The musical influences for “Without a Word” were pretty diverse, I think. I was listening to old British post-punk and cold wave (as the Brits used to call it) bands. Often, they use this high synth in the background. You can hear something like that in the verse. But then, I was also cranking some Rammstein and Rob Zombie, for fun. I guess that may have led to these heavy guitars in the chorus.
