Yes the Dead do indeed apply Poly Rythm and counterpoint as did the group Gentle Giant Poly and Tri- modality .
Nothing like a good talk on music theory to unleash the beast of discussion, A dash of treble Clef , a dash of Bass Clef and 10 more sets of ledger lines and your on your way to Orchestrating yourself a Score.
Create, Create,Create thats what it's all about, but without good comprehension it's hard for a person to unleash their full musical potential and that is why I believe in theory. I may not completely use all of it all the time but I do set some guide lines while I play and compose. If you never tried it than you might want to consider diving into some of it, you will be amazed of how you'll start to hear things and notice things in music like never before and how much better of a writer you will be.