For the record, this isn't a scholarly work. When I started writing for Legacy of Alexander, Pt. II I knew I wanted to use different scale modes throughout the album to help establish the geographical location of each song, thus minimizing the amount of exposition required in the lyrics. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who can just learn everything I need to know about Egyptian scales from a YouTube video of Andy LaRocque, so some research was required. Having done the legwork, I decided to share the results. I figure other people might be curious about integrating unfamiliar elements into rock music too. So, here's a disclaimer before any purists criticize my work as a brazen oversimplification of a particular culture's music theory: Many cultures have musical traditions dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. I would not presume to teach anyone how to write "serious" music according to any of those traditions. I am just describing how I have attempted to establish an exotic atmosphere in some of my songs.