This is not a rankings post… I wanted to just take the opportunity highlight some really impressive riffs in rock music; some you may be very familiar with and some you’ve never heard perhaps. This release I intentionally went a bit more well-known for the most part but I plan on making this a series so if you like these please come back and check out later iterations of Amazing Riffs!
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
I’ll get started with an All-Star; You surely know this riff and this song, it’s one of the best songs of all time. The individual note riff is housed between the 12th and 15th frets using both E Strings which really gives it that high sound. Has that 1 note variation on each bar to give it that 4 bar feeling that sets up the entire structure of the song. It’s such a good riff but you’ll only get it at the beginning of this epic track. Still so many amazing elements in the rest of the song though so check out the whole thing below!
Erase/Replace – Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl)
While you know the band you may not have heard the song. They start out the song with the riff but I chose to isolate the one that follows the interlude. This Lick is so good. The way it just swings up especially with the guitar bend to emphasize that swing; The lick is kind of basic but extremely effective. They say (and he says) Dave Grohl writes riffs like a drummer but I think this one was more traditionally crafted. This bridge goes into a great outro chorus so I recommend checking out the full song below.
Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
I decided to include the pick scrape hah. But then again you get the iconic riff to this insanely popular song. This riff is actually one of the very first riffs I ever played on guitar. Also one of the first songs on Ozzy’s solo album, and this Riff demonstrated the project wasn’t just going to sound like Black Sabbath. Master Guitarist Randy Rhoads tragically passed just a couple years later at the baby age 25 and makes you wonder what else he would’ve come up with; But this gem will always live on.
Never saw this Youtube below before, cool animated version for sure.
Little Cream Soda – The White Stripes (Jack White)
I could’ve chosen a few White Stripes Riffs but decided to go with this one because it is so chaotic. just the rumbling of the heavily distorted chord riff with the almost robotic quick licks between. just like computer buttons pressing in your brain. This one keeps you awake for sure. I feel Jack White is an underrated guitarist and you should definitely check out the rest of the discography if you haven’t already.
Unchained – Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
Another Guitarist Legend highlighted here. Eddie Van Halen has come up with a lot of amazing riffs but this one has always stood out to me. I love the intro iteration of this riff as it just plays the left side of the stereo audio really enhancing that burrowing sound so prevalent in this riff. Seriously the palm muted notes between the power chords just are just simple but absolutely perfect for this riff. It also serves as the riff in the chorus and the chorus is just amazing so check that out in the embedded song below.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) – ABBA (Benny Anderson)
Not your traditional guitar riff at all but this one is so catchy! No joke I only listen to this song for this riff. The progression in each bar takes you on a journey… and of course you need to repeat it. ABBA is not generally a group I go to rock out but they came up with some amazing arrangements. It’s no wonder that they are a massive group in Europe; even if the play/film Mamma Mia! changed their perspective to some as a Broadway band.
Godzilla – Blue Oyster Cult (Buck Dharma)
Sample above has the riff twice but the second with the bended 2nd guitar over it. It would’ve been a genius riff without that 2nd variation but the bend lick just makes it a masterpiece. For a semi-unknown band, I think almost everyone knows this riff; it is iconic. And at the same time a very simple power chord riff. BOC is one of my favorite bands and Buck is an amazing guitarist with great technical ability; so it is almost ironic one of his most famous riffs is so simple (though the licks like the one I pointed out start getting much more intricate).
Fun blog fact: Blue Oyster Cult was one of the inspirations for my blog, specifically the Underappreciated Bands series; I just need to write it. Don’t wait for that though! check them out.
Remember Tomorrow – Iron Maiden (Multiple)
This song off their first album is so impressive there is actually multiple riffs I want to highlight! Honestly, all 3 get stuck in my head without fail every time I hear the track.
I’ll start with the main riff perfectly personifies that awesome melding of Punk and Metal sound that early Iron Maiden carried. Similarly to the Godzilla Riff, this one is enhanced in the 2nd part by that bend lick; this time completely emphasizing that dark feel to it. The riff is also with the inclusion of some vocalization given the spotlight to really sink into your skull.
I want to throw this one in here real quick just because it is always really impressive to me when the rhythm/backing section of a guitar solo just stands out and (almost) steals the show. This riff is also when the tempo of the song abruptly speeds up and invites you to rock out. there is a 2nd variation of this riff as the solo progresses but i’ll just embed this one, else I may as well just put in the entire solo (Thought about it).
Finally the bridge riff between the two solo sections is perhaps the most impressive part of this great song. I mean you could probably just call it a higher tempo version of the main riff, but that tempo jump has me loving this variation just a bit more. These riffs early on the first album deserve credit for springing Iron Maiden forward as band to be reckoned with… and admired for decades.
