The Most Used Riff in Metal: From Death Metal to Metalcore

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This is the most used riff in Metal, and I bet I missed many, many more songs that used it.
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Mix and master done by myself too.
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Track list:
0:00 Avenger - Revenge Attack
0:18 Ceremonial Oath - Dreamsong
0:36 Death - Spirit Crusher
0:46 The Black Dahlia Murder - Elder Misanthropy
1:07 Avenged Sevenfold - Unholy Confessions
1:37 As I Lay Dying - Through Struggle
1:47 Chiodos - There's No Penguins In Alaska
2:01 Parkway Drive - Frostbite
2:27 Suicide Silence - Destruction of a Statue
2:45 Attack Attack - What if I Can't Check My Myspace When We Get There?
2:55 Asking Alexandria - Not The American Average
3:16 Black Veil Brides - Knives and Pens
Gear Used:
- ESP LTD M-10
- Jackson Soloist SLX
- Warwick Corvette $$ 5-string bass
- STL Tones Amphub
- Parallax by Neural DSP
- Toontrack EZDrummer 2
- Drumforge Kickforge
- Ernie Ball strings (10-52) (9-46) (45-130)
- Dunlop Jazz III XL Tortex Flex 0.88 mm picks
- Happy Cables
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface
- Ableton Live 11
#guitarriffs #metalriffs #guitarriffsbattle #metal #guitar #jojoplaysmusic #music #metalguitar #metalmusic #deathmetal #deathcore #metalcore #heavymetal #melodicdeathmetal

[@jojoplaysmusic]

So what other riffs sound exactly like these? I'm sure there's plenty. WATCH PART 2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWjboHeDmLOsnbM

[@lukabravo14]

Atreyu - Dilated

[@user-jo5vy8iw3l]

"Two Weeks" by All That Remains, "In Dying Days" by As Blood Runs Black, "Rose Of Sharyn" by Killswitch Engage, "The Faded Line" by Lamb Of God, "The Poison" by Bullet For My Valentine, "Composure" by August Burns Red, "Ghost In The Mirror" by Motionless In White, "A Shot In The Dark" by A Day To Remember

[@3x0d7s]

Judas Priest - Electric Eye(1982)

[@fedordark4547]

​​@@user-jo5vy8iw3lI think As Blood Runs Black played this riff much more interesting than s.s.

[@MrEvandroers]

The inertia - aborted

[@jesussandoval9272]

Dude as soon as I read the title I knew what the riff was, it’s like the lick but for metal

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Lmao fr tho

[@lvcien.vempire]

LOL

[@apoplexiamusic]

metal-lick-a

[@bcbitchkkv]

Or like 7-5-8-7 on the A-string in thrash metal (Slayer “Black Magic”, Death Angel “Thrown To The Wolves”, Vio-Lence “Eternal Nightmare”, Testament “Burnt Offerings” etc.) :D

[@cru2006]

Yeah lol

[@ivernik]

This is the longest song ever. Started in 1985, ended in 2010. 🤯

[@maxonmendel5757]

thats wild

[@suyogyakarki5417]

It started in 1981. Warlord is the true inventor of this riff on their song children of the damned kzbin.info/www/bejne/q16XY4KkoM2VgKMfeature=shared

[@stormtrooper99]

In fact, there is one that is longer 😂

[@MickAshMetalMan]

IT NEVER ENDS! IT NEVER ENDS!

[@VelinSevven]

​@@MickAshMetalMansick bring me reference bro

[@whitebread940]

Like Dimebag said “ We’re all just borrowing riffs”

[@lootbrute6467]

Liike diimebag saiid "skull yea borther 💀"

[@StetzMusic]

That’s why Dimebag is the greatest ever. Dude was just real af

[@MikaTarkela]

I have to disagree.You always have the choice to create something unique.

[@murilon4kayama989]

Spirit crusher is a eternal banger, probably my favorite riff on this format

[@danielmoraes743]

definetly the one who sounds more diferent than the rest

[@leocai1909]

the riff that thats immediately after this one in the song is also a banger! so catchy

[@Arkramn]

It is the best and the father of all.

[@jordanbottom9921]

That Death album is fucking amazing front to back

[@CousinPaddy]

For sure, and he only played half of the riff, the second half being what really makes it so great.

[@ofir123456789o]

The thing about Spirit Crusher, is that the song has like 10 other great riffs

[@cade2561]

Yeah, and it sounds quite a bit different than the others even if the structure is the same

[@simoncm8352]

Man discovers 5-7-8 riffs It's basically 95% of Myspace era metalcore (and it was 50% of melodeath before it, listen to At the Gates)

[@tshred666]

It’s 5-7-8 in drop tunings, but if you noticed, the first three were all in e, e flat, and d standard so it’s a 7-9-10 riff with some perfect fourths thrown in

[@mobl0x179]

Numbers just mean the frets not the notes

[@progfox]

really goes to show how lame and unoriginal metalcore is

[@orionlax626]

​@@progfox Listen to some good metalcore then.

[@jobrotelis6664]

⁠@@orionlax626fr like that logic should Apply for every genre cuz every genre has that one defining trait that can be repetitive not only metalcore 🤣

[@BaekhyunJ]

This is THE riff

[@jojoplaysmusic]

It’s the riff that got me into Metal

[@Gameboy-2007-yt]

@@jojoplaysmusicME TOO

[@meep9935]

​@@Gameboy-2007-yt me three

[@rafael_emmanuel]

I can see why this is the most used riff... it's pretty excellent.

[@MoosicDude]

Ah yes the "I listened to Slaughter the Soul one time" riff. At the Gates released that monster of an album and promptly broke up leaving void for imitators.

[@vicentecollao2288]

It's just a very catchy riff structure

[@thisguy2973]

THANK YOU!!! OMG!!! Back in 2003 when I started hearing these shitty metacore bands ripping off At The Gates, I was pissed because those same fans HATE real death metal. At the Gates got screwed….

[@MoosicDude]

@@thisguy2973 Exactly my experience. A few of them might like later In Flames, but non of them would recognise that Slaughter of the Soul pretty much solely spawned the later 90's/early 2000s metalcore scene.

[@trveheimer6360]

pre sots is superior (the whole riff of this video isnt even good)

[@MoosicDude]

@@trveheimer6360 Ok

[@fredator32]

Who knew that the Rolling Stones' Paint It Black could be so metal

[@GNARical]

Check out the black dahlia murder cover then ;)

[@pickyyeeter]

​@@GNARicalor Agony Scene

[@emrekt22]

which is also borrowed from a turkish song "bir eylül akşamı" that melody is seemingly as old as time the deeper you look the more you find

[@alexisromero2641]

For me, judas Priest "Electric eye" was the song that started everything

[@mega_jonne1546]

For me its avenger. You can hear it if you listen its hard for some people i know

[@josejesushernandezbustillo9139]

​@@mega_jonne1546but avenger comes in 87, electric eye comes in 83

[@thepoweroftheweed2215]

And Painkiller (by Judas Priest as well) was the first 5-8-7 riff

[@spiritinblack370]

@@josejesushernandezbustillo9139 In 1982

[@Joel-do3oi]

I was expectating Electric eye all the vídeo hahaha

[@mateofernandez486]

What most of these riffs have in common is that they start in the first grade having a melody with the notes of the II, bIII and IV grade, and then they go down to the bVI.

[@sangramos]

Thanks for the music theory, interesting to know!

[@slebonafidekappa9422]

wow, can you read notes too? i bet tho you cant play wonderwall

[@maJastoL]

So Basically a minor scale. What the hell is a grade?

[@mateofernandez486]

@@maJastoL a grade is the position a note/chord is in the scale; for example, D is the 4th grade of the A minor scale because it's the 4rd note, the same logic with the others. I call them this way because the songs are in different tuning with different scales, so when I say "the 2nd" grade I'm referring to the second note of each scale.

[@maJastoL]

@@mateofernandez486 I thought that was called a scale degree. Never heard it be called a grade before

[@diegopena9681]

Thank You For The Venom - My Chemical Romance

[@IrreIephant]

lol it’s funny to see the different generations in here cuz mine was unholy confessions, never heard of the older stuff hehe

[@DuckReconMajor]

I kept waiting for this!

[@MangoJerry93]

DUDE you freaking nail those tones for every single Band, that's damn impressive! Awesome vid!

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Thank you! I got that ear for tone you know ;)

[@HeroSword_P]

He really did 👌 almost identical to the studio versions of all these songs.

[@jerodcopper6338]

@@jojoplaysmusic any chance i can get those settings for tbdm? using stlhub as well

[@triplej8666]

@@DankSandwich bro u listen to that a7x tone???

[@harleyflynn4]

Really? Some of them are too much like "bees in a jar"..

[@HiFugly]

I love melodeath with these kinds of riffs. I really dig the first four songs here

[@lashedandscorned]

You should listen to Intestine Baalism, a melodeath band that still remembers the 'death metal' in 'melodic death metal'. Their debut album An Anatomy of the Beast is their best.

[@HypeWrecks]

@@lashedandscornedTo tag onto this, Mors Principium Est is a super underrated Melodeath band.

[@daveataway1952]

Electric Eye by Judas Priest follows that line aswell

[@springbloom5940]

Iron Maiden 🙄

[@unbreakableroad9294]

was wondering where I heard if lol

[@daniellongo7873]

@@springbloom5940Judas Priest were around years before Iron Maiden started putting albums out

[@springbloom5940]

@@daniellongo7873 And of course that riff was on their first album.

[@reefrunnerart]

The bit after the verse in Killswitch Engage’s “Rose of Sharyn” and the chorus riff In Flames’ “Take This Life” could probably qualify as well

[@LouisianaPaleHorse]

They absolutely could. Every one does its own thing though. It's like the same ingredient but a different dish. That 0/5/7/8/10 thing on the lower 3 strings is public domain

[@6ic6ic6ic]

Some As I Lay Dying as well.

[@tiemenjorna6552]

And as most of the songs in the video those songs are bangers

[@terriblecertainity]

downpicking " Elder Misantropy"...NICE!

[@jojoplaysmusic]

;)

[@suleyman2768]

it'll continue being used because that pedal pointing the low note while moving around the high notes sounds so damn good with distortion on electric guitar.....it's like the "boots and cats" drumbeat that so much electronic music uses, works for the genre

[@TylerFrankenstein]

Can't forget about the "boots, titty, cats, titty, boots, titty, cats".

[@ghouliethousandtrouser2905]

I honestly don't understand how this happened. It's like the metal version of the Wilhelm scream, but without the irony.

[@obscurelanguages6836]

cause its the best riff ever

[@TheOneWayDown]

At The Gates inspired metalcore musicians. Musicians grew up on metalcore and kept writing those riffs. Couldnt tell you before ATG though

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

@@TheOneWayDown All metalcore is just riffs from Slaughter of The Soul and Death's Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance regurgitated endlessly.

[@gingeranagram2467]

​@@penttikoivuniemi2146 Okay boomer

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

@@gingeranagram2467 Nice try, but not even my parents are boomers. Also, aren't you a bit late with that meme?

[@BrotherSammy889]

Great job! The last 25 seconds of "the poison" by bullet for my valentine is another example!

[@guitarfreak80ftw]

I knew they used this riff as well 😂

[@lebarak69]

Lol as soon as I saw the death album I knew exactly what riff it was

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Hehehe

[@excho]

Also: Carnifex - Hope Dies With the Decadent The Black Dahlia Murder - Closed Casket Requiem Obtenebris - Opulance of Hate Obtenebris - Skyfall

[@RollerSpendingGaming]

In Flames- Colony,Food for the Gods and Dead God In Me also good example of that riff template

[@maxsumatra2615]

Crawling through knives too!

[@ghostofmoredishesmorebitch1507]

Eh colony definitely varies but then again their early albums only had about 15 guitar tracks layered so I'm sure it's in there somewhere😂

[@thalloutboy]

Take This Life as well

[@Stefanoski88]

Because it's the most melodic guitar riff and always sounds so good, and also, dude, you are an awesome player!

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Thank you so much! :)

[@rodrigoemerickcoriolanosar40]

man, that creamy white jackson is one of the most beautiful pieces i've ever seen. great content too!

[@jojoplaysmusic]

It was Snow White when I bought it. So it has aged beautifully.

[@ESPmrBrough]

This riff style informed my entire early identity as a guitarist lmfao Best versions of it imo are in suffocating under words of sorrow, des Moines, and porcelain wings

[@alejandroxan]

All those songs are bangers!

[@Solid_Dude]

Porcelain wings is so good

[@nonyodambiz]

This probably my favorite riff of all time. I will forever call it the Avenger riff

[@JEsterCW]

These tones are really close to the studio albums, so goodjob

[@movzhepok]

Nice that you found so many ! Damn, I should have noticed that long time ago !!

[@disidenciatotal]

Maestro, excelente toque como siempre, saludos desde Colombia.

[@jojoplaysmusic]

A la orden

[@realcarlspartacus]

Thanks for the great vids.. You should have a million followers. Keep the great job.

[@tolyo96]

For AILD I was hoping you'd use 94 Hours, but Through Struggle is a good choice as well

[@destinybennett666]

Banquet in the Darkness by Intestine Baalism is very similar to these riffs too

[@morre6894]

Love that band, i don´t even know how i discovered them.

[@EncoreASMR]

Cheers for introducing me to Avenger and Ceremonial Oath

[@jimtobakos1933]

He is Legend - Scram Toots

[@sangramos]

Awesome video, I think you can even argue some priest songs can go before revenge. The opening riff of electric eye comes to mind. Saludos de EEUU!

[@miguelcpinto]

I knew I've heard that riff in more than one band... Just didn't know it could be in so many! DAMN 'Hope dies with the decadent' by Carnifex also has a pretty similar riff around the 50 seconds mark

[@valence9503]

you’re a master of tone bro

[@mclovinlife4018]

This video earned a sub

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Happy to have you

[@lazurithmusic7165]

As the video went on I started to realize this riff is done By a lot of People I named a couple before they showed in the video funny lol good stuff man

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Thanks! And yes, A LOT.

[@brandonbramblett1345]

Amazing job dude! One I thought of was “Rain” by Trivium

[@captain_green278]

Dude we need your tones tutorial, every time just perfect

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Noted

[@connorross4336]

@@jojoplaysmusicyo dude this guy above me keeps commenting on your videos impersonating you you may wanna block him

[@jojoplaysmusic]

@@connorross4336 I've reported it several times already

[@playdiscgolf1546]

Cracked a rib at As I Lay dying to Through Struggle

[@274bus]

i love 578 so much, +rep for chiodos😖🤟🏻

[@broondjongen]

And I can listen to it over and over again 😎

[@JosiahR1]

Gaaaahh this takes me back to the metalcore stage everyone was in during high school

[@cru2006]

Can't get better than this honestly

[@skullthunder3181]

Dismember- Dreaming in red and Collection by blood also use this style of riff, and ofc slaughter of the soul and blinded by fear by ATG. Judas priest was probably the first to use it in electric eye. I think the rolling stones were the true inventors of the metalcore riff in paint it black

[@AntiSocialMachine]

See also, darkest hour, all that remains, trivium, killswitch engage, bullet for my valentine, etc lol

[@rimrick665]

Got the same monitors, love them! Actually have the 5" mackies for my turntable and the 4" for my desktop setup... And it's a good riff... Death!

[@a1rabidfox341]

Killer guitar playing

[@Bulbafett.]

Holy hell so many people use this riff lol Also another one to add to the list, the band Last Ones Left song "Unveiled" also uses the same riffage

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Nice profile pic

[@robertray2714]

That one riff from Painkiller comes to mind as well

[@alexvoyd1132]

The absence of At the Gates on this video is so loud!!!

[@DuckReconMajor]

This has been bugging me for years! Also was waiting for the MCR song but at least the BVB one was here👍

[@RodrigoBoschi]

the 0-3-5-6 and all possible variations of this

[@MaximusAdonicus]

Death and Black Dahlia weren't exactly the same, only slightly similar in a few notes. After that there was a bunch of riffs that sounded almost identical 🥴

[@lightningmonky7674]

You should make a modernized version of this vid where bands are stull using it to this day!

[@jackalessi87]

it never gets old tbh

[@vonicrimson3619]

Most of my songs use that kind of riff, I love it

[@sykx7]

Nailed the tones. It might be overused but I love almost every one!

[@leoncvrtila3995]

Intestine Baalism - Banquet in the Darkness. Starts right off the bat.

[@rlobbest]

What a blast from the past.

[@AndrewSchnitzer-jf5dk]

This was fun. You could throw in Trespass by The Haunted.

[@RandalSimone]

I see you with that Crimson Vow box in the background… 😎

[@daviderizzi_]

Imperium by Machine Head has it too, and it's very similar to the Death's one. Great video!

[@noesunyoutuber7680]

I love the 5-7-8 riff. It just has a feel to it that can't be beat.

[@Wail-kf7sg]

How is it possible hahahhaah it must have taken you great effort to gather this up🤘🏼

[@anxious_ape]

Also, killer shedding bro

[@SavageOra]

ICONIC AND GENERATION DEFINING

[@atvena]

Suffocating under words of sorrow

[@claudiasolomon1123]

This riff is in Lamb Of God's song 11th Hour during 2:14 - 2:32.

[@lalolanda3996]

loved that white Jackson man. gorgeous guitar

[@nine5661]

Birthplace and Burial Site by As Hope Dies is another good example

[@Xstagnation]

Also used in Summer's End - Haunting Hallowed Graves

[@josemariacastellanosgraner6971]

There's been a new release with this very same riff and I remembered this video and.

[@oldschooldeathmetal8417]

One of the greatest riffs of all time

[@Kvkvlvtvs]

This is literally every single melodeath and mid 00's metalcore band ever, love it! ❤

[@MatthewFTabor]

One of my own songs from around 2005 also has a similar riff.

[@John-gj1id]

What a great riff

[@debayanchakraborty7635]

Ahh....the legendary 5-7-8 riffing.

[@whatcanibreakdrums]

From literally the first riff, I heard like 4 different songs in my head 😂

[@demoriaeprice6764]

Loved all these songs forever but I gotta say that parkway slaps different

[@Notnone666]

I forget they smacked

[@BigMuff75]

Dismember (Burning In Red) and of course At the Gates - Blunded by Fear sound close. And Electric Eye from Priest.

[@Adramaelech]

Dreaming in red* by Dismember. Great song, great memories

[@ryanpatrick3567]

dude this is sick. i thought Judas Priest's Painkiller was the first instance of this Gothenburg sound. Looks like im going to have to check this Avenger band out, good finds.

[@HexyLexy04]

Trespass by the taunted is my favourite version of this riff

[@JamieSlays]

Such a cool video 0:25

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Thank you so much! :)

[@BlackbladeYT]

I was thinking the 2 Minutes to Midnight riff, that one gets used in a lot of things. You're right on the money with this though, my first thought hearing the riff was Electric Eye which didn't even show up in the video haha

[@MrUNIXsnob]

well done.

[@MatiCastro024]

Sacerdote del Horror from the band Serpentor has the same type of main riff too🔥

[@tshred666]

As soon as I saw the artwork for the sound of perseverance, the cleansing, and waking the fallen in the thumbnail I knew what riff it was. Especially since it’s the only consonant riff in suicide silence’s discography

[@shindig96369]

I swear I was just in my room playing around with writing a riff just like these and this is the first suggested video when I open KZbin. That's either a crazy coincidence or they're REALLY listening 😂

[@MaxutoOkusaki]

Blinded by fear has that riff too

[@stxlaxPP]

Knew it would be this lol. The band that I can recall using this riff the most back in the day was As I Lay Dying

[@feliceshoneychel2290]

SHEEEEEESH🔥

[@darkroot_]

as much as i hate to say it BVB's iteration of the riff is one of my favorites, even if i dont like their music beyond it.

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Yeah

[@joetroutt7425]

I think I'm gonna use that riff for one of my songs. Hell, I'm gonna use it for all my songs

[@dillonbija9592]

Crawl through knives by in flames comes to mind!