¢

[third_eye77]

I didn't even think the intro gongs really sound like a gong...but Tool is pretty good at manipulating sounds.

[Muladhara]

I didn't even think the intro gongs really sound like a gong...but Tool is pretty good at manipulating sounds.

Yeah, they kinda sound like a glass bowl with water in being hit softly.

Maybe that's the sound Danny's new gong makes though when hit gently.

[Psychedelic]

My thoughts exactly...

I was trying to decide if that was the gong at the end or not. Can anyone verify this? But I like your theory. To me, that final gong is the casket closing. The first part is the funeral, and the second part is (mostly) her journey to the gates.

[scar]

oh, when i first posted this, i definitely didn't think it is an actual gong that makes that "gong" sound. the word "gong" was the closest description i could give. like "chiming in." a real chime does not have to be used, i was just using it to describe a sound.

i guess i should have originally posted, "there are eleven "bong" sounds." nobody would think i meant that they used an actual bong. although, more people on this site probably relate better to that description. i'm just trying to convey the type of sound, not the actual instrument being used.

[bradpeterson]

Yes, the scraping sound is there. I like it now that you pointed it out. It's mechanic and machine-like... sorry to be repetetive.

Good find. I wonder what it means (if it means anything)....


Sounds like one of those binaural beat generators that I have on my computer (a "swwwsh" sound alternating from right ear to left ear).

Some people have experimented with putting these in songs, as they are known to effect your mood (and etc).

This is what I thought it was when I first noticed the noise.

[Convoy_X]

My Supernatural being it’s packed with luminary…

[phishman1]

Yes, that is exactly what is sounds like. That last sound (I refuse to call it a 'gong', as it is clearly not a gong) definitely sounds like they recorded Justing slamming a note out on the bass guitar, as you can hear the strings rattle. It sounds like they just recorded it, amplified the hell out of it, EQ'd it, and then added a bunch of other effects. If you listen closely, you'll notice that the string rattle is repeated 4 or 5 times (delay), them fades out. I agree with the others that it's supposed to represent the closing of a coffin or a door.

....and, of course, I could be completely wrong. Who knows. Whatever it is, it's cool.


to me, the final hit before tenthousanddays starts, sounds like a bass guitar, recorded without it's signal, but instead with a mic recording the sound of the string rumbling. then of course, the delay carries the part over until the basses signal returns, and commences part ii.

2¢

[PriceisRight]

i listened to these songs at least a few dozen times before i got this idea. at the beginning of "wings," there are eleven "gong" sounds, or at least what seem to be representations of clock bells. there are eleven of them before the music kicks in, the next one being at the end of the song. i believe the song (wings for marie) is told in the time of her "eleventh hour." a euphemism for the final moments before death. he obviously talks of her, or to her, more in the present tense in part 1. then after the 12th "gong" at the end of "wings," she is now gone and the story in part 2 is told from what seems to be a eulogistic, or mournful point of view.
i believe that this "gong" represents her death.
did all of that make sense? if not, can someone that does understand what i'm trying to say, please explain it correctly?

the number 11 is found throughout the entire album!

I think this whole album is in someway linked to his moms death.

[yendor]

Very well said; great post scar.

[wags]

That sound immediately following the gong at the end, the 'scratchy' sound, to me sounds like the brushes that jazz drummers use. Danny ever been seen using one?

[ALIvingGrudge]

I'm not completely sure but the intro gong sounds like a thai gong from a roland handsonic (patch A44 I believe).
If you turn up the volume you can also hear a strange scraping sound going from left to right in background during the gong intro, the count is 10 with the gong being sounded on 1.
The dramatic gong that ends part 1 sounds so familiar but I can't tell from where, it has something to do with the resonating sounds.
i think the last gong is the noise in the old toolband.com intro. You know when you would put the mouse pointer on toolband to go into the official site? That doesn't make sense but oh well

[Get_Ya_Wicked_On]

It makes complete sense.

It sounds exactly like the "motor" sound that was on the intro.

[smeefsmeef]

There are eleven of those sweeping "wing" sounds between each "gong" sound at the beginning of the song...

[bluegreenjackiechan]

Good hustle kid
I noticed it, granted it took alot of wattage to hear all 11 but its there

[Chronicle0]

Actually if it is 11 gong sounds, i just think that's just a reminder of Maynard's age when his mother was diagnosed.

[duncang]

You stole my idea.











Nah, s'all good, so long as its out there.

[ahuimanu]

I was trying to decide if that was the gong at the end or not. Can anyone verify this? But I like your theory. To me, that final gong is the casket closing. The first part is the funeral, and the second part is (mostly) her journey to the gates.


It's a bass drum hit (compressed and effected) with vibrating bass strings...

I really like it.