I have stumbled upon a masterpiece, The Caretakers everywhere at the end of time before I can get into this album you have to understand it’s premise this six and half hour masterpiece. Is all about dementia. What is dementia? Dementia is the loss of cognitive function, it is when healthy neurons soon fade and wither away this happens with old age but people with dementia tend to lose more of these neurons. You can develop dementia in the middle of your life but it is far more common for older people. When people develop dementia they tend to cling to their favorite song it is usually one of the last memories to go. The interesting thing about the caretakers everywhere at the end of time is it shows you the six stages you go through while losing your memory. 

Stage one, there is no sign of dementia, no cognitive problems, and no memory loss. What I love about stage one (the first album) of the caretakers everywhere at the end of time is there is no loss of memory of the song it seems to be an early 1930’s ballroom dance type of song. It sounds like it is being played on a vinyl record. The artwork for all six stages fascinates me. The artist behind the album art is Ivan Seal. The first album cover might be a rolled-up newspaper or something to that effect you know it is a rolled-up paper of some sort. It is obvious what it is made out of. Until you get to the second stage.

Stage two, Very mild decline you start to lose track of small things it gets harder to make things out you know what the object is but you lose sight of what things are made of, as you see on the second album cover it is obviously a flower pot but you can’t tell what it is made of. The music starts to skip in places and overall it gets more of a mellow sound it is not as abrupt as before. 

Stage three, moderate decline you are starting to lose touch things do not feel the same anymore and a small set of confusion sets in. The artwork is maybe a tree or algae. You can make out familiar shapes but the idea is fuzzy. The music complements the image very well we start to skip for and the music almost sounds like it is coming down a long dark hallway this is the last time we feel any sort of joy from the music.

Stage four, Moderately decline,   You no longer can remember things that are moderately important to you. The artwork looks to be a person, maybe a friend they can’t quite remember, or what really scares me is what if it is a self-portrait. The music is faint and very choppy. It keeps coming in and out. The music barely sounds like music, it is more of just noise. 

Stage five, moderately severe decline, you start having problems dressing yourself, You can still remember others decently but you start to lose a sense of yourself. The fifth album cover is completely abstract, there is no making out what it is, maybe there are steps? That is all I could maybe make out. But this is when the “music” gets eerie it is pretty much just white noise with quick notes here and there and it almost sounds like there are words but you can not make them out. 

Stage six, Sever decline, You no longer know your surroundings, You can no longer recognize close friends or family, you have a drastic change of personality. The thing that scares me the most about stage six you do not know who you are. You can not remember personal details about yourself. The album art in my opinion really captures the thing. It is a piece of wood with tape on it but what do you use it for? What is the purpose of it? Why is this important to me? All these questions plus more when you look at this art. The music is n longer there; it is just white noise leaving you in your own mind with your thoughts. You feel confused and dare I say empty. Just like that nothing 

More in-depth, I would like to point out his descriptions of the stages and the song titles before I can go in-depth and give you more of my opinions on this album! I will be copying and pasting his descriptions because I believe I will not do the descriptions justice.

STAGE 1 : 00:00:00

Here we experience the first signs of memory loss. This stage is most like a beautiful daydream. The glory of old age and recollection. The last of the great days. A1 - It's just a burning memory, A2 - We don't have many days, A3 - Late afternoon drifting, A4 - Childishly fresh eyes, A5 - Slightly bewildered, A6 - Things that are beautiful and transient, B1 - All that follows is true, B2 - An autumnal equinox, B3 - Quiet internal rebellions, B4 - The loves of my entire life, B5 - Into each other's eyes, B6 - My heart will stop in joy

STAGE 2 : 00:41:22

The second stage is the self-realization and awareness that something is wrong with a refusal to accept that. More effort is made to remember so memories can be more long-form with a little more deterioration in quality. The overall personal mood is generally lower than the first stage and at a point before confusion starts setting in. C1 - A losing battle is raging, C2 - Misplaced in time, C3 - What does it matter how my heart breaks, C4 - Glimpses of hope in trying times, C5 - Surrendering to despair, D1 - I still feel as though I am me, D2 - Quiet dusk coming early

D3 - Last moments of pure recall, D4 - Denial unraveling, D5 - The way ahead feels lonely

STAGE 3 : 01:23:17

Here we are presented with some of the last coherent memories before confusion fully rolls in and the grey mists form and fade away. The finest moments have been remembered, the musical flow in places is more confused and tangled. As we progress some singular memories become more disturbed, isolated, broken, and distant. These are the last embers of awareness before we enter the post awareness stages. E1 - Back there Benjamin, E2 - And heartbreaks, E3 - Hidden sea buried deep, E4 - Libet's all joyful camaraderie, E5 - To the minimal great hidden, E6 - Sublime beyond loss, E7 - Bewildered in other eyes, E8 - Long term dusk glimpses

, F1 - Gradations of arm's length, F2 - Drifting time misplaced, F3 - Internal bewildered World, F4 - Burning despair does ache F5 - Aching cavern without lucidity, F6 - An empty bliss beyond this World, F7 - Libet delay, F8 - Mournful cameraderie

STAGE 4 : 02:08:53

Post-Awareness Stage 4 is where serenity and the ability to recall singular memories give way to confusion and horror. It's the beginning of an eventual process where all memories begin to become more fluid through entanglements, repetition, and rupture. G1 - Stage 4 Post Awareness Confusions, H1 - Stage 4 Post Awareness Confusions, I1 - Stage 4 Temporary Bliss State, J1 - Stage 4 Post Awareness Confusions

STAGE 5 : 03:36:12

Post-Awareness Stage 5 confusion and horror. More extreme entanglements, repetition, and rupture can give way to calmer moments. The unfamiliar may sound and feel familiar. 

Time is often spent only in the moment leading to isolation. K1 - Stage 5 Advanced plaque entanglements, L1 - Stage 5 Advanced plaque entanglements, M1 - Stage 5 Synapse retrogenesis, N1 - Stage 5 Sudden time regression into isolation

STAGE 6 : 05:04:32

Post-Awareness Stage 6 is without description. O1 - Stage 6 A confusion so thick you forget forgetting, Q1 - Stage 6 Long decline is over, R1 - Stage 6 Place in the World fades away

Song titles, I truly love the song titles he chose, It truly adds to the rollercoaster of emotions we are feeling throughout this album. There are too many song titles to go through them all  but I will talk about some of my favorites. I will be choosing one from each stage, Al It is just a burning memory. Starting off my list is the very first song title. I love his word choice at the start of the album. I feel that the word burning really sets in this feeling of nostalgia and that the memories are not drifting away yet. It is still burned into the character's memory. My favorite song title from stage two is C4 - Glimpses of hope in trying times. This one speaks to me they are feeling the complete madness of losing everything you once knew. They are holding out hope that things will get better even in these trying times. Stage three is when the madness is starting to set in and you can tell in the artist chose of song titles this one was tough to choose just one but, F6 - An empty bliss beyond this World I love this song title This character is waiting for peace in the beyond because life on earth is getting too painful. Stage four is the last of their coherent thoughts and you can tell the pain of living has set in. G1 - Stage 4 Post Awareness Confusions and J1 have the title in my opinion this shows you just how lost our character is in this time they are now struggling to remember simple things like if they have done one thing already or not. They are lost in their own thought not only is the confusion visible but now they have stepped into madness. That is why I believe the first and last titles are the same. Stage 5 Is no longer coherent you just get bits and pieces of what you once knew to be your life. Perfectly describing this is the song title Stage 5 Sudden time regression into isolation. You are officially left with your own thoughts nothing more nothing less. Last but not least stage six the feeling of despair and finally nothingness you are completely mad. You can not recognize things you once loved and there is no way to cure you. This is your new normal which is shown wonderfully in the song title. Stage 6 Place in the World fades away, to me this final song title is officially this person finding peace in the sweet release of death. 

Final thoughts on the caretakers everywhere at the end of time. This is truly a hidden gem, it takes you through a journey of lost time and forgetfulness and just overall madness. I believe Jim Kiby did an amazing job portraying dementia through music. He did this all digitally which is jaw-dropping. And to pair it with Ivan Seals' amazing artwork was the cherry on top.