Burden Ending - Out of Tune Guitar

[Kalabalik]

How was it recorded? Was Mike playing it while someone messed around with the guitar headstock?

Yep, as [KOTNO]Narrot said, Mikael is playing the riff, and Fredrik is turning the pegheads to detune the guitar (read this in an interview). I haven't actually heard the song, so I don't know what it sounds like

 

[nadavnaz]

lol I'm kinda surprised some people don't like it. I think it's pretty damn awesome

 

[BefriendedUnit]

It goes on for a little longer than it needs to, but it's all good. No, really, IT IS ALL GOOD. I also like the "ha ha ha ha ka ka k k k k."

 

[Kalabalik]

It goes on for a little longer than it needs to, but it's all good. No, really, IT IS ALL GOOD. I also like the "ha ha ha ha ka ka k k k k."

Heh, in the same interview I mentioned, they also talk about the laughter at the end of Burden. Apparently, it is really Mikael laughing, because of Fredrik tripping over one of the guitar cables

 

[Deadlift]

I like the ending. One of my fav. parts on the album. The guitar playing is awesome. I wish the whole album was like that.

 

[hibernal_dream]

Yeah, Opeth should totally make their next album out of tune

 

[FRUGiHOYi]

I haven't heard it, but I was annoyed by the ending of Beneath the Mire at first. I felt like it shouldn't have ended where it did.

 

[xDetonatorx]

I love the ending of "Burden"!!!!
It's like a flower wilting second by second

+1
The image I had in my head when I first didn't hear it was of a guitar warping and disintegrating in the player's hands as he lost his mind. It works beutifully in the context of the album. The next words that Mike sings are "I lost all I had".

 

[Gëist]

I guess someone is holding the headstock, I can hear the strings vibrate in the end, just before the laugh.

 

[Heir Apparent]

I think people are misunderstanding the ending of the song. It is supposed to give it a creepy vibe, it is beautiful guitar melody and slowly turns into something that almost sounds like circus music. It gives it a great vibe.

 

[Le_Shrike]

I loved it from the start. But seeing as how I have a hard time distinguishing notes it took me a while to realise that it was really going out of tune. I could here it "messing up" as it were. But I wasn't sure what was happening. I do love it and I think it's a great segway to Porcelain Heart.

That's one thing I feel Watershed does really, really well: transition. The songs flow to each other very dynamically, and where there's a "sudden" twist, it makes sense (i.e. Coil -> Heir Apparent).

 

[Tangled]

Personally I like it, the acoustic parts leading right up to the detuning are blew me away when I first herd. The song is fantastic and the way he ends it just sets the mood. Its very eerie sounding and its very unique, I like it alot.

 

[babymilk]

Yeah, Opeth should totally make their next album out of tune

hahah!

 

[GT2000]

I read/heard(?) an interview where Mike implies that they added the ending (the detuning and the laugh) to signal to fans that they knew the song was a little over-wrought and sentimental.

They wanted listeners to understand that were just sorta taking the piss out of the genre (their first power ballad?) while at the same time paying tribute to it - if that makes any sense at all...

 

[The Don]

Aren't these threads supposed to be shut down? I bitched about how shitty Watershed was (had I heard it) in another thread and I got banned. I guess it's OK now to give an opinion?

I think the ending of Burden is the stupidest, most smug shit-pile Mikael has ever come up with. It sounds like the red headed bastard son of a boring Schoenberg arrangement. I don't care about the "vibe" or the "intention", it just doesn't work. SHIT ENDING!

 

[Metalstrm]

It's total shit.

 

[burntoast]

Aren't these threads supposed to be shut down? I bitched about how shitty Watershed was (had I heard it) in another thread and I got banned. I guess it's OK now to give an opinion?

I think since a couple of people have already legitimately gotten the album (via iTunes or physically), talking about it is now permitted.

 

[Lothlorien]

I loved it from the start. But seeing as how I have a hard time distinguishing notes it took me a while to realise that it was really going out of tune. I could here it "messing up" as it were. But I wasn't sure what was happening.

r u deaf? just curious.

 

[Lothlorien]

I read/heard(?) an interview where Mike implies that they added the ending (the detuning and the laugh) to signal to fans that they knew the song was a little over-wrought and sentimental.

They wanted listeners to understand that were just sorta taking the piss out of the genre (their first power ballad?) while at the same time paying tribute to it - if that makes any sense at all...

interesting.

 

[outerone]

I dont really care for the ending but I wouldnt complain either... the band can do whatever they want.

And yes they are actually downtuning the guitar manually, you can hear the strings getting looser and theres no way to achieve that on computer.