First time I heard The Summoning, what stuck out to me was at the end of the song there is an audio clip of someone hitting a baseball and then followed by someone yelling "run, run run run!" What stuck out to me was the voice yelling it, which sounded an awful lot like Brad. Now, obviously that clip might have just been made up in the studio with Brad providing the voice, but I came across the following interview where Mike explains the ending of Keys to the Kingdom, among other children on the album: [video=youtube;22jkUOumik4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22jkUOumik4[/video] The section of importance starts at 6:09. Mike states that there are dozens of clips that are usually from their phones, sometimes from videos that are shot that provide these moments. This got me thinking, Brad has children who are around the age where they would be playing softball. Would it be possible that the audio clip is actually Brad's son/daughter hitting a softball, after which Brad encourages them to "run run run!" to first base? If that's true, that's a really personal bit of audio that was provided for the listeners. I don't think people would bother to look into such a small detail, but I think as a LP fan it's really cool that they can put that little anecdote for us to experience.
*Ping* It's an aluminum bat, so it would be for younger players. As far as who the hit and "run runs" belong to? Meh.
I can see why you guys think the voice sounds like Chester. But the way the person says run sounds more like Brad. But now I'm not as sure it is Brad lol. It's definitely a kid's baseball game because before the ball got hit you can hear someone say "watch the ball," I doubt a professional baseball game would have anyone saying that lol.
You'd be surprised at some of the things people say there. Personal favorite of mine would be "Hey pitcher, why don't you get on your knees and blow the game?"
That's general trash talking, though I suppose someone could say "RUN RUN RUN" in a professional baseball game. But "watch the ball" definitely sounds like something a parent would say to their kid who's up to bat. To me it's "the calm before the storm" that is War sonically. Meaning wise I see it as the (childlike) innocence of peace that people see in superpower countries, as a contrast to what it is like to be in the chaotic environment of a country that these superpowers wage war against.. That theme is further explored in the lyrics of Rebellion. Idk if that's the intended meaning (or if there is one), but that's what I got out of it.