Burden Ending - Out of Tune Guitar

[The Don]

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

Oh nice OK my bad.

 

[The Don]

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. I see what they were trying to do, but I don't understand why they have to excuse their sound with some crappy ass ending. They could have put in a badass gallop with some insane sweeps and it would have conveyed the same message. Just a bad choice IMO.

 

[KittyKatatonia]

I'm not too bothered by it, but it would have been better played correctly as it was a nice guitar melody.

 

[Katatonic89]

Think they did it with a computer program, or else it would sound shit...

I think that it's a other guy downtuning it. Because I can hear someone moving in the background just before the end. Also the wood in the guitar makes some noise while it's beeing downtuned.

I love the ending.

 

[Katatonic89]

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!

You suck.

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

i dont think schoenberg ever worked with detuned instruments... so you'd better stfu and get you math done, k?

 

[Godhead59]

It's awesome. Totally trows you off before Porcelain Heart comes in and hits you in the face with the doom riff. Brilliant stuff.

 

[Le_Shrike]

r u deaf? just curious.

No, I'm not deaf. I am however, well on my way to being tone deaf. Which means that if I hear an out of tune note, I can't always be sure whether it's out of tune or just another note. I also know shitall about musical theory so for all I know it could have been some other effect.

All in all, it's all good, because I don't have to be so pissed off about people singing out of tune etc. Since I usually can't make it out, and thus don't care. Of course, there are limits...

 

[Metalstrm]

I definitely think it's manual detuning. There's the sound of tension being released from the wood. And what the hell, it does sound like shit. It's experimental to the point of being painful.

 

[hibernal_dream]

They could have put in a badass gallop with some insane sweeps and it would have conveyed the same message. Just a bad choice IMO.

That would have been equally pointless. I think the detuning part is neat, but it should have had a purpose other than to merely distinguish the song from a normal ballad. I also don't think the intention was to lead the song on to Porcelain Heart.

 

[Cerberus III]

I'm glad I'm not trying to justify Mikael's ending choices for Watershed.

If anything, the ending to Burden makes the listener go 'WTF?' as it detunes.

 

[DinoB]

apparently he wanted it to sound like shit

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.se/page/News?&news_page=&news_id=58134

 

[Metalstrm]

I really don't understand that. There's no artistic element in making something sound like shit intentionally.

 

[Cerberus III]

I really don't understand that. There's no artistic element in making something sound like shit intentionally.

Well, it doesn't sound like shit... it sounds out of tune.

 

[Tangled]

There's no artistic element in making something sound like shit intentionally.

I disagree. Ever listen to Kalmah? Finnish death metal band. They'd start off some of their songs with strange noises or end them that way. Sounds like someone swimming through a swamp or someone scratching or writing on a chalkboard or other strange songs that make you think "wtf"? Brings cool imagery to the mind. Not in anyway musical though.

 

[Ekinflog]

I really don't understand that. There's no artistic element in making something sound like shit intentionally.

Hm, I guess you don't listen to black metal.

 

[Metalstrm]

I don't, in fact. But raw production is different from musical shittiness.

 

[noura]

I have to skip it as well. At first I thought the detuning was interesting, and on first listen "where is this gunna lead to?" but only first listen. I like the idea, but I guess I understand now why/how people react to the end of BTPISIO which I think is great tbh. Conceptually it makes sense what with PH following it but I can't listen to it all the time. Especially when I wanna rewind back to the start off the awesome Burden.

 

[noura]

EKinflog, black metal is not supposed to sound like shit! I agree with Metalstrm above. The only shitty aspect of bm is people expressing they think it sounds like shit, if that was in fact a dig.

 

[beast from the east]

I haven't heard it yet, but I'm even more anxious to now that I've read through this thread! I have a feeling I'll be on the side who think it sounds really cool...