Complex as it was, the music, as always, came first. Only after Danny and Adam and Justin had worked out melodies and motifs did Maynard put pen to paper. He drew upon all he’d studied: Jung’s shadow-self archetype, Melchizedek’s genetic theories, Joseph Campbell’s battle of opposites and the redemption their union would bring, the angle of a jiu-jitsu stance. He counterbalanced lyrics of healing with acid rock dissonance, juxtaposed images of destruction with poetic Eastern rhythms.
