History Music / Imaginos

* Myth/AztecMythology: The Magna of Illusion is an obsidian scrying mirror of the kind used by priests of the god [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca]], who (among other domains) is the [[VoluntaryShapeshifting sometimes shapeshifting]] god of the night sky, divination, Ursa Major (which has seven stars), and "change through conflict".

* Myth/AztecMythology: The Magna of Illusion is an obsidian scrying mirror of the kind used by priests of the god [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca]], who (among other domains) is the god of the night sky, Ursa Major (which has seven stars), and "change through conflict".

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Imaginos is an advanced shapeshifter, with examples given of him copying other humans as well as turning into a buzzard, a pony, and a [[{{Objectshifting}} pinwheel]].

* VillainProtagonist: Desdinova's goals are chaos and death.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Imaginos is an advanced shapeshifter, with examples given of him copying other humans as well as turning into a buzzard, a pony, and a ''pinwheel''.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Imaginos is an advanced shapeshifter, being able to turn into a buzzard, a pony, and a pinwheel, and probably other things, along with imitating various humans.

* AncientConspiracy

* AlchemyIsMagic: Sandy Pearlman was fascinated with alchemy, and incorporated many references to it in the lyrics. Baron Von Frankenstein seems to be an alchemist, and creates [[FantasticDrug world-without-end]], while in ''Re-Imaginos'' Desdinova describes his own experiments with alchemy and astronomy in the added song "''Black Telescope''".

* {{Seers}}: Imaginos receives visions of the future from Les Invisibles.
* ShoutOut: The album is full of Shout Outs to Creator/HPLovecraft. For example Desdinova refers to Les Invisibles’ “starry wisdom”, a ShoutOut to the Church of Starry Wisdom from "The Haunter Of The Dark".

* InMediasRes: The narrative opens with "''I Am The One You Warned Me Of''", with Desdinova already in the middle of corrupting the world, before switching to a chronological telling of the narrative starting with "''Imaginos''". According to Albert Bouchard, this is because "every story starts in the middle".

* StockSoundEffects: The demo version of "Les Invisibles" has a stock "boing" sound effect before the first two choruses for some reason.

Albert Bouchard, who has taken over the storyline and mythos after Sandy Pearlman’s death, has [[RetCon retconned]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUaeGVdqa0c a few points]] on his ''Re-Imaginos'' album, released in 2019. In Bouchard’s current continuity, Imaginos went to Europe before Texas, where he met “Frankenstein” and took “world-without-end”, which seemingly unlocked his shapeshifting powers. Also, instead of the entire ship being wrecked, Imaginos is thrown overboard by his friends who learn of the “disease” he caught during “''Gil Blanco County''”. Bouchard is also planning to continue the ''Imaginos'' saga, with ''Bombs Over Germany'' set to release in October 2021.

* EtTuBrute: Two of Imaginos’ close friends abandon him as he lays dying on the beach. Shortly afterward, he agrees to become Les Invisibles’ agent manipulating humanity, and rejects his own humanity in the process.

->In 1892- a mirror of his first voyage in 1829- Desdinova sets out on his "charmed and armed" ship ''Plutonia'' on another voyage to retrieve the Magna of Illusion, and- [[HeWhoFightsMonsters much like a conquistador]]- ends up slaughtering anyone in the Yucatan who stands in the way of him trying to take it. He brings it back to Cornwall, England, where he now lives part of the time, and gives it to his granddaughter as a birthday present ("''Magna of Illusion''"). By “planting” the Magna of Illusion in Britain, Desdinova spreads the influence of Les Invisibles directly into the minds of the powers of Europe. The dark cosmic gods’ hatred and [[RevengeByProxy desire for vengeance]] influence the chain of events that lead to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI- in Sandy Pearlman’s words, “a disease with a long incubation”.

* DarkMessiah: Desdinova can be seen as one (see RevengeByProxy below), including having MessianicArchetype features like being a vessel for the power of gods, and being killed and resurrected.

* RevengeByProxy: It is implied that on some level Desdinova’s actions destabilizing Europe (particularly Spain) are in revenge for European colonialism and genocide of indigenous Americans.

Due to the cryptic nature of the lyrics, which originated as poetry and are often veiled in multiple layers of metaphor, the exact plot of Imaginos is hard to deduce in much detail. However, the general plot points are mostly agreed upon and backed up by comments by the band, the album’s liner notes, and less ambiguous lyrical passages.

* FrameStory: "''Astronomy''" [[MindScrew appears]] to be Desdinova talking to Suzy on a beach and metaphorically describing his death and transformation from Imaginos earlier in the narrative.

* FaceHeelTurn

Just call me Desdinova, I'm sure to be the lucky one\\
When destiny assigns wisdom\\

* MythArc: Sandy Pearlman intended almost all of the lyrics he wrote for Music/BlueOysterCult to take place within the ''Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' universe. The ''Imaginos'' album is only a fragment of the overarching story, which was apparently supposed to end with the redemption of Desdinova (capped off by the song ''[[RedemptionEqualsDeath "Redeemed"]]'' from the band's first album).

* TheProphecy: Imaginos’ granddaughter finds a cryptic prophecy written on the oldest scroll in Imaginos’ house, which declares “when the riddle begins, the story will end”.

* MythArc: Sandy Pearlman intended almost all of the lyrics he wrote for Music/BlueOysterCult to take place within the ''Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' universe. The ''Imaginos'' album is only a fragment of the overarching story, which was apparently supposed to end with the redemption of Desdinova (capped off by the song "[[RedemptionEqualsDeath ''Redeemed'']]" from the band's first album).

* MythArc: Sandy Pearlman intended almost all of the lyrics he wrote for Music/BlueOysterCult to take place within the ''Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' universe. The ''Imaginos'' album is only a fragment of the overarching story, which was apparently supposed to end with the redemption of Desdinova (capped off by the song [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "''Redeemed''"]] from the band's first album).

* MythArc: Sandy Pearlman intended almost all of the lyrics he wrote for Music/BlueOysterCult to take place within the ''Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' universe. The ''Imaginos'' album is only a fragment of the overarching story, which was apparently supposed to end a RedemptionArc for Desdinova (capped off by the song "''Redeemed''" from the band's first album).

* MythArc: Sandy Pearlman intended almost all of the lyrics he wrote for Music/BlueOysterCult to take place within the ''Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' universe. The ''Imaginos'' album is only a fragment of the overarching story.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Fresh from zones of moisture, and afterwards the meat..."'']]

The Imaginos character, plotline, and concept was created by the band’s producer Sandy Pearlman in the 1960s, who incorporated it into many of the band’s lyrics. It was not told in a specific order until the ''Imaginos'' album itself was released in 1988, leading to many scattered, cryptic references to the plot across the band’s discography. ''Imaginos'' itself, which covers the years of 1804 up to 1893, is only Act I of III of the storyline. Two other double albums were planned which would follow Imaginos’ story up until the modern day. These were to be called ''Act II: Germany Minus Zero and Counting'' and ''Act III: The Mutant Reformation''. The full title of the entire narrative was, according to Pearlman, [[LongTitle ''The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos: A Bedtime Story for the Children of the Damned'']].

->Imaginos is a “modified child” born in New Hampshire in 1804 (beyond this, his exact nature is vague). He was born during an auspicious astronomical event where the Sirius star was especially bright and prominent. This star is somehow connected to the powers of ''Les Invisibles'', a group of seven extraterrestrial deities who were worshipped in [[{{Mayincatec}} pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and Haiti]]. The worshippers of Les Invisibles were massacred by the conquistadors, who also stole one of the two magical obsidian mirrors that acted as gateways to the beings’ realm and conduits of their power (“''Les Invisibles''”). This mirror ([[https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/john-dees-spirit-mirror a real-life artifact]]) eventually made its way into the possession of John Dee, eventually influencing Britain to crush Spain’s naval might. The other mirror, the [[ArtifactOfDoom Magna of Illusion]], remained sealed in a chamber of jade.

->In 1892- a mirror of his first voyage in 1829- Desdinova sets out on his "charmed and armed" ship ''Plutonia'' on another voyage to get the Magna of Illusion, and- [[HeWhoFightsMonsters much like a conquistador]]- ends up slaughtering anyone in the Yucatan who stands in the way of him trying to get it. He brings it back to Cornwall, England, where he now lives part of the time, and gives it to his granddaughter as a birthday present ("''Magna of Illusion''"). By “planting” the Magna of Illusion in Britain, Desdinova spreads the influence of Les Invisibles directly into the minds of the powers of Europe. The dark cosmic gods’ hatred and [[RevengeByProxy desire for vengeance]] influence the chain of events that lead to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI- in Sandy Pearlman’s words, “a disease with a long incubation”.

* AlchemyIsMagic: Sandy Pearlman was fascinated with alchemy, and incorporated many references to it in the lyrics. Baron Von Frankenstein seems to an alchemist, and creates [[FantasticDrug world-without-end]], while in ''Re-Imaginos'' Desdinova describes his own experiments with alchemy and astronomy in the added song "''Black Telescope''".

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Probably their heaviest album, with ''Siege and Investiture'' being a solid 7.

* MythArc: Sandy Pearlman intended almost all of the lyrics he wrote for Music/BlueOysterCult to take place within the ''Soft Doctrines of Imaginos'' narrative. The ''Imaginos'' album is only a fragment of the overarching story.