Originally Posted by talon

The opening sound is that of an inhouse elevator. One reference is from the movie 'Skeleton Key', where Kate Hudson uses it to transport a paralysed patient downstairs. Considering we all know about Maynards mother being paralysed, it sounds as though Maynard sampled it while spending time with her. It gives the album a different feel, and i think alot of the tracks, especially the first 7, relate to his conflicts & resolutions with his mother.

The second point which i believe backs it up, is on the liner notes. There's the vertical title of Lateralus, with a series of horizontal lines leading to the track names. The top one starts at 'the Grudge', and the last one finishes in between 'Parabola' & 'Ticks & Leeches' - meaning, the final part of the 'story' is Parabola. This could lead to the idea that tracks 1 to 7 is the story of Maynard and his mothers. The remaining tracks are part of the album, but i feel their stand alone tracks, apart from D/R/T obviously.