Everywhere at the End of Time is a Concept Album produced by The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an alias for the musician Leyland Kirby. He released this six-part concept album as a depiction of Alzheimer’s disease. Each stage depicted is approximately an hour long and shows the terrors of the decaying mind. The first part begins with an upbeat jazzy melody and gradually morphs into the distorted and then nearly silent part 7. Leyland Kirby released Everywhere at the End of Time as 6 separate albums from 2016 through 2019. Although he released each album individually, many people attempt to listen to Everywhere at the End of Time in a single 6-hour and 30-minute sitting. Because of this, some parts of the internet claim that there’s something sinister behind the noises coming from your device. Each part symbolizes the dreadful progression of the disease.

     Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It starts very gradually with only small stories or short memory details being forgotten throughout the day. As time progresses the disease, more important long-term memories slip through the cracks. Alzheimer’s causes victims to feel confused and scared.  On rare occasions when they remember the things that were once forgotten they feel sad. It not only harms the victims but it also takes a toll on their loved ones.  When the person you shared all your best memories with and loved no longer remembers you, it is one of the worst things someone can experience. It is said that every 67 seconds a person develops Alzheimer’s disease, so an estimated 500,000 people a year. As of now, there are medications to help slow the disease but no definite cure has been discovered.  Alzheimer’s has 7 stages thus why Leyland Kirby made 6 albums for his concept album. Each album of Everywhere at the End of Time symbolizes each Alzheimer’s stage. But wait, if Alzheimer’s disease has 7 stages then how can a song with only 6 albums accurately depict each stage? Let me explain. 

     Stage 1 of Alzheimer’s is the undetectable stage. This stage starts internally by slowly killing the brain. It starts on the parts that we will not notice going out, like forgetting where you sat something or why you walked into a room. These memory failures only happen consistently enough that it is not very noticeable. That is why part one of Kirby’s album starts with a perfect jazzy melody. It appears as if nothing is wrong, but unfortunately, we have unknowingly begun dying. This beautiful song or memory will ultimately become something unrecognizable and impossible to recall. Stage 1 might be the saddest because many people take for granted the moments you share with someone. We only realize after the damage is done to appreciate and make efforts to remember our best moments. With our minds cluttered with jobs, school, or pursuing dreams, we tend to forget what makes us smile. Friends, family, pets, our favorite books or movies…all these things will be forgotten, soon. As album 1 continues when you listen closer you can hear the song missing or repeating beats, and sometimes hitting the wrong note completely. But you do not realize it because it is not anything crazy or out of the ordinary. 

     Stage two is described as the minor forgetful moments. This stage often goes unnoticed because everyone has their moments of forgetting stuff. These things include misplacing the remote or forgetting to put something away after using it. Since these sorts of things are normal and usually don’t result in the next symptoms of this disease people do not pay attention when they forget some things here and there. Everywhere at the End of Time depicts this by altering the song slightly meaning more notes are missing. The tempo slows at times or repeats a series of notes a couple of times. It still sounds like a song, because big memories have not started failing. It sounds cohesive because our cognition is still working. As we get to the end of part two the song starts to slow and has a hard time staying on track. There is a slight echo in the back, not enough to lose the melody but you notice it. This is the mind drifting into stage 3. 

     Album 3 depicts stage 3 of Alzheimer’s very well. In this stage, the victim of this disease will start losing more important memories like stories they have already told, or forgetting why they walked into a room. As this stage goes on they start forgetting that they even forgot something and start doing things over and over again. In this part of the song, the echoes increase and overlap the main melody. You can hear the song that you heard in the beginning but then there are frequent breaks in between and then the melody starts over. This happens throughout the song. Memories they experienced are forgotten but then remembered, without realizing they forgot that memory in the first place. This is the stage where everyone starts to notice the symptoms. The retelling of jokes or stories, forgetting names, having more difficulties in social settings, and forgetting things they recently read. The song starts to sound distant in the later points of this stage. The song does not sound like an entire song but just bits and pieces of the catchiest parts of one. This represents the victim trying to grab any memory they can. They are starting to realize how forgetful they are and might be trying to pull themselves out of it, but not much will work now. 

     Part 4 starts with fuzzy noises and record poppings. There are the occasional beeps of a horn and some other instruments that strum for a second or two, but there is never a solid melody—no more cohesive thoughts from now on. The victims rest of their lives will be suffocated with confusion, sadness, and fear. At this stage, it is more than forgetfulness but something more serious. They start forgetting the day, and their location, and might wear clothes that are best for different temperatures. Towards the end of this part, we hear more of the instruments but they become very faint and frail, as if the person understands that it is almost useless to even try to remember anymore. We hear memories attempting to come to the surface, but they are too tired and sad to bother trying to fully recall them. 

     Album 5 is not even remotely close to a song. It sounds as if someone is shifting through stations on a radio that is out of range of the radio tower. In this stage, the victim is likely having emotional changes. The parts of their brain that help them regulate emotions are failing. There are medications you can give them for this to help regulate moods but like I said before, there is not a cure, just things to help slow the disease. They start to have hallucinations or delusions. Their independence is gone and they need a caregiver with patience. They may forget their names and forget people they should know. The end of this part is almost just static. Songs start to come back but then are cut out. No more memories of fun and joy, just isolation. 

     Album 6 starts very quietly the brain is almost completely gone, Alzheimer’s has taken most of it over, and is working hard to take the rest. At this point, the victim is completely unaware of what they are doing. Because of this, they might react very aggressively at certain times or maybe just stare at a wall. They will need help with basic physical movements. At this point, their body is slowly shutting down. The song depicts this by no longer playing music, not even any attempt. Just air or static playing at different volumes. No one is here. In the description, one song from album 6 is named “A Brutal Bliss Beyond This Empty Defeat”. Bliss because they no longer feel the sorrow from realizing that they are losing their memories.  They no longer understand what has become of them and what is still in store. They have no idea that they are close to death.

     At the end of this 6-and-a-half-hour-long concept album, there is more silent static, and then all of a sudden with about 5 minutes left to go, a choir begins to sing. The choir sounds like angels. I believe that is what Kirby intended to be interpreted by listeners. This final peaceful moment we, as listeners experienced, is the death of the Alzheimer’s patient. I believe death is more soothing than a life of confusion, paranoia, fear, and a lack of control over oneself, a lack of control of the brain. This is how Everywhere at the End of Time symbolizes stage 7 of Alzheimer’s. Stage 7 is when the body slowly shuts down and finally dies. The album finishes with almost a full minute of complete silence. Death is upon us. 

      I listened to this full album shortly after I discovered this video on YouTube. The YouTube channel A Bucket of Jake has a well-made video with a lot of information on Everywhere at the End of Time. I had briefly heard about this album from another YouTube channel called Nexpo however, A Bucket of Jake sold me on it. His video does give us a lot of useful information. So after I learned all about it, I made sure I scheduled a full day to dedicate myself to this album. In parts 1 and 2 I did not feel anything out of the ordinary. It was not until about part 3 that I started to feel uneasy. The music was eerie and sad, and that was when I realized we had progressed into what would have been stage 3 of this disease. And just like a victim, I did not realize it until too late. The eeriness continued into stage 4 when I felt like I needed to lie down. I went into my living room and almost decided I had had enough and turned it off.  I fought that urge and almost fell asleep until I was frightened when part 5 abruptly started. Up until this point each section had almost seamlessly connected but with part 5 it was as if I hit a wall. With all the noises and echoes I felt extremely stressed out but we were not done yet. I wanted it to stop, I felt paranoid like something would come through the TV. All I could do was sit on the couch and wait for the end. As the silence started to come about I felt a little more at ease, until the white noise became deafening after consistent playing. I almost wanted to go back to stage 4.  I just wanted to hear something remotely close to a song, but all I got was static. As it got quieter and quieter, I finally heard some music and I could not help but smile. Then I heard singing. This part was a sunrise to me. When I realised it was not an advertisement or my imagination I sat up and stared at the TV. The relief, the l happiness I had experienced a couple of hours ago had finally come back. And then I realized, this is death. That memory from the beginning never came back, but instead, I am moving on from this world. And then silence. The sadness and exhaustion my body felt was odd since I had not done anything except listen. I then cried because that 6 and a half hour-long song was hell on my mind, but it is 10 times worse for actual Alzheimer’s victims. Thinking about this album now makes me feel sorrow and empathy for the people who are unfortunately actually experiencing this disease. 

     Everywhere at the End of Time might not resonate the same for everyone because it is art. It is not something to be consumed and used for parties. It is for people who understand art and understand that art is uncomfortable. The purpose of this song was not for everyone to love it, but instead to feel confused and sad. I believe for those reasons it is beautiful. If you find yourself trying to listen to this album, please make sure you are actually in the right headspace to do so. The material can be disturbing or extremely depressing and may not be what you need if you are already going through a difficult time. Many people in the comments share their stories or give encouraging words for future listeners. If you think you want to try and make the commitment to assent into Everywhere at the End of Time but feel intimidated, remember there are no rules. Listen to it a little at a time, or on a day you feel better. If you get halfway and it is already too much, turn it off. Scim through the parts. You do not have to listen to or consume art the same way as everyone else.

     Leyland Kirby created a masterpiece that I want to help gain attention to. After the release of Everywhere at the End of Time there have been many fan-made projects. There is a large group that dedicated their time to finding each sample used throughout the entire album. There have been multiple other experimental artworks inspired by Leyland Kirby’s art, all equally as cool as the next. The one I want to make time to listen to next is called Nowhere at the Millennium of Space. This project was led by Jordan Keuring, the goal was to make the same thing but change the samples to a more modern type of music. Therefore it makes it a more realistic depiction of what someone with Alzheimer’s is going through in the modern day. This work by Leyland Kirby has touched so many people already. I recommend giving it a listen and also watching the YouTube video The Darkest Album I Have Ever Heard – Everywhere at The End of Time – A Bucket of Jake as I think it does a great job of breaking it down. And finally, if you want to listen to Everywhere at the End of Time, you can find it on YouTube.