Top 7 Greatest Riffs of all Time: The Most Overlooked Winners!
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How many times have you opened up a guitar magazine all wild-eyed and excited because it promised something like "GREATEST RIFFS OF ALL TIME INSIDE!!!," only to discover the utter disappointment of seeing the same old classic rock riffs churned over and over again?
Unlike tired websites and magazines with unfulfilled expectations who rehash well-known rock riffs (don't get me wrong, riffs like "Back In Black" had their heyday and they are innately fundamental to "cheese-rock"), this lesson will teach the greatest riffs of all time with a FRESH approach that you probably won't see anywhere else!
I egotistically admit that no one nominated these riffs as the "greatest riffs of all time" other than myself, which means their precedence above less cool riffs is completely biased. However, why would you be here unless you had at least a shred of interest in my cynical, biased opinion towards music? Like I tell fifty-year-old beginners: "I am older than you!"
How do I determine what a "great" riff is? one worthy of being one of the GREATEST guitar riffs of all time? If I can see myself playing it for hours on end, teaching it every day, and using it during soundcheck to sound bad a$$, then it meets the criteria of greatness, thus rendering itself worthy of being an awesome guitar riff!
An ultimate guitar riff carries itself without needing to rely upon a vocal melody, song structure, or backbeat to make it whole. All that matters is the guitar tone, attitude, and HOW you play it!
The only real way to determine if a particular guitar riff is one of the greatest riffs of all time is to listen to it while looking at this picture. If it doesn't fit, than I would be second guessing my ability to nominate riffs as "greatest of all time" candidates if I were you!
So let's get to it! The GREATEST RIFFS OF ALL TIME ARE!...drum roll please!
"What The Hell Have I" ~ Alice In Chains
Still need a copy of the record to play along to?
Download Nothing Safe at iTunes for $9.99
Buy the TAB book
Get Alice In Chains Ringtones!
Alice In Chains wrote some of the dirtiest, nastiest, stomach churning riffage of the nineties. The "What the Hell Have I?" riff is bendy and swampy. Tuned down a half step like every other Alice tune, this dark melody is foreboding of doom and the fiery pits of Hell! Or am I just thinking of the music video?
Since I believe Alice In Chains riffs are some of the most awesome riffs ever, I had to include at least one by this influential band. Believe it or not, this band had roots in blues. If you check out some of their older stuff from the box set, you may see more where they came from influentially.
Click tablature to enlarge:
"Harvester Of Sorrow" ~ METALLICA
Still need a copy of the record to play along to?
Download ...And Justice for All at iTunes for $9.99
Buy the TAB book
Is it really a big surprise that Metallica would contribute to the greatest riffs of all time?
The "Harvester of Sorrow" riff that I have included in the greatest riffs of all time occurs during the middle section of the song. ...And Justice For All is a metal record that is jam packed full of awesome guitar riffs, so it was a hard choice. But I think it's an original choice nonetheless. It may not be as recognizable as "One", but I think you will appreciate it nonetheless.
Metallica is to metal what mary jane is to cocaine, so grab a maxed-out credit card and a flat surface 'cause Pantera is comin' up next!
Click tablature to enlarge:
"This Love" ~ Pantera
Still need a copy of the record to play along to?
Download Vulgar Display of Power at iTunes for $9.99
Buy the TAB book
"This Love" by Pantera contains riffs that reflect the disgust emanating painfully from the song's lyrics, especially during the purging/vomitous section in the second half of the song. However, before the half-time purge there is a faster riff that requires some CHOPS to pull off right!
The picking directions I use for this riff are not strict alternate picking. It is a combination of down picking on the sixth string and up picking on the fifth and fourth strings.
I chose this guitar riff because it features the chromatic power chord movements characteristic of Pantera's sound and is somewhat difficult to play correctly and smooth, providing a challenge for YOU!
Click tablature to enlarge:
"Afterlife" ~ Avenged Sevenfold
Still need a copy of the record to play along to?
Download Avenged Sevenfold at iTunes for $9.99
Buy the TAB book
Get Avenged Sevenfold Ringtones!
At the time of this writing Avenged Sevenfold has had a rocky career somewhat stalled by the unfortunate events surrounding the band's former drummer. So EVEN IF you are one of those dudes who DOES NOT like Avenged Sevenfold for whatever reasons, you are not allowed to JUDGE until you can pull off the GUITAR SOLO for this song!
Although there are many old school fans of Avenged Sevenfold that really like their old stuff, I am an advocate of their self-titled third record. This one seems to have the best sound quality, vocal technique, and best guitar riffs.
Click tablature to enlarge:
"The Dissentience" ~ Protest The Hero
Still need a copy of the record to play along to?
Download Fortress at iTunes for $9.99
Get Protest The Hero Ringtones!
The Dissentience riff feels great when you pull it off perfectly. It has just the right amount of palm mutes, hammer ons, and heaviness. It's fast, so you will have to practice it, but it's well worth it in the end, because it sounds really impressive and is a blast to jam on! I have an entire lesson on how to play "The Dissentience" by Protest The Hero here at How to play The Dissentience.
Click tablature to enlarge:
Castlevania ~ NES!
That's right, kids. I have included the theme to one of the most awesome games ever: Castlevania for NES! Only I doubt Simon Belmont had access to a guitar amp on which he could "whip" out this rendition of the classic "daytime theme". Good luck finding anything other than a funny sounding MIDI file online to play along to and some cheat codes for the FIRE WHIP!
Click tablature to enlarge:
"Holy Diver" ~ Dio
Just kidding!
Have I left something out? What do you think is the greatest riff of all time? Submit the name of one song and describe where the riff occurs in the song using the form below. After an arbitrary number of entries have been considered, the winning riff will get its very own page on this site! And every person who submitted the best riff will receive credits within the page, making YOU sound awesome! Sounds fun, doesn't it?
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