Picture the number 10.

Two bits, 1 and 0. One is active, one is not. The two ambiguous characters of OUROBOROS.
0 sees themselves as the never-enough, holding a faint glimmer of hope that they can find a 1 to stand next to, and become part of something greater than either one could be on their own.

OUROBOROS is a concept album following 0’s mind as they recall their time with their ex-partner 1, in the time before entering another relationship: a self-consuming loop of recollection.

I. TIMEFREEZE

The primordial haze in which love is born.
Not even in retrospect can you truly point out the cause or origin point. Feelings of doubt are present:

EVERYTHING’S JUST LIKE AN ILLUSION
I’LL BE LOSING YOU BEFORE LONG

…citing past experiences, thinking it’ll all go wrong, yet again.

Advances are made regardless. The confession happens. Friends become something more.

II. CONSTRAINT

The honeymoon phase of the relationship.
Things move at breakneck speeds. The Constraint motif has always been the “love theme” of alpha.zero, and this is the most euphoric take on it.
You two feel simply high. Like there will be no bad day since this point, now that you’ve found the one, and you can see them every day. You can’t help but cherish these times.

III. UNDEFINABLE

Higher highs, lower lows.

The pair is settling into life together. Themes of harsh noise, compression and individuality paint the picture of a post-honeymoon fuzz. It’s still love, but it’s messier, more raw, and melancholic at times.

Maybe you’ve moved in together by now. That gives you ample time to love each other, to wake up to each other’s face every morning…
…but that beauty requires sacrifice. You’ve got responsibility. You can’t get drunk every night with a house to run together. Bills pile up. You get into the occasional conflict of interest. What would happen if this went wrong?
Well… you do know now. Intervowen between the threads, is the ultimate truth of your end.

(@ 1:41, 1:50)

UNTIL WE SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN
I’LL BE TRYING MY BEST

IV. TIMELOOP

Cracks form in the mental state of either party.
Past this point, recalled memories take much more dwelling in thought on.

The same issues, over and over again. Looking back, you wonder how you even stayed together at this time. Love is a drug. Change is hard. Stay in denial, and nothing can break you. Nobody can tear your heart apart if you volunteer to throw it away before then.
Unhealthy coping mechanisms. Just give me one more chance.

V. INTERLUDE

The theme of a hard time.

I envision it as a tough, yet necessary talk about how things have gone up to that point, trying to resolve issues that… might just be unfixable. The facade present in TIMELOOP is gone.

The air of melancholy and desperation takes over. They don’t understand each other. One’s words are scrambled from the other’s perspective. Stuck in a paradox.

Eventually, one snaps. A talk becomes an argument, an argument morphs into a screaming match. There is no winning or losing, and there never has been. Insults and threats rain like no tomorrow, and some may just be acted upon.

Frankly, only exhaustion could’ve stopped them. There existed no firefighters to stop this home from burning down to the ashes. Was it worth it? Could you look at their face the same way ever again?
No. There’s only one way this ends now. Whether you like it or not, the only path the relationship can take now is one…

VI. OF ABANDONMENT

The instant in which the atom is split and the relationship ends.

The last few pathetic words are exchanged.
Now, it’s up to you. You’re free. Whatever that entails.
There’s no right or wrong way to feel about this life, and every emotion humanly possible washes over you in bursts, as you make your way out of this place, metaphorically, and perhaps even physically, as per the album’s version of the story. Hence, a car is heard driving off into the sunset.

VII. GRAVEDIGGER

GRAVEDIGGER is a multifaceted enigma.

It’s the symbol of a long-gone state of mind that’s unearthed from the grave of repression, under the influences of the separation from 1. You’ve already lived like this, you know how it’s like. Yet it doesn’t feel right at all, knowing where you used to be.

The album stylizes this idea into tangibility: there exists a dreamt-up radio station of the same name. It used to contain these intrusive thoughts with a layer of separation: it’s not you who thought these things, it’s a GRAVEDIGGER broadcast. A split personality of sorts.

Now, the station is off air. The sponsors have pulled their funding. You’re left with these thoughts to fend for yourself. These confusions leave one irritable.

VIII. GRAVEDIGGER [REPRISE]

The GRAVEDIGGER takes another step.

Everything you think, that is you. Every single passing thought.
The moment you thought of burning it all to the ground? Your truth.
Why fashion your truth into something you’ll never truly be?
You lie to yourself and everyone around you.
You can’t live like this.
False things must perish.

This conflict goes on, and on, and on. It’s a back-and-forth similar to INTERLUDE, including the escalation reaching a boiling point.

This time, the battling sides end up colliding in the middle. The truth lies in the center. That is, the center of the brain.
We enter the depths of the psyche. The dark, inaccessible part of your personality. The nexus. The Freudian id.
Evil wins. You’ve successfully tangled yourself into this position, and the thought of it only makes it worse.

…AND I BEGAN TO HATE. YOUR SOFTNESS, YOUR VISCERA, YOUR FLUIDS AND YOUR FLEXIBILITY. YOUR ABILITY TO WONDER AND TO WANDER. YOUR TENDENCY TO HOPE.

IX. I AM THE BLADE

The boiling pot of loathing.

This is the darkest place you’ll be, and you know it. The hate spills over, either onto others, your body, or both.
The impossible prospect of an eternity just like the moment you cut for the first time.

X. EYEWALTZ

Open your eyes and see.

The Eyewaltz is the ability to remove oneself from a situation, and observe it from a bird’s eye view.
An epiphany occurs. You feel it coursing through your veins. Everything makes sense. You’re this close to being aware of the cycle.
It’s as if your whole life flashes before your eyes.
And then…

XI. STOP

Nothing.

You were enjoying life with each other. It’s like remembering a long-gone relative. As long as you remember the good times, it was a success.
Even if you forget, that’s okay. It’s okay to forget. It’s okay to feel. Your thoughts and problems are materially insignificant, and vastly meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe. So just enjoy yourself.

XII. REWIND

And just like that… you’ve moved on.

To what?