I think because it makes faip de oaid more startling. If you listen to it after all the silence, it creeps up on you.
when i first heard track 13... i was listening to the CD in a very dark room... when Triad ended i figured it was the end of the CD, so i got up after a bit after pondering how amazing the CD was, and right before I turned out the light or pressed eject on my CD it came on.
Freaked out isnt even a way to describe what came over me as I heard faaip for the first time... at first i thought that aliens were controling my stereo, but came to the realization that maybe they werent... anyways the silence got me and changed me....
I feel like it is a perfect fit for the ending of such a massive album. I like it best when I am listening to the entire album in one sitting. It just wouldn't feel right for it to switch directly from Triad to Faaip. Like others have said, it creeps up on you because you sort of get carried away by the silence, which I believe is the perfect way to calm your mind down after being blown away. The silence is cut short on the vinyl version, which is okay since they barely were able to fit the album on two discs. (So I've heard)
It works in a way for me. It is an avangarde gesture, or whatever you call it and it leaves space for different interpretations. Somehow, i feel two minutes of silence was the best way to conclude one of the most brilliant masterpieces in history of music (imo), like just shut the fuck up and stay astounded in your bemused bewilderment:) It was like: Disposition, Reflection, Triad and now shut the... cause theres no words to be said and no music to be played;)
Also, that thing with unexpected beginning of the 13th track happened to me too. I listened to Triad very loud and completely forgot about where i was. And then it suddenly started to buzz and it really scared me. The same thing happened when i was listening to Bottom for the first time and Henry's spoken word part began.
I agree with that point about vocals. I didnt even notice them on first listen (well, what do you notice at all when it comes to first listens of Tool's music), but later on i was thrilled by that scream.
Think of Lateralus in terms of dramatic structure, with The Grudge representing the exposition, and Triad as the climax. You need a bridge to connect the climax to the Voice of God, our resolution. Recall every dramatic, powerful film you've ever watched. Between the highest point in that film and the very end is always a segment of time in which the audience gathers their thoughts and breathes a sigh of relief. The main characters will speak softly, and only when necessary, as the ideas which need to be expressed are already implied. That silence between the climax and the resolution speaks louder than any portion of the film, although nothing may be said. I believe the couple minutes silence between the end of Triad and the beginning of the right to hear the Voice of God is at the very least appropriate and necessary.
The whole album builds and builds on itself until you reach the masterpiece that is "Triad"... It has a very driving sound that makes you feel better about life in general... Then it ends and it has a pause to let your ears reset, if you will. Then, not to let you get a big head or anything, Tool quickly knock you down with Faaip...
Or it wakes you up and scares the shit out of you.
More than one occasion, in several states of consciousness. It can take you by much surprise even when you know it's there. Gods help you if you fall asleep listening to Reflection with headphones on... quite the jerker, that one (Faaip) is.
Also, I think the silence at the end is
A) partly to give Faaip De Oiad time to sneak in
B) to stretch the time of the CD out to the full length. You know how Tool fans love getting that full CD of music... even if five minutes of it is dead silence.
If you look at Lateralus in terms of dramatic structure, I think Triad would be the resolution. Faaip is just "there".
i agree a bit.
i think it would've made more sense to have faaip as the secret track you often find (ala disgustipated) which normally occurs at the end of a CD, after a few minutes of silence, so it does that sneaking up on you/people forget its there thing. in this case, for some reason tool decided to make it a separate track, with the only thing to base our idea of its significance is the title, something like 'voice of god'.
i don't know much about the meaning of the album as a whole, i'm more musical than lyrical, but strictly based on those 3 words the title alludes to something God is saying (duh, sorry, just getting my thought together) so it could be like a judgement, or a passing between worlds, transendence i think is a big theme on the album?
in relation to the film analogy from before, faaip doesn't really make sense. where triad builds a whole heap of intensity then calms down for the silence, faaip comes out of nowhere (possibly left field) to surprise everyone and be at least equally powerful as triad. so it can't be the climax at the end of the film (we've already had that) and its definetly notthe wind down part (that's the silence) and i doubt it could be like credits, so the most logical idea is that it is the bonus scene at the very end after the credits, like part of an outtake or joke scene. like we've seen in the past from tool, they certainly have a much quirkier sort of side.
i don't know if i'm even getting anywhere here. i can't remember.
anyway, this track (faaip) scares the shit out of me. once i was listening to the album, i wasn't too familiar with it, and as it happened is was sorta dozing by the end of triad, as a storm formed outside (i was in a tropical sorta place), and at the end of me being jarred awake by faaip there was a GIANT lightning stike very closeby, and a really really loud thunder thing. it was pretty well timed, non?
It's because Tool's label/whoever else said they could only be promised 79 minutes (I believe its 79?), so they added the silence at the end to stretch out the time, the length of the record is 2 seconds shorter than they were allowed. As Danny has said in many interviews, "we gave them 2 seconds of breathing space".
__________________ Feel The Rhythm | Feel Connection | Feel Inspired
Fathom The Power | Witness The Beauty | Bathe In The Fountain
Swing On The Spiral
Be A Human
oh nice. doesn't explain the placement of the silence, maybe just to be rare? it certainly upsets the 'flow' of the record, which leads me to believe faaip isn't a major part of it, like a bonus.
I noticed on the album sleeve that there's a box that says "machines.static" and it's got a little connection to the line between the tracks 'triad' and 'faaip de oiaad'. Could that mean something?
I always thought of faaip as a bonus track like 'the gaping lotus experience' is on opiate. It scares me regardless of whether I am asleep or awake when it starts. For that reason I like the two minute silence because it gives me ample time to remember its there so I can turn off the CD player before it comes on!