Best Metal Riffs 2024

[@JoeMurfitt]

Nobody is talking about Nik absolutely NAILING the Mirar riff at the end like wtf

[@mrdrprofsteve4455]

The video hasn’t even been out for 30 minutes 😂

[@pedropessoa2246]

This riff is insane and seems difficult to master LIKE THIS! Nik absolutely crushed it 🔥🔥

[@davidguthriemusic]

my brain literally broke both watching and listening to that riff, Mirar is completely insane and i can't believe Nik nailed it!

[@robmortimer4150]

🔨

[@24DJX]

And Divine?

[@rodrigolimavs]

Timestamp: 0:19 | Black Dhalia Murder - Panic Hysteria 0:32 | Linkin Park - Two Faced 0:42 | Judas Priest - As God is My Witness 0:54 | All That Remains - Divine 1:12 | Tremonti - One More Time 1:26 | 156/Silence - Better Written Villain 1:39 | Counterparts - A Martyr Left Alive 1:53 | Gaerea - Unknown 2:03 | Dream Theater - Night Terror 2:21 | Greyhaven - The Welcome Party 2:34 | Bleed from Within - Hands of Sin 2:45 | Gojira - Ah! Ça Ira 3:06 | Wage War - Tombstone 3:19 | Sylosis - The Path 3:34 | While She Sleeps - Rainbows 3:46 | Bring Me the Horizon - Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd 3:56 | Breaking Benjamin - Awaken 4:06 | Boundaries - Easily Erased 4:21 | Speed - The First Test 4:40 | Knocked Loose - Suffocate 4:54 | Kublai Khan TX - Antpile 2 5:13 | Jinjer - Green Serpent 5:26 | Fit for an Autopsy - Savior of None / Ashes of All 5:38 | Entheos - An End to Everything 5:56 | Ingested - Paragon of Purity 6:10 | Spiritbox - Soft Spine 6:29 | Gore. - Babylon 6:44 | Vola - Cannibal 7:00 | Allt - Emphemeral 7:18 | Erra - Crawl Backwards Out to Heaven 7:35 | Thornhill - Nerv 7:47 | Disembodied Tyrant - Malphasian 8:00 | Mirar - Hestehov

[@Befuddledzebra_6]

You’re a real one homie

[@downsouth5447]

I didn’t bother listening to the BMTH album but will now. That Top 10 riff was a banger!

[@Phaseish]

KING.

[@M4calicious]

you're the real MVP

[@7ChaosBlack]

Awful. When the only "metal" bands are Dream Theater and Sylosis, you know this list is garbage.

[@sayairvanalif]

watching this before it got muted by copyright lmao

[@Rusli1659LPSoldier]

same here. Copyright is our enemy.

[@Dakenousss]

Same

[@amygroff17]

Honestly it's soooo annoying

[@gtametal4007]

it will not be muted, he doesnt use any 3rd party samples. Everything is recorded by him.

[@sayairvanalif]

@@gtametal4007 but when it comes to "other artist song" i guess the label gonna take it down. but who knows, i wish they see reactors/covers count as marketing by them

[@armabearo]

Jason Richardson really brought a lot to All that remains after Oli's passing. RIP Oli

[@xXFallout2]

Forever cold was a straight up call out. And we’re all here for it.

[@armabearo]

@xXFallout2 oh 110%! And I am all for it too

[@atvena]

Bring back the melody

[@Adenu]

when nik plucked that floppy lowest A on mirar, i felt that

[@l.s.8590]

Nailed the mirar riff yo

[@ConFamGaming]

DUDE that Mirar riff was absolutely insane can you PLEASE do a tab/ playthrough of one of their songs?

[@miniHAWKTTV]

I feel like 'Cure' by ERRA really went under the radar for a lot of people this year just because so many other heavy hitters dropped albums and EPs. But that album is one of their better ones imo. It's got a few things different about it from their previous works to make it stand out a bit. It made my personal top 3 albums this year, that's for sure.

[@FathomlessChaos]

I think it's their best album, easy top 3 this year.

[@miniHAWKTTV]

@@FathomlessChaos I can't decide between 'CURE' and 'ERRA' for me personally. I listen to each album just as much as the other.

[@WehlerDealer]

my fav ERRA record too, well played

[@matthewtheking8989]

God what a year for metal, knocked loose (JUNT JUNT JUNT), Fit for an autopsy, blood incantation, architects, gojira, orbit culture, dream theater, opeth, LoG, Thy Art is Murder, the black dahlia murder, Make them suffer, Judas Priest, babymetal, (yes I included them) Happy new year to all metal soldiers from the former home of nik nocturnal 🇨🇦. Let’s keep up the fight As Exodus said, we’re bonded by blood!

[@RogueSanta]

TAIM 😢

[@cile5459]

what did orbit culture release?

[@GoofyGoofballl]

Boundaries😢

[@7ChaosBlack]

Awful list and most of it isn't metal save for Priest, Bud Light Cantation and Dream Theater (*barf*). Listen to some actual good 2024 metal releases like Deceased, Condemner, Slimelord, Polemicist and Mefitis.

[@djoHn548]

@@7ChaosBlackyou’re so edgy lol

[@josephowens9053]

1:13 so sick to see some Tremonti!

[@fiveish77]

Thought the same thing. He gets slept on. And even though they aren’t metal, AB is one of the bands that is just an endless talent pool.

[@SHEAKENBAKE]

Nice to see Nik show some love to Tremonti

[@anthonyforato8615]

i was really surpised too

[@snakeeyes9246]

Their new album drops next week.

[@Casy_Bnes_]

Dude, Black Dahlia Murder being the first riff caught me so off guard, I am so unbelievably happy right now lmao

[@_abhishake_]

Black dahlia had new album??? Gotta check it out! You arer always helping us with New discoveries, thanks man!

[@jakob187]

1. Awesome to see Gore's Babylon on the list. They're fucking fantastic. 2. THAT'S GODDAMN RIGHT YOU SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST! That riff on Hestehov was one of the coolest, original, and amazing riffs I've heard in a looooooong fucking time.

[@Gore.TheBand]

Thank you ✨🖤🌸

[@Joeleon2]

I will never forgive DT for leaving that Malphasian riff as a cliff hanger

[@ND-jz7iu]

What about that few seconds of disgustingness at like 1:10 of abberant waltz? That riff could have been abused

[@lucky-fh2uu]

Easily my fav metal riff of all time came out this year and im so obsessed with the pattern “supreme ruler - kublai kahn”

[@ThorsHammer88]

I think the Judas Priest riff was the best of the bench. Lower tuning doesn’t always mean better.

[@BudiLiscious]

You nailed Greyhaven - The Welcome Party! Awesome riffs in all albums.

[@sahinlandman4667]

Love me some mathcore

[@santuy2644]

1:27 156/Silence - Diamond Aren't Forever

[@darkbloom044]

not including THAT riff from 'Over the Garden Wall' by LMTF was a crime

[@MerkFreeks]

FACTUAL, no LMTF love is crazy

[@KingNyanCat]

​@MerkFreeks it's been crazy how absent they've been on everyone's top picks. They absolutely crushed it this year with their new album.

[@timklafke4712]

frrr, their new album is getting slept on so hard. Over the garden wall was probably one of my top 5 songs for the year tbh

[@allisonblare]

soooo true 💯

[@tylerblanchard8290]

Dude nice mention on Tremonti great riff

[@cristiansegura4998]

Great Nik! Maybe my tastes are too classic but I would've loved to see something from 'The Last Will And Testament" by Opeth. Cheers man, love the channel

[@ConfydeMusic]

Truuuuuuu so many killer riffs on that album. I especially love the ending riff on §4

[@Velakor9150]

this though! Opeth's new songs are incredible and have some amazing riffs. I'm surprised Whitechapel isn't in here either.

[@kidnamedalaska]

I was just about to comment about this album, it was amazing.

[@7ChaosBlack]

Nik doesn't listen to metal. Don't expect any trad, power, thrash, black, death or doom.

[@mercedesmarxist69]

the speed flute impression got me good nik :D

[@CzarekMadrak]

ALLT EPHEMERAL

[@jamesstetson2623]

So I’m not the only one who knows🤘

[@CzarekMadrak]

@jamesstetson2623 man! I recorded full cover this masterpeace on my channel

[@Baneowo]

fuck yeah absolute banger, im so glad he included allt in this vid

[@CzarekMadrak]

@@Baneowo yeah! I recorded this masterpeace to my channel

[@AyyFuji]

I was just about to zone out and it came on, we finally get a dub.

[@cogitoergodumm]

Wow! Really cool and sick riffs! Thanks for all the effort. Personally, I use these lists as recommendations as to which bands and albums to check out. And there's a looot of good stuff here.

[@Shy_Hulud]

I wouldn't even expect Gaerea to be on Nik's radar but fuck yes.

[@cakeburps]

Of the handful of bands on this list that I haven't listened to, I wanted to check them out first. Hope their earlier stuff is dope too!

[@Shy_Hulud]

@cakeburps listen to Salve!

[@CaptainBangief]

Great job Nik. I would have added The Browning: FED UP Foreign Hands: God Under Fignernails Darko US: Bunny Suit Seeyouspacecowboy: Silhouettes In Motion Issues: Since I Lost You Invent Animate: Sleepless Deathbed Like Moths To Flames: Angels Weep Landmvrks: Creature Diamond Construct: Switchblade OST Within The Ruins: Demon Killer Born of Osiris: A Mind Short Circuting Olly Steele: Waves As I Lay Dying *I know*: Burden Or I would just put the entire Boundaries album in there cause every riff in Death is Little More is gold.

[@noname782g]

add one Dance with the Dead - Rust

[@VichinoDDA]

Labyrinthus Stellarum - Downfall, Kanonenfieber - Panzerhenker. A bit of Space Black and Blackened Death.

[@thebadsiddhartha]

Thanks for the last one, never heard of Mirar and that riff just got me hooked pretty badly! This sounds just awesome and I've never heard such riff!!

[@ohbxnny6299]

I was waiting for the Hestehov riff as that’s easily my favorite and most memorable riff of the whole year and you put it last🥲 Nik is a true knower

[@mackhill8851]

Ngl VOLA to Allt transition was crazy

[@EggTamago7]

Great to see some more guitar content! Personal favs of the year not already in the video: - Opeth - §3 - Nemophila - Rise - A Wake in Providence - Agonofinis - Eidola - A Bridge of Iron and Blood

[@noname782g]

and this - Dance with the Dead - Rust

[@EagleScout2019]

My favorite riff from this year came out not too long ago. Hanabie - Bucchigiri Tokyo Hanabie has some sick riffs in general, that are fun to play too, but the way this riff gives me goosebumps everytime the song starts

[@zdrowe5131]

Nik had the tounge out for the Mirar song, he was FOCUSED massive props, i didn't think he'd do Mirar

[@necrodex]

Great list. My favorite is Rainbows, simply one of the best songs of 2024.

[@tearzofthefallen6586]

This is what I am here for. Would love to see more playing; been subbed since it was the main upload format. Cheers, Nik.

[@theimaginator8757]

BLEED FROM WITHIN MENTIONED YES

[@umiey2150]

Good job man! Really shows how diverse the scene is. Nice to see greyhaven here too🙏

[@ahsoka_666]

Here’s a few which I like that weren’t on the list : Xandria - 200 years Fleshgod Apocalypse - Morphine Waltz Future Palace - A fool on the devil’s reins Bloodywood - Nu Delhi Ecclesia - Antecclesia Sevens spires - No place for us Poppy - New Way out

[@Aw_drew_it]

When you did the video for kublai khan new album I put them on my Spotify and I've heard 4 songs fully and bangers knocked my head loose lol

[@rohannath1767]

Malevolence - Trenches, Paleface Swiss - Love Burns & Darkest Hour - Nihilist Undone

[@mareksimurda5101]

Those riffs sound so sick when you play them, good job Nik! On the other hand I feel like Job for a cowboy - Beyond the chemical doorway deserved to be here as well. Overall loved it, I will check some of the bands I didn't know before.

[@tswizzlemcbizzle]

Thanks for the playlist additions Nik!

[@spliceoftyler]

Could imagine learning all these riffs is a great way to really level up ones writing composition wise. I appreciate you creating your own backtracks for these songs that way were truly focusing on the composition of the songs vs how well the production makes it smack. so many of these bands styles could be combined and so may different cool ways after hearing these songs this way.

[@thisguy2973]

That disembodied tyrant riff is ridiculous and sooooo good. And he saved it for the end of the album.

[@JoaconDemand]

I needed Memphis May Fire with Paralyzed, the 2nd prechorus guitar riff here is one of the most unique riffs made this 2024 🔥

[@ConnerLee-c6n]

Another banger right here by Nick himself

[@The_KlaVra]

GAEREA getting a shout out? FUCK YEAH! All those riffs were so sick.

[@snakob8038]

Nik fantastic video with great musical talent. I would like to point you towards Killstar by Reliqa. It starts with a fantastic riff and is overall a fantastic song. Happy New Year to all.

[@vikramsubramaniam6699]

The riff after the first chorus in Mute by Caligula’s horse has the nastiest riff I’ve ever heard

[@mquilez01]

Nik, you always share the ~good~ stuff! Thanks for all the Fun Metal Things this year! Happy New Year to you and Paula!

[@Elotium]

Huge undertaking to put this together. Respect. Amazing playing and production. Excellent choices on the playlist that made it sounds like one big song. 👏👏👏

[@MofosRealReviews]

This is making me realize that metal music nowadays is just a ton of noise but as long as you play it fast all these dead heads will love it 🥲

[@SimoneGelli]

I kinda feel the same. I used to like songs based on the most badass guitar riff, but with modern metal it's usually the chorus or most disgusting guttural voice... I think I wouldn't recognize most of the guitar riffs of my favorite songs of the past couple of years.

[@MCMcFee]

Thornhill love right here! Cracking that top 5, a seriously underestimated achievement but well deserved, that Nerv guitar work is nasty and delicious in equal measure 😛

[@sevenagnbeats]

The hestehov riff is amazing. Best riff of the last decade.

[@novclo]

as a casual metal fan, this is a great way to discover new albums/bands

[@kramerhousehold5433]

That is some awesome playing!!!

[@ThomasLessard49]

The path’s whole ep from sylosis is god damned good happy you mentionned them

[@jameshughes1580]

Great job man thank you so much

[@StevenDwight27]

That 7 string Music Man with the gold plated pickups is so sick 🔥🫡🔥🫡

[@andallicansayis]

MIRAR ❤

[@MrDeBisschop]

Here's my yearly dose of learning new bands! Thank you, Nik and happy new year🤘

[@jwspitz35]

6:29 is just Death Roll with extra steps

[@adamsheldon9290]

I just discovered Boundaries a couple months ago and am so glad to see them make it in this video

[@kodyhood6527]

That 0 bend behind the nut on Gojira's Mea Culpa is sooooo NASTY!!!

[@themetal217]

Nails: Give Me The Painkiller! Massive riff

[@misterwhite847]

One of tha best of 2024!🤟🤟🤟

[@pickledparsleyparty]

Whoa. Gaerea mentioned. Sick.

[@brandon2930]

Awesome video and skill as usual from Nik. Sad to see no Within the Ruins as they have so many banger riffs in the latest album.

[@El.Sasquatcho69]

I commented before I watched and was so happy to see Greyhaven - the welcome party on here. Their guitarist Nick Spencer is such a unique writer and the whole band vocals everything is a different take new favorite band of 2024 now on into 2025. 💯🤘🔥

[@darsiachraf1815]

I would recommend the intro riff and the second from the Warbeasts song by the Finnish Band Bloodcross! Their entire album(2024), Gravebound, is great! There are so many good riffs and guitar solos, and it also includes so many sub-genres! In one album (Melodic /death/black/thrash metal), give it a try!

[@stuff339]

Been a good year for metal I feel. Have you heard bekhauf? A collaboration with bloodywood and baby metal. It's pretty awesome, I'd highly recommend

[@22suprstar22]

This is everything to me, all my faves were on here :'). Also AMAZINGGGG playing at the end w/ Mirar holy shit

[@geniuzzz_]

This kind of videos make me want to learn how to play the guitar and learn my favorite song's riffs to play them all day.

[@farbodgarshasbi5677]

That "Gore." riff sounds like "Death Roll" by Wage War! Both are absolute bangers, though! 😎

[@TobiAcoustic]

Nice seeing Greyhaven taking a spot. Their work is amazing for years

[@konstantinweyers9614]

Awesome picks! Always love too see this Video at the end of the year :)

[@domiissartier2774]

Super work, Nik, well done!

[@falricthesleeping9717]

Considering this video should have included possibly every sylosis riff, but I accept one single riff from them, but they really deserve MOAR

[@TomHuitema-dp1zb]

That Gothenburg riffing from TBDM will never get old

[@crshrson]

thank god that you said it took you long to learn them at the end xD now i dont need to throw my guitar out of the window

[@predatorofpie]

Look, there were a lot of cracking riffs this year, and you've got a solid list, but I feel missing Detonate - The Halo Effect is a crime. Gothenburg baby!

[@ZachKrys-cu9yp]

Drop F0 coming 2025😭

[@StaySic4Ever]

There is even lower demo stuff out there.

[@jasonwiles7832]

Great list!! As requested- RAH RAH RAH March Of The Unheard by Halo Effect brought me right back to hearing In Flames for the first time, but in 2024.

[@usssimshullnumberdd-4095]

I find your videos are a great way for me to get into other metal bands. Thank you for doing what you do and broadening the horizon

[@pzX145]

Man Savior of Non /Ashes of All is great but Hostage has the better riff in the verse imo

[@cjp10102]

The path by sylosis is an absolute killer riff

[@trueblood710]

really glad you included one from the new Judas Priest album, I thought the whole album was solid

[@BoG_City]

Nice seeing Gore. in the overview, they really took off this year!

[@Gore.TheBand]

Thank you 🥰🖤🌸

[@brenthronik6066]

oh snap! Thanks for making me aware of some new All that Remains :D

[@codymitchellaudio]

Honorable mention: Flying the Black Flag by Shadow of Intent. Many riffs in that song go way harder than they need to lol

[@Ryan_Q3L]

Man, this is really impressive. Nicely done.

[@laxstateofmind]

Love that Erra riff !

[@w328x]

You killed all of these!👏my personal favs to play are a martyr left alive, tombstone, supreme ruler, and darkness shared

[@BillyMartinChannel]

Insane playing but most impressed with how much time it must have taken to learn and master them all! My vote for missed riff would be Fade by Cane Hill.

[@freakinpro]

Opening up with that black dahlia. Hell yeah dude

[@ultrabike3699]

Bro you HAVE to do a full cover of hestehov that would be so sick

[@zachmetalhead]

Great to see Greyhaven on here, that riff is so catchy

[@jamesstetson2623]

Allt- ephemeral

[@mrdrprofsteve4455]

7:01

[@bmxrideszach]

So happy to see greyhaven make this list! Criminally underrated band

[@Mr_jz_12]

Lead off with one of the tracks from the album of the year, nice!! Also good to see "vola" get a mention.