EVH is always gonna be my number 1. Unchained, panama, aint talkin bout love, somebody get me a dr. Runnin with the devil. Just so many all time classic riffs
I can't believe you just posted this video! My nephew and I were having an uncannily similar conversation just hours ago, and your choices, Nate, are nearly parallel to ours... even the honorable mentions. Our conversation ended up veering more towards the superiority of Dio-era Sabbath over Ozzy Sabbath, while paying obligatory respect to the pioneers-of-all-we-hold-dear Ozzy-era Black Sabbath. Without whom little, if not none, of our glorious Metal we would have. Neither of us can wait for the Metal Injection festival, and Spirit Adrift's album release show.
Super happy how highly you rate the Judas Priest writers. I honestly don't think they've put out a 'bad' album because of the riffs. Maybe a couple of albums were weaker, however the riffs kept on coming 🤘
It seems over the past 10 years, folks have started overlooking the significance of Priest. Sabbath invented metal somewhat inadvertently, but Priest was the first band to identity as METAL/HEAVY METAL. They embraced it, ran with it, kept it alive for 50 years. They are THE metal band.
@@BornTooNate absolutely with you on that. If any modern band would play 'Dissident Aggressor' (1977) at a live show, the crowd would go apeshit as those 2 opening riffs have stood the test of time and would still be heavy by today's standards 🤘
Good list, some of my favorites riff writers are also Chuck Schuldiner, Brent Hinds, Adam Jones, Tom Morello and our lord Michael Akerfeldt - really surprised he didn't make the list
I love Brent Hinds, but from what i understand, its usually Bill who writes the bones to those songs. Best guitar duo ever imo. How fucking amazing is that riff in The Last Baron... you know the one
Blackmore is my favorite. I really love Zappa, Paul Simon in folk-rock music and De Leo (STP). Noel Hogan from The Cranberries is soooo underrated. In metal, Mercyful Fate's guitarist is elite riff writter
Pretty amazing list. Hard to narrow it to 5. No Hetfield is a tough omission, but it's hard to argue that Mustaine doesn't belong there. And of course, being a sabbath freak, loving all the eras(while noting the original is best), the God Iommi is the 1!!
Yea I really wanted to put Het on the list, but didn’t want to disproportionately represent one group of dudes/band… if that makes sense? I feel Mustaine just has a slight edge on the rest of the thrash guys, riff-wise.
Hey Doc, Perrö here. Thought the same about Hetfield. Would named the guys from Mercyful Fate also. Not a guitarrist though so just love the explanation of Nate´s selection. Of course the first one is no surprise 🙌.
Hi, Tony Iommi is probably beyond N°1 at this point ! ( what's he doing now btw?) Not always sure who wrote what in bands but here's my honorable mentions : Waldemar Sorychta Tommy Victor Kelly Shaefer / Rand Burkey Larry Reinhardt Jim McCarty John McGeoch Bill Steer Garry Jennings Joe Hoare John Christ Chuck Schuldiner Trey Azagthoth Devin Townsend Wino Eric Daniels Whoever writes the riffs in Napalm Death Dare I say? : Larry Lalonde Ginger Wildheart & co Lee Ranaldo / Thurston Moore Abe Futoshi
Surprised Mr Blackmore didn’t get an honorable mention. The song that shall not be named should have done it all on its own, but also Woman From Tokyo, Space Truckin’, Into The Fire, Demons Eye…. Oh, and a certain Mr EVH. But can’t complain overall. Great choices!
My single biggest mistake was leaving off Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell. Partially because I wasn’t sure which one of them is writing which riff… but it seems maybe Bruce was primarily riffs and Rick was primarily leads?
@@BornTooNateyeah as far as I can tell and how everyone else talks about them it does seem like Bruce is the riff guy.Also if u listen to some of his other projects like Supershine u can tell he’s the riff guy.
Tipton and Downing are really underrated imho. Same for some of the Black Sabbath material you mentioned, such as Headless Cross, one of my absolute favorite Sabbath album and criminally underrated.
Great list Nate... When it comes to RIFFS, we thrash metal or metal fans can act like we have an embargo on the subject sometimes :)) That was a good reminder!
Killer list Nate! There’s definitely some crossover from your list into mine, but this is mine (no order): Leif Edling from Candlemass (similarly to Harris/Lynott, Leif is credited with like 99% of the band’s material - and goddamn they’ve got some pulverizing riffs) (a tie between 3 guys but) Hank Shermann/Michael Denner/Andy LaRocque - Mercyful Fate/King Diamond John Christ from Danzig Kirk Windstein Matt Pike Max Cavalera Tipton/Downing Tom G. Warrior Randy Rhoads Tony Iommi
eVH without thinking...no chance at all...how in the worlkd you didnt even said his name, each song has a memorable articulated beautiful, complex riff
Underrated one but Dick Lovgren, bassist from Meshuggah writes some incredibly long and bouncy riffs. By the Ton(!!), Violent Sleep of Reason, Kaleidoscope, Phantoms are all so damn good.
Great list. I obviously lean a little heavier but I would have to include Brian Eschbach for laying down some of the tastiest riffs in modern metal CONSISTENTLY for 20 years. Also for being the master of putting down some of the most well formulated backing tracks to support a who's who of modern day shredders - their solos wouldn't be what they are without his riffs behind them. We can fight about this later, but Alexi Laiho wrote some of the most interesting and thought provoking riffs in metal during his stay on earth - all while singing and shredding as well. I will convince you they don't suck.
Brian is an all-timer for sure. I saw Bodom, Fear Factory, and Lamb of God in a club in 04 and would have loved Bodom if not for the keyboards. Worked a show of theirs in Phoenix as well. Definitely respect Alexi’s skills.
Great list! Mine would include andy larocque, chuck schuldiner, john baizley, john christ, joe duplantier, bill kelliher, adam jones … but yeah, we all stand on the shoulders of iommi and priest
My friend ,RESPECT to your final top3 ! Number 2: all three! 100% right! The Iron Man is the HEAD, the inventor, the ONE!!! I love you Tony 🖤❤️🔥 Greetings from Greece
One that is in my top 10 that doesn’t get a lot of recognition is Vivian Campbell on the early Dio albums. Mostly because Dio is one of the greatest vocalists of all time (not just in rock/metal). But behind those vocals was a great guitar player who created some iconic riffs. Rainbow in the Dark. Holy Diver. Last in Line. Also wrote one of my favorite solos of all time in Last in Line! 🤘
That's a tricky one, because Dio wrote the riffs on bass, in the shed with Vinny Appice. I'm assuming Vivian contributed lead guitar and solos, but Dio wrote the riffs.
@@BornTooNate True that, but I guess we would have to define and differentiate a riff with a bass line. To me it’s those added flares (is that the right word) around the bass that can give a riff its character. I don’t know if these are the right words, but to me it’s like the difference you’re speaking about between a riff and a chord progression. Either way, Vivian played a mean guitar! You should do some of your favorite solo writers of all time. I’d like to put Shawn Lane on my list! One of the best shredders of all time in my opinion, and severely underrated outside of the guitar community.
Decade ago, when Hanneman died, I went to see who did what in Slayer. After going thought their songs, that I like the most, I realized that 90%+ of them were made by Hanneman.
I can't disagree with any of this list, even though I would have had Chuck Shuldiner somewhere in the Top 5. That "NOT On Drugs" note with Iommi's picture made me spit out my cold brew. Appreciate all you do, Nate. By the way, what shirt is that? I'm trying to look around the microphone but I'm a bit dense.
Yup shoulda mentioned Chuck! Although I think the extent of his genius stretched beyond just writing riffs. He was a master arranger, lyricist, forward thinker, etc. The shirt is Hällas, incredible band from Sweden.
honourable mentions i think peter green from fleetwood mac, the green manalishi, oh well, the guy was insane for his time. keenan is also credited with a lot of that first down album, and man, the crushing grooves on nola by down were something else, one of my all time favourite metal albums. as much of a pantera fanatic as i was in the 90s, i think nola might have even edged out the almighty vulngar/far beyond/trendkill trilogy for me at the time.
Great picks, I don't know who my top 10 would be but a name no one has mentioned and would be one of my picks is Mark Shelton of Manilla Road. You a fan at all Nate?
You didn't mention Sepultura or Chuck from Death. I'm new to your channel so maybe you credit them somewhere else. No love for Richie Blackmore or Van Halen either?
My list before watching this: Gregor Mackintosh - Paradise Lost Jeff Hanneman - Slayer Tony Iommi - Black Sabbath Dave Mustaine - Megadeth Fredrik Thorendal - Meshuggah Matt Pike - High On Fire Bill Kelliher - Mastodon Max Cavalera - Sepultura Joe Duplantier - Gojira Robb Flynn - Machine Head
Zakk is one of the greatest metal and rock guitarists who ever lived. He’s got some pretty killer riffs especially toward the beginning of his run with Ozzy, early Black Label Society, and the Pride and Glory album. To me his real strength is his lead playing/soloing. The lead guitar on Ozzy’s No More Tears album is the pinnacle of Zakk’s playing, to me at least. It rips but everything he plays perfectly serves the songs.
You have just single handily summed up my love for Priest and Megadeth. Both bands may be not have the same level of fame as their closest comparisons.The riffage and song writing is what makes them stand out. Don't get me wrong I love Metallica and Iron Maiden too but for me Priest and Megadeth are more consistent at delivering the goods. Victim of Changes, Delivering the Goods, Genocide, Deal with the Devil there's so many. Symphony of Destruction and Breaking the Law were my first two self taught riffs. Was also a little too ambitious and gave Holy Wars a good go.
You'll have to explain leaving out AC/DC, High Voltage thru Flick of the Switch. Not a guitarist, but if those are not 10 out of 10 riffs in 50+ songs, what is?
Based on what Bob says in his video lessons, Fu Manchu write together. I guess it was so from the beginning since many early riffs sound 100% Eddie Glass and even their drummers write killer riffs (Romano, Brant).
I gotta have EVH in the top 3...his riffs are better than his solos. Also a shout out to Jake E Lee. Another guy known for being a shredder but the riffs he wrote for Ozzy (yes he wrote those songs) and Badlands were great
I hear it as "Riffriders"! I saw CKY in a cool show opening for Graveyard and Opeth around 2009. I had Physical Graffitti as a kid and it took me 40 years to properly appreciate In the Light. I think Plant's vocal is good on that one, using brooding lower register, mostly. High praise for Pike! I've been re-listening to all the High on Fire lately. Gonna pre-order the reissue of the first album. SoT had a monthly countdown of greatest riffs. I have enough trouble thinking of favorite songs outside the context of albums let alone singling out riffs. Perhaps if I still played guitar it would be different. But yeah, Sabbath of course! I dig Tony Bourge (Uriah Heep), Alex Lifeson, Fast Eddie Clarke, Michael Schenker, etc. Here's some most meaningful to me. Dango (Niklas Källgren) of Truckfighters. Probably his most well-known riff is from the first song from their first full-length (the song was recorded a few years earlier for an EP), "Desert Cruiser" on Gravity X (2005). These Swedes were real road-dogs between about 2006-2016, touring North American numerous times. I've seen them over a half dozen times, which is remarkable given how many other European bands have NEVER toured the states. A reliable live favorite, full of explosive energy, lots of jumping around, kind of how I imagine it would have been like to see AC/DC in small clubs in the mid-70s. They took a hiatus which only lasted less than 2 years, and were back playing fests in Europe, and their triumphant return to North America will be at Desertfest NYC with Colour Haze, Boris and Melvins -- an incredible lineup. Hope they play some more dates while they're here, and perhaps even release an album #6! Speaking of Colour Haze, I love Stefan Koglek, but his playing is more snakey and about the tones. J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. I had my favorite riff writers from classic rock, but they weren't truly integrated into my personal life like other music I was listening to as a teen. The Cult's Electric had me entertained summer of '87, but the music didn't mean a lot to me. That changed on my very first day of college, when a dude on my dorm floor heard something I was playing in my room, maybe Husker Du, and immediately said I needed to hear Dinosaur (the Jr hadn't even been tacked on yet). It was the first time in years that guitar riffs truly affected me emotionally. You're Living All Over Me is packed with them -- "Kracked," "Sludgefeast" and "The Lung" among others. It was my gateway to the Melvins, grunge, stoner rock, and also circling back to metal. Fred "Sonic" Smith of MC5 - "Kick Out the Jams," "Looking at You," "Sister Anne." Widely known as an influence on the early punk scene and Australian garage punk, what many don't know is the profound influence they had on Deep Purple. Apparently the heaviness of In Rock is a direct result of Blackmore and co being blown away by MC5 and their first live album. Chuck Berry. "Johnny B. Goode," "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Route 66." He didn't write the latter, so not sure if his riff was unique, but there's a hundred others to choose from. Nearly every British guitarist who started in the 60s cited Hank Marvin of The Shadows as a key influence. I still hear him in current garage/surf noir bands that some assume were just influenced by Rowland S. Howard of the Birthday Party, Cramps, etc. "Apache," "Wonderful Land," "The Frightened City."
Great picks! Man speaking of Opeth I probably should have put Mike on here. Another example of a dude using one note to write a GOAT riff… (Deliverance breakdown)
Good video. Actually the second one I watch from your channel (just only recently discovered it). My list would be very similar to yours. Notably I would have the great Victor Griffin in one of the top spots. As for #1, yeah, there can be no doubt that Tony is the greatest riff lord of all time. Obviously. I mean, come on.
Great list for sure Nate…here’s my top ten..10 Josh Homme 9 Tom Morello 8 Bill Steer 7 Adam Jones 6 Dave Mustaine 5 Buzz Osborne 4 James Hetfield 3 Matt Pike 2 Dime 1 Tony
@@BornTooNate ten is tough honestly I’m such a riff fiend..Hanneman is the one I was like shit he’s not in my top ten ? There’s so many that I enjoy…your riffs too man are badass steeped in all this tradition of riff monsters but still have their own feel and vibe easily one of my modern favorite riff lords and hearing you talk about your craft in such an insightful way is top notch
"Not on drugs"..hahahahahahaahahahaha. Thanks as always for the great vids Nate. I am sure this list will be universally accepted across the metal/rock fan world ;) \,,/(>.
Have you ever heard the band "Riff" from Argentina? "Pappo" plays the guitar and sings, for many here in Argentina, one of the best guitarists in history.
Tipton is def top 3 all-time. I recall reading an interview with Simon Phillips who played session drums on Sin After Sin (and for my money invented a lot of the metal drum vocabulary at that point), and he said it was basically him, Tipton and Halford in the studio. I always kind of felt maybe Tipton did the bulk of the writing. In any case... I'm also aboard the "Hetfield should be here" train, but all said it's a great list. (Adrian Smith is also one of my all-time heroes, but I get what you said about Maiden).
I’m definitely biased toward Tipton when it comes to the Judas Priest contributions. By all accounts he and KK were ruthlessly competitive, to the point of disliking one another. It’s pretty clear who won the arms race when it came to soloing, so I think maybe it’s a safe assumption to believe Tipton had a better riff output as well? Maybe not though…
There’s definitely some not riff-related negative bias here… I’ve never been a fan of the guy as a person. If I was able to completely separate that out, he probably would have been mentioned. But I ain’t perfect 😂
Would have a hard time changing anything on your list. HUUUUGE Maiden fan since 1983 and totally get your point. Also cause maiden made a living off of their own tropes. Lots of crossover riffs, but they are great at it and I worship them. Iommi is king. Absolutely. Every other top 10 finalist with the exception of The Rev is kinda just playing their version of what iommi was doing in the first half of the 70's. Also Hail fucking Shynyrd!
He is but he disparaged Dimebag so that cancels it out. He’s got some SICK riffs but when you think about how long he’s been doing it… he should have a lot more of em…
Good list, mostly, but WOW do I disagree about AC/DC. They're almost nothing but riffs. Eliminating them is crazy. Nobody's heard of 'em, but go check out The Muggs. Talk about some riffs... lawdy lawd.
