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myraelvira · 1 year

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A Conversation with Sammy Duet

On December 21st, 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sammy Duet on Zoom. Sammy has been in a plethora of bands, such as Crowbar, Ritual Killer, Goatwhore, and of course, Acid Bath. Acid Bath was the main reason I had hoped to chat with him, as earlier that year I made a 2 hour video about the band, and managed to write somewhere around 89 pages on their history. And yet, after it all, I still had questions left unanswered even after listening to the hours of his archived live streams, and the various newspaper clippings that I came across online. I watched what I am pretty sure was every Goatwhore/Sammy Duet interview at the time. And while there were some really good interviews out there, none were able to answer those final Acid Bath questions I had.

For some reason, I sent him a message on Instagram asking if he’d be interested in ‘totally not an interview because I’m not a journalist 🤮’ at 2 am one night. Surprisingly, a few hours later, he said yes. After a while, it finally happened.

December 21st was that special day, and when I messaged him asking we were still on, he replied telling me “Yes!”. Once I read that, I went into panic mode. It was happening. It was really happening. I was so incredibly nervous, I could not stop trembling. I had to take extra anxiety pills to calm the fuck down. They barely worked. My stupid ass was a few minutes late trying to finish my makeup and he was already in the Zoom room, waiting for me. I could have just shit myself right there. But I hadn’t even eaten yet that day. [Also, it’s not like I wasn’t totally crushing on him or anything.]

I quickly set up my camera and tried to point it at me. I couldn’t really tell if it was a good angle or not. I didn’t have my glasses on, because I wanted him to think I was cute.

We talked for about 10 minutes before I realized that I wasn’t recording anything. Things didn’t go as planned, and the audio got jacked up. But it was a fun experience either way. Below is a majority of the conversation, transcribed by myself. The conversation as a whole went longer than I think either of us planned. My recorded audio is about 1 hour and 38 minutes long. I hope that if you read this, you get to learn something new today. (●'◡'●)

The actual beginning of the recording starts off with Sammy talking about some of the religious experiences he had as a child. This is only partial audio, but we briefly discussed the oddity of Pentecostal women having to be fully clothed, and how, at least where he lived growing up, that there were people of this denomination that would snake handle. The act of handling snakes, knowing that they’re dangerous, but having the faith in God that things would be okay. As Sammy said,

“This snake isn’t going to bite me and kill me, because God loves me so much. And I guess that’s why my religious beliefs are so [different] you know? It's that kind of thing, it’s completely polar opposite.”

Me: You know, it’s funny you say that, where I live, now in just in the middle of nowhere in rural Texas, you have the Mexican Catholics, and the cultish looking Pentecostals. Like for example, if I go to the grocery store, I’ll see the women-I don’t know how it is over there-

Sammy: They’ve got a lot of clothes!

Me: Yeah, it’s the long, long, skirts

Sammy: Long skirts, long sleeved shirts, and their hair is made up, I feel very sorry for those women. But anyway!

[We talked a little bit more about religion, but unfortunately I can’t make out the audio fully. I had mentioned how even to this day, I’m trying to undo behaviors that are deeply rooted in religion, I didn’t even realize it. Sammy seemed to understand, and ended his commentary with, “Don’t even get me started on that”. ]

Me: There is some things that I found pretty interesting while I was doing my research for the Acid Bath shit, and some coincidences that made me think, “Oh that’s so freakin’ weird!”. When I had read online, I had found the newspaper article online, saying that you guys were really big in South Dakota…for some god awful reason.

Sammy: Uh, what happened with that was, nobody cared. [We] were playing maximum for [small groups of people]. So basically, when we were together, playing and touring, there wasn’t a whole lot of…attention! So like, when we would go on tour, we’d play 4 shows, max as Acid Bath, and nobody cared.

Something happened in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where there was the guy that ran this radio show out there, and everybody from the college would hear, and he would constantly play Acid Bath. And for some reason…I guess it caught on in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The first time we played there, it was like-insane. When we’d tour the United States, like I said, we would have played like to 5 people a night. I mean, that’s a massive jump to play one show, and then one where there’s a crowd there.

It surprised us! Ya know? So that’s why that place was such a special place for Acid Bath, because the first time we played there, it was insane! So that’s why Sioux Falls, South Dakota [was significant for us]. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, imagine that. I did not see that coming.

Me: No, I couldn’t either. I was really surprised…I mean, I can tell you why you guys were so popular there, it’s because nothing else ever comes up there; and I say that because I lived up in South Dakota for about 6 years, but I lived on the western side of the state from Box Elder, Rapid City, to Spearfish. Granted, those sides of the states are so different of course, but still similar at the same time. I mean, South Dakota is not the type of place that people go to play shows at. It was like 2008 or 2009 on Type O Negative’s last tour that they decided to come to Rapid City, and I was shocked.

- -

Me: I noticed that there were a lot of videos from around the 2015 time period, where people would say, “Hey Sammy, you haven’t seen Goblin yet?”. I mean now, have you?

Sammy: The band Goblin?

Me: Yes.

Sammy: No, I haven’t seen them yet. I always wanted to. Sucks. And recently they played at a place in New Orleans, earlier last March. [I can’t make out the audio, but he talked about the place that they played at, a chill place where people like to hang out. “But once again, I didn’t see them”, as he was touring.]

Me: There was this video from 2013 where Goatwhore played at Housecore Horror in Austin, Texas, in 2013. Then 2 years later, Housecore Horror was in San Antonio, and I went to that one and I’ll never forget, that they had Goblin there, playing the soundtrack to ‘Dawn of The Dead’ as the movie played. [The 1978 version that is] And I was like, “Oh my god! If only Goatwhore played at the 2015 Housecore Horror!”. Was this the same time period where King Diamond said that you guys were too heavy for him?

Sammy: No, that was around the Abigail tour. I think it was around the anniversary tour? One of those. But uh, yeah, it was the Abigail anniversary tour or whatever. [He was still thinking about it, but couldn’t seem to place it exactly]

Me: I just thought that was interesting, like man, if you guys came to the 2015 one, you guys could have watched it. You could have been there. (┬┬﹏┬┬)

Well, I’ve got to ask, with “Angels Hung From The Arches of Heaven”, is it supposed to be the Ten of Swords [tarot card]?

Sammy: Yes. It is the Ten of Swords. It’s supposed to represent something very bad happening.

[I had asked him if it was meant to be reversed, though he didn’t tell me yes or no. I honestly don’t think it was supposed to be, based off what he told me.]

Me: Yes, yes…believe me. I was really curious about the back, at least, the back of vinyl, I bought mine through Bandcamp so I don’t know if you guys have it totally different in other ones, but the back kind of reminds me of the Page of Swords. Is that intentional? Or is it just a skeleton dude?

Sammy: I don’t-I wanna say for sure. Like, our singer Ben Falgoust and the artist, Jordan Barlow are on the same wavelength when they came up with ideas. It might be.

Me: Yeah, I wasn’t sure, because the sword was pointing down. I’m sure you already know, but the regular card has the sword pointing up. Why the Ten of Swords though?

Sammy: I mean, like I said, usually when you see the Ten of Swords in the cards it is not something good. I usually like to leave the interpretation [out in the open].

Me: Does it have anything to do with “Weight of a Soulless Heart” or Perdition [And I Was Delivered From The Wound of Perdition]?

Sammy: There’s no real connection to any song, it’s kind of…it’s not connected to any song.

Me: Mhm…even “Invocation 3”?

Sammy: Yes…yes.

Me: When are we gonna get “Invocation 4”?

Sammy: Probably on the next record. We might skip 4 and go with 7.

Me: Why?

Sammy: Why not?

Me: Well then it’s gonna be like Microsoft going from Windows 8 to 10!

Sammy: Exactly! Or you never know, it could be like “Invocation 3.1”.

Me: Enough about technology! Anyway, the reason I even bring up the Ten of Swords, is because some of the interviews I watched, some people called it the 9 of swords. And I was like, “Do I need a new pair of glasses?” because I kept counting 10.

But it was really interesting to me, because I saw the artwork and thought, “That’s some spooky shit” because early this year, in January [2022], I had a tarot reading and I was lucky enough to get the Ten of Swords reversed! Could you believe that? And a couple of other things, like the Page of Swords, The Devil, so obviously I had a really great year.

But, I saw that and I was like, “Man I don’t know why it’s exactly connected together” but, for whatever reason, ‘Angels Hung From The Arches of Heaven’ came at a point in my life where things were not exactly great.

- -

Me: So here’s the Acid Bath stuff. Honestly, who came up with the name?

Sammy: It was our drummer [Jimmy Kyle]. This was back when the band was still called Golgatha. There were all these changes happening, so we decided to change the name and couldn’t really think of a really good name because all the really cool names were taken at the time. And, during that point and time, the five of us were taking a lot LSD. Like. A lot. And, somebody, I believe it was Jimmy, brought up the name because we were so fond of this LSD we were taking, that we were like “Why don’t we change the name to Acid Bath?”. Let’s roll with that, and if anything better comes up, a better idea, we could change to that. But it just kind of stuck. That’s basically where the name came from.

Me: So was the connection to the Acid Bath Killer unintentional?

Sammy: Yes. We were not aware of that at the time.

Me: I had wondered about that, and I know that people have asked you about that before. I kind of like the idea of being so…so fucking high that you’re stuck in an “acid bath”.

Sammy: Yeah…it kind of happens you know.

Me: I had read about the Angel’s Trumpet, and I had seen the one video that Josh had posted, of you talking about your experience with it. And I was like, “Fuck that!” [Laughs] I could never do that!

Sammy: Yeah that was no fun. It wouldn’t stop, it lasted for days. That was uh, the first and last time I took Angel’s Trumpets.

Me: Yeah, it sounds kind of like the Methamphetamine version of hallucinogens. I’ve heard of people being high for days on meth.

Sammy: Yeah…it’s not really what I’m into.

Me: What, Angel Trumpets or Meth?

Sammy: Either!

Me: I’m personally not really big into drugs. The most I’ve ever done was just get really fucking high on weed. But, I have issues. I’m the type of person now that, I guess I just smoked so much that I instantly have a panic attack. It happened to me earlier this fuckin’ year.

Sammy: You’re not the only one that feels that way, trust me.

- -

Me: I wanted to apologize for my actions on Instagram. I know that it wasn’t professional.

Sammy: You have nothing to apologize for. The thing you have to realize, is that I like to fuck with people. So if I give you a smart ass answer….

- -

Me: You know, I was really curious if you or any of the other guys were into true crime, and stuff like that?

Sammy: I know Dax was heavily into it, he was really into that stuff. But you know, I dabble.

Me: Wow that actually answers a lot for me. I notice that with “Kite String”, it was released right before the 25th anniversary of Tate-LaBianca.

Sammy: That was completely unintentional.

Me: I once had seen that somebody has asked you what you thought of Charles Manson’s music. Do you actually like it?

Sammy: I had one record, but it had some really good songs on it. In one recording, he stops, and he starts yelling at this person. A guy comes in and asks for a cigarette, and Charlie loses his mind.

Me: That sounds like how he was, from everything I read.

---

Me: I forgot to ask you, how are you doing today?

Sammy: Good. Just practicing. A lot. Getting ready for the tour. [This was a little over a month before they went on tour in Europe at the beginning of 2023].

Me: Are you nervous?

Sammy: Oh no.

Me: Did you by chance ever see the Acid Bath video I made?

Sammy: No, I haven’t yet.

Me: It’s alright, I mean, it’s 2 hours long. [When I said this he looked shocked]. I guess I did find quite a bit of information.

What ever happened to Kelly [Audie’s brother]?

Sammy: Kelly, the last I heard, was in the military. I know I was hanging out with him a lot for a long time, then he just kind of…disappeared.

Me: I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Metal Archives, but it had said that you and Kelly had been in a band together, what, like a 2-piece?

Sammy: It was a 3-piece band, it was like, a Doom band. Myself and Kelly, and the drummer. It never really went anywhere

Me: So it just lasted all in the same year that it started?

Sammy: Yeah. You know, we never really took it seriously.

Me: Let’s go back to having hopefully more of a good time. Or at least, I hope you’re having a good time, it’s okay if you’re not.

Sammy: [Laughs]

[ I then asked him if he still had his natural teeth, as years ago, Sammy had to have his jaw wired shut after getting into a bar fight. If you don’t know, this is pretty much the reason how and why Ben Falgoust became the singer for Goatwhore. Since Sammy’s jaw was wired shut! ]

Me: Did you ever go to jail for all the bar fights?

Sammy: Luckily, no. I managed to avoid the police!

Me: It’s funny, I remember this interview that Josh posted on the archive [Acid Bath Archive on youtube] where they called you Bart Simpson. Do you feel like, growing up, you were a lot like Bart?

Sammy: [Pause] No.

Me: Really?

Sammy: No. I was a lot more, how can I say it, I was a lot more intellectual. I was always aware of the repercussions of my actions. I was always…”How could I not get caught?”. How to get away with doing this fucked up shit.

Me: Well, what was the shit you were doin’? Were you throwing roaches at people?

Sammy: Kid shit! You get bored, and do dumb shit. Trying to not get caught. A lot of kids would do it, and not worry about the repercussions I was always aware of “How can I do this and not get caught?”.

Me: I found this newspaper clipping about that stabbing, I think you guys were on tour with Incantation. Do you remember that?

Sammy: Yes, I remember that. We were on tour, I want to say it was either Brooklyn or Manhattan, something like that. And Incantation and Immolation played a show at this place called ‘The Voodoo Lounge’. And it was downstairs in this basement, and it was like, the show was just-insanity. You couldn’t move in the place, it was crazy. And apparently, the other guy there was very short tempered. Something happened, where the singer at the time, Mike, that was singing for Incantation, was walking through the crowd to get to the backstage. And then this place was so fucking packed you had to kind of squeeze your way through. And apparently Mike and another guy act like he’s trying to get through the crowd and the guy pulled out a knife. Like, slashed Mike’s forearm. And this other guy jumped in to stop it and then that guy gets his face slashed. So they wrestled the guy to get the knife, and he gets out of the hold that our friends got him in and runs upstairs outside. So they catch him, and they proceed to beat the living shit out of him. The cops show up and they’re like, “Yeah, alright, we’re taking this guy to jail.”. Seeing the guy outside, his head was just wrapped up with gauze. They beat this guy up bad. But the funny thing was, the cops came, it was a big fiasco and there was blood everywhere. But the cops just arrested the one guy that did the stabbing and just let everybody else go. Mike had been slashed on his arm, on his bicep, and the guy who was slashed in the face was basically holding his face together.

Me: Would you consider writing a book about your life?

Sammy: Possibly, you know? If the situation was right. Yeah probably you know? I’ve been definitely approached about it a couple of times.

Me: What would be the right situation?

Sammy: Just having someone that actually gives a fuck about reading. Someone that would honestly be into it, and into the details. I’d actually want to do it the right way, and actually kind of engage the reader rather than “Oh ya know, this happened….” And getting to the point instead of, “I had a pet horse when I was 8.”.

Me: Did you have a pet horse when you were 8?

Sammy: Actually, yes!

Me: [Laughs]

Sammy: I had a horse and other phantom pets.

Me: I heard that you spent a little bit of your childhood in Scotland. Right? Or no?

Sammy: Yes. I can’t really remember a whole lot about it. I was so young when it happened. But my father, at the time, was a tugboat captain. Something happened where he had some job out there, for like, a couple of years. So me, my mom, and my sister moved out there.

Me: That’s really interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anybody living in Scotland. I didn’t even know that people actually lived there. [Laughs]

Sammy: Yes! Lots of people live out there!

Me: I don’t know what my segue was from there, but what would you say is your earliest memory in life?

Sammy: I can’t answer that.

Me: Well what is it today? It’s okay if it’s the horses at 8, I can accept that.

Sammy: I can’t, I can’t answer that question. [Laughs] Like, I’d have to sit here and really think…I can’t answer that question. I don’t know. My earliest memory…I can’t answer that. I don’t know.

Me: Do you feel like the older you get, age is a luxury?

Sammy: Uh, to an extent yes. You start to realize a lot of things that [don’t matter].

Me: What were the things that concerned you when you were younger?

Sammy: Oh just things in life, nothing in particular. Ya know? The things you worry about, that you won’t worry about in ten years. It’s now irrelevant. It’s like the older you get, the less fucks you give.

Me: Is it true that you actually grew up speaking Cajun French first?

Sammy: Yes.

Me: If you were to hear bits and pieces today, would you be able to say, “Oh I know that word!”?

Sammy: Oh yeah. I mean, I kind of lost it, I haven’t spoken it in so long, but [if I hear someone speak it] it’ll come back to me.

Me: Are you lost during the times that you go to France?

Sammy: No, Cajun French is very similar. I’ll hear things and think, “I know what they’re talking about”. I’m not gonna get into the conversation. The way I was taught how to speak French, they’d probably look at me like I was fucking crazy.

Me: That’s actually pretty funny, that was actually like a coincidence. Back in school I took five years of French and not because I genuinely wanted [at first]. It was really weird where my last name was at the end of the alphabet, so for whatever reason, they [my school] had it set up where if your last name was A-M, they could go to Spanish class; And everyone else gets French. And I was everyone else. I still even remember some of it, ya know?

I was confused when you called Boris [one of his cats] a ‘cochon’, because I thought it was ‘cornichon’. And I was like, “Why did you call him a pickle?” [Laughs]

Sammy: Cochon means pig. (‾◡◝)

Me: So what do you guys do on tour for food?

Sammy: Unfortunately, we have to eat a lot of fast food. Sometimes it’s a gamble, because you never know if it’s going to be really good or terrible. So it’s just kind of like, ya know, eating a lot of fast food wishing the best; and then we carry a lot of stuff in the van that won’t go bad. Stuff that’s sustainable.

Me: Well, if I didn’t know better, it sounds like you’re living through the apocalypse.

Sammy: Almost…it’s kind of a preparation.

Me: [Laughs] Are you a doomsday prepper?

Sammy: No.

Me: Why not? [Laughs] 15 gallon buckets of corn! Delicious.

Sammy: If I die, I’ll die. When it’s my time, it’s okay.

Me: How would you want to be remembered?

Sammy: Huh? I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’d like to be remembered as anyone would like to remember me. That’s how I’d like to be remembered. Cause I won’t have any say in the situation after it happens.

Me: Were you one of these people during the Pandemic taking all the toilet paper?

Sammy: No, I was not.

Me: Would you admit it if you were?

Sammy: Yes, I would.

Me: [Laughs] What do you use? 1-ply, 2-ply, 3-ply? I’ve read somewhere that there’s 4.

Sammy: Whatever is cheapest. It’s just my butt.

Me: Why not?

Sammy: Ya know, it’s a butt! It’ll be fine!

Me: So, how Southern would you rate yourself? Do you deep fry everything and drink sweet tea?

Sammy: To an extent yes, I’d say about a 6 or a 7.

Me: [Laughs] Well, what would make a 10?

Sammy: What would make a 10? If all you drank was sweet tea, and deep fried…EVERYTHING! That would make a 10, yes.

Me: [Laughs] So do you go fishing when you’re at home?

Sammy: No unfortunately, I would love to but uh, I haven’t had the opportunity in a few years.

Me: Would you fish for fun, or catch something and eat it?

Sammy: If we caught something that was tasty, we’d keep it and fucking eat it. Yeah, hell yeah!

Me: Are you allergic to anything?

Sammy: Nothing. I’m impenetrable.

Me: Do you guys like Arby’s, or do you avoid it?

Sammy: We try to avoid Arby’s at all costs. It’s definitely not high on the list. We try to eat relatively healthy.

Me: Would you consider becoming a vegan like Rob Zombie?

Sammy: Um, no. I like seafood too much.

Me: Are you a cook, or do you like to cook?

Sammy: I…I have my moments. Yeah.

Me: [Laughs] I’m just asking! You seem to take offense to that.

Sammy: No! I’m not offended. I can cook simple things, ya know?

Me: What like frying eggs or?

Sammy: [Pauses] I can definitely fry an egg.

Me: [Laughs]

Sammy: I can cook all kinds of stuff. Ya know, raised in southern Louisiana, that’s all there was to do, cook. My mom was cooking something, my dad was cooking something, grandmothers. I kind of learned a lot of stuff from that.

Me: Have you ever eaten rattlesnake?

Sammy: No, I have not eaten rattlesnake, ever. But I’m willing to try it, yes.

Me: We had some a few years ago, a friend came back from his farm with I think, a diamondback rattle snake. You know, one of those ‘fucking kill you’ ones, and we skinned it. Basically, to me, it tasted like pork. More like a pork chop, than people will say chicken. I would recommend it, just try not to get yourself killed while doing it.

Personally, I like to cook. That’s my main thing. I always say, if I end up on like, my 600 pound life, at least I ate really good food. Not that I want to be like that.

Sammy: Alright, I have to get going. So, it was very nice talking to you.

Me: Mhm

Sammy: [Teases me for saying ‘mhm’, because I was doing it the whole conversation]

Me: What?!

Sammy: It’s alright. I gotta go do some errands I have to go buy some fish.

Me: Oh…oh my god it is. Sorry about that.

Sammy: That’s alright. So uh, it was nice talking to you.

Me: I really enjoyed this, I did. I appreciate this. (❁´◡`❁)

---

Once again, I have to say thank you to Sammy for agreeing to do this with me. It was a real pleasure talking to you. I really hope in the future that we can do this again!

If you're interested in following his social media, he is most commonly found on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammypierreduet/

#sammy duet #acid bath #goatwhore #metal #bands #interview #black metal #sludge metal #death metal #blackened death metal #so many metals

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mickeys-malarkey · 2 years

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Pt. 3/3: My BATDR Timeline & Plot Twist Theories!

First, I think both BATIM and BATDR take place sometime between 1978 and 1991. I already suspected BATDR was happening in the ‘80s based on the fact that card readers – which have featured in many of the environment screenshots we've seen – were invented in 1979...

…and Audrey's clothes and hairstyle look very 1980s.

Then they released the images of Audrey's office, where her chair and desk lamps also look very 1980s, and the wallpaper and flooring looks pretty 1970s…

…and @inkdemonapologist pointed out that the type of bankruptcy we see documents for in Joey's apartment didn't exist until 1978…

…and I remembered that Joey's apartment also had a newspaper whose headline took place in the future— Princess Diana's 30th birthday which, as TetraBitGaming on YouTube pointed out, would be in 1991 since Princess Diana was born in 1961. She should be two years old if BATIM were really taking place in 1963!

Maybe, at the time, they didn't mean for these two to be clues, since they seem to have rolled the date backwards a bit from the newspaper one; but at this point it feels pretty clear when BATDR takes place, to me. And I'm even more certain than I already was, after finding out that this image from the JDS website…

…is titled “museum” (good work yoinking it, @halfusek /gen 👍🏻), that we know the ink dimension's new home: Nathan Arch Sr.'s private Joey Drew Studios museum that he mentioned he was curating in TIOL (meaning it's existed since around 1972).

“Over the years, I have collected every single piece of the studio memorabilia I could find to restore it to its former glory, to create, in a sense, a private museum that gleamed with the true vision of Joey Drew…” ~ Nathan Arch, The Illusion of Living, pg. 2

Also, besides the fact the museum image has clearly aged, here's some more evidence that at least a few years have probably passed since Bendy was purchased: it generally takes a fair bit more time (years!!) to make movies/documentaries, as Archgate Pictures seems to have made about Joey, than it does to make shorts.

As for BATIM, I think that time has been moving as normal outside of the loop, we were just seeing a repeat of that significant day in 1963; Henry and Joey have been trapped in the ink dimension for somewhere between twenty and thirty years, and the bankruptcy paperwork and Princess Diana newspaper were pieces of the real world leaking into the memory. This explains how there seems to be evidence of Audrey in BATIM and how BATDR is still supposedly neither sequel nor prequel to BATIM despite all the evidence that it takes place long after 1963! They're happening at the same time!! I wonder if Audrey is the daughter of the little girl we hear at the end of BATIM? So, Henry's (great-)granddaughter or Joey's (great-)great-niece?

Now, onto my big theory: the plot twist.

If they handle it right, it would be really, really cool if “break the cycle” really doesn't just mean “end the time loop” but also “break the cycle of abuse/trauma” and a lot of the huge cast of not-so-innocent characters wind up with the potential to get redemption arcs. I have an idea of exactly how they might be planning on even providing the opportunity for Joey.

Victor McKnight commented this on his Artistic Hallowing music video and pinned it:

Those last two sentences. “Make sure you're watching every second! You don't want to miss any vital information. 😉” Does that not sound to anyone else like he's got insider information? Now, I want y'all to watch these music videos that either Victor himself or his brother Noah were suspiciously involved in all of (and one of which is supposedly a BATDS song but for some reason involves Audrey) and tell me if you notice any patterns.

youtube

This one seems to be a duet between Sammy and the Ink Demon, both singing to Audrey. Sammy mostly sings in the default sepiatone, asking us things like “Can you see me? Can you feel me?” (that feels so… sad… and desperate…) and telling us things like “make sense of the consequence we witnessed on that day” (Excuse me, you're telling me that there was a consequence for something on a specific, significant day that we witnessed?? 👀) The demon, on the other hand, mostly sings when the grayscale effect is on, and seems to just be playing a stereotypical villain roll until you notice “be forced to believe what I see” (why would we even give a crap about what you're seeing /srs? How the actual heck would we see what you're seeing /gen? You don't even have eyeballs, bro /j) and “be damned in this evil received” (how do you receive evil that damns you? Maybe by being abused and becoming an abuser in response?).

youtube

Two apparently-separate characters singing with the same voice but very different tones and outlooks on the situation, still both singing to Audrey, in this one. One mostly sings in the default sepiatone, again, at first seeming more hopeful, helpful, and friendly until you start noticing ominous comments like “you've made mistakes, accept the change. You will be punished too” (*incoherent noises* 🚨🚨) and “welcome to my dream . . . you still think you are safe in my dream.” The other mostly sings when the grayscale effect is on, again, and seems much more aggressive and seductive until you start noticing comments like “take up your weapons, just leave my friends be” (why is this stereotypically evil-seeming character both telling us to take up weapons, not just letting us have them, and asking us to leave his friends alone with them?).

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More hints that the demon who will rise and presumably is most important to the story is linked to grayscale, in this one.

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And, in this one, Sammy's asking if the grayscale-linked demon is the one who will set him free (as he claims to be in the first two videos).

Across all four of these first videos, there seems to be an overall “things change when we switch from the default sepiatone to grayscale” and “grayscale is dangerous and seems hopeless but it's important and linked to truth and freedom” theme…

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…You're telling me that Sammy and his followers' past (BATIM?) selves were worshipping an imposter demon…? And the truth will be revealed in BATDR…?

Hum, hum, hum… fascinating. I'd noticed the sepiatone vs. grayscale split and imposter vs. true savior thing long before I read the books; for the longest time, I thought it meant we would be dealing with a Henry-Bendy and a Joey-Bendy, as I've been seeing people theorizing. But then I read TIOL, and discovered what I think is evidence that this info is indeed canon and was not left on the cutting room floor while BATDR was in development limbo.

Nathan makes a very strange note on Joey's story about the Sparkle Unicorn speakeasy…

“…I remember this night well. Though I remember it being at the Bee Room, gold and black, not silver as the main design aesthetic. Doesn't really make much of a difference though, I suppose.” ~ Nathan Arch, The Illusion of Living, pg. 44 (emphasis added)

Nathan remembers that night in sepiatone, Joey remembers it in grayscale.

Now, I've seen all kinds of theories all over about how Wilson actually “banished/killed the ink demon…” “Wilson took advantage of some sort of blip in Bendy's existence that happened when Joey died,” “Wilson got rid of him by purifying him and turning him into Dapper Bendy,” “Wilson got rid of him by fusing him with either Henry or Joey,” “Wilson got rid of him by trapping him in Henry's loop,” “he didn't, Wilson's just another liar manipulating everyone,” etc…

What if we're looking at this from the wrong angle? What if the point is that, whatever happened, neither of the BATDR Bendys is the original soulless monster we see in BATIM and the books? What if, whether they share a body or are separate, there are two human souls involved here? What if one of those souls is the “new evil” in the ink dimension, not Wilson, who may have been meddling in ink dimension affairs since 1963?

Going back to the time frame I propose BATDR is happening in… Joey was born in 1901, which means that if Nathan was 18 or 19 when Joey was just turning 16, then he was born in 1899 or 1898. So, in 1978, Nathan would've been 79 or 80, and in 1991 he would've been 92 or 93. Especially considering the clues that point towards Nathan having been a smoker, it wouldn't surprise me if he's straight-up already dead in BATDR. Mayhaps for 211 days? During Loop 414…? Could this be why the BATIM loop is different, with Henry apparently not remembering anything that previous versions of himself could? The now-previous owner of their prison has died of old age and/or lung cancer? And could that be why the JDS museum has fallen into bankruptcy? Has Nathan Jr. taken over and isn't as ruthless a businessman as his father?

Itsjustjord on YouTube pointed this out in his trailer reaction, which when he said it set my Clue Radar off so that I went to the trailer again to get a closer look. And… well… *clears throat*

…Do y'all see this weird effect over Dapper Bendy? Compared to every other character we see in the trailer as well as the environment around him, does it not look as if we're seeing him, specifically, through some sort of cartoony filter? Maybe it'll only be in circumstances like this (far away in weird lighting) that the edges of the illusion will fray in-game, based on the other teaser image we have of him, but it definitely looks off to me.

Especially with what I now suspect Allison and Susie's situations were in relation to Nathan, I think that the ink creatures’ perfection vs. imperfection has nothing to do with how pure/good vs. impure/evil their hearts are as we've been lead to believe/is the conventional surface-level reading, but instead how intact vs. broken their hearts are. I think that the more horrific the ink being's appearance, the more the soul inside was abused while it was alive. Allison isn't a perfect Alice because she's a better person, it's because she obeyed Nathan and wasn't made to suffer as severely as Susie, who Nathan chose to be his next Isabel. So, why is one new Bendy (apparently created after Joey lost everything, I suspect even being made to watch his Shoulder Angel's murder before being murdered himself) so much scarier than the original (created before Joey lost everything) and the other so goshdarn perfect, proportions and all?

Maybe the banning of everything related to Sammy's demon cult and Henry under Wilson's rule has to do with his decades-old mission to keep the Creators from joining forces, as well as everyone including himself feeling like they're finally free from The Great Puppet Master?

I love Dapper Bendy's design as much as everyone else!! He's positively adorable, and it would also be a nice outcome if the baby boy is exactly what he seems and just a precious lil friend to love forever; but I theorize that Dapper Bendy is the perfectly sane, untraumatized, and truly evil one, that (assuming we actually get choices in BATDR, unlike in BATIM) his route, no matter how things seem in the moment, is the wrong one, that he's Nathan. And I think Freaky Teeth Bendy (that's been my nickname for him since we first saw him and I'm sticking to it lolol) is the damaged as heck but able to be saved one, that his route is the correct one, that he's Joey. I also think that we won't get to see either demon for what they really are – won't be able to get the True, Broken Cycle, “Joey's Redeemed & Nathan Faces Justice” Ending – unless we somehow unlock Grayscale Mode like we could in BATIM and gain the ability to see Joey's truth. Until then, we'll be seeing the demons the way Nathan wants us to see them. Through Nathan's tainted, gaslighting, sepiatone filter.

If I'm right, the fact that they did choose these color palettes is so perfectly poetic~! Sepiatone is what happens when black-and-white images have been chemically altered for preservation purposes; Nathan's altered our perception of himself, Joey, and all the events surrounding them, and his version of events is much more resilient. Meanwhile, Joey's would be more pure and unaltered but easily destroyed— including by himself, with his Illusion of Living coping mechanism… The only thing that could make it more perfect is if not only do we get to see Henry in BATDR, but when we do he's an angelic toon… *Vibrates with excitement*

Please, please, please, JDS, let me be right about where you're going with this!! Cause this would genuinely be so freaking cool…!! 🙏🏻 I hope that we eventually get to “rejoice with our founders,” as Artistic Hallowing says, when they're reunited.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, rofl. Congratulations on making it through the ramblings of a hyped AuDHD fangirl (though, I guess we already knew you were capable, if you've read TIOL. I could do a whole nother rant on evidence that Joey's basically confirmed canonically ADHD(+?), my freaking gosh). 😝

Read the Rest of the Original Analysis/Theory: Part One • Part Two • Unexpected Part Four

BATDR Analysis/Post-Playthrough Theory Revision: Part One • Part Two • Part Three • Part Four

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