On the opening song, "Rusty Cage", Thayil uses a wah pedal as an audio filter, producing an unusual guitar sound. In describing the song's guitar riff he said that it "almost sounds backward". Soundgarden utilized alternative tunings and odd time signatures on several of the album's songs. On "Rusty Cage", "Holy Water", and "Searching with My Good Eye Closed", the bottom E string is tuned down to B. On "Mind Riot" every string is tuned to one of several E's. Soundgarden's use of odd-meter time signatures was varied as well. Thayil said that he didn't "push for weird time signatures", but rather "push to get the quirkiness out of things".