Can you explain why the Enter Sandman riff sounds 'sleepy' ?

[zabrak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...gkS8#t=03s


Listen to that riff, man. Doesn't it sound very...'sleepy' ? It fits the mood of the song, but I don't know what makes it sound very...'sleepy', you know?


Are the notes he's playing associated with lullabies or something? or is it the trance-like hypnotic riff that makes it like that?


Can anybody help me break it down what makes it sound very 'sleepy' or whatever?


Thanks

[evilB]

Three reasons I see/hear:

1. It is based on a prayer - "Now I lay me down 'to sleep'" repeating that rythmic motif over and over - Now I lay me down, now I lay me down..... - that is the spoken part later in the song too.
2. The sound of the riff is "fuzzed" to give the smooth/sleepy (not a lot of high end in the sound mostly mid & low) sound that eventually hardens (adding in the higher end of the guitar up in sound) letting you hear crispness of the guitar
3. They also increase the volume of the recording, starting quieter building than taking it back down when the spoken part comes in.

[zabrak]

Hmm thank you

also people, I'm talking about the intro riff that appears right away

NOT the distorted riff that appears soon after.

[evilB]

It's the same riff, just the guitarist and sound engineer have modified it as the song progresses.

[SteveO]

Thanks, Evil ! Very interesting analysis!

It's the same riff, just the guitarist and sound engineer have modified it as the song progresses.