Backwards singing and beeping?

[holy reality]

At the beginning of the song, Maynard sings something backwards... it kind of sounds like "so" reversed like "ooOooOOOS...Something, has to change...."

also, I noticed towards the end of the song in my left ear I heard beeping, like made by a pager, but I was on a school bus, so it could've been external noise... but I remember in the FAQ someone was asking why they hear their phone ring when they listen to some song, and he said it was tool screwing with them.

[Skunk]

My initial interpretation off the album was that Maynard was imitating the groans of pleasure during sex. Since then, I've heard Stinkfist played live a few times and I distinctly heard him saying "Relax". Either way I think it makes sense within the context of the song.

[holy reality]

I played it backwards, it still sounds weird, it must be just some kind of moan that is screwed up with sound editing... however right after that, when he says "something" he says very clearly "helpless" if you play it backwards as well.... i listened to the whole song backwards and it was really cool, i didn't make anything else out, but it was just damned cool, especialy at the end you hear the screenching feedback being played backwards, it makes a great conclusion to the song

i would recommend you all try it, it's pretty trippy

[Genocidal]

It's a vocal swell, like a guitar volume swell. They take a sample of the word he's about to sing and add ridiculous amounts of echo to it, and fade it in.

[seeker]

speaking of backwards songs, i recorded ticks & leeches backwards onto a cd and freaked myself out late at night. volume was nearly maxed out, i wasn't expecting it. that was an interesting experience, but not one to repeat.

[spiralion]

That vocal swell you are talking about is called the reverse echo which was invented by the great Jimmy Page during the ZOSO sessions while messing around with the song "When the levee breaks" I read about it a while back in the Jan 2002 issue of Guitar World. I guess back then they didn't ahve digital recording yet, so they used reel to reel tape machines. What Jimmy did was play a track backwards and have echo on it too, then play it forewards, which caused those swells. I think you got the point though. I don't remember what the article said too clearly, but that is basicly what that "backwards singing" is.

[cradled]

No dude, it wasn't "When the Levee Breaks"

It was "Whole Lotta Love". It's in the chorus, a guitar that goes "meeeeeaaaaauuuuupphhhhhh" (or something like that, representing sounds with words on a screen is a bitch)

When Plant sings "wanna whole lotta love" that's when it comes in.