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

[@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

[@ЖандосАубакиров-р9н]

"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]

​​@@ЖандосАубакиров-р9нI 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

[@Metalton95]

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

[@TrevyTrev-andTheFunkyPets]

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.

[@mmaviator22]

@@MikaTarkela You have to think about your subconscious and how your brain is repeating things it likes and have heard before and you dont even realize it. This is how it usually happens and why so many riffs are derivative. Its rare to get original riffs and tones. Usually 1 great artist is inspired by somebody and creates something truly different that then everybody copies. How many Korn, Periphery, Rammstein etc wannabe bands are out there ripping off the aforementioned sounds??

[@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

[@vzk99]

In fact, there is one that is longer 😂

[@MickAshMetalMan]

IT NEVER ENDS! IT NEVER ENDS!

[@VelinSevven]

​@@MickAshMetalMansick bring me reference bro

[@BaekhyunJ]

This is THE riff

[@jojoplaysmusic]

It’s the riff that got me into Metal

[@Gameboy2007-Official]

@@jojoplaysmusicME TOO

[@meep9935]

​@@Gameboy2007-Official me three

[@DystopianDr3am]

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

[@W4rriorOfLight]

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.

[@BruhMomentPatrick]

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

[@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]

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

[@harleyflynn4]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@shieldtrigger]

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

[@TheJohnnee]

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.

[@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

[@greedo69]

really goes to show how lame and unoriginal metalcore is

[@orionlax626]

​@@greedo69 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 🤣

[@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

[@daveataway1952]

Electric Eye by Judas Priest follows that line aswell

[@springbloom5940]

Iron Maiden 🙄

[@ceaselessroad9294]

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.

[@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".

[@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!

[@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

[@Lloocii]

Some As I Lay Dying as well.

[@tiemenjorna6552]

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

[@excho]

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

[@Emphasificated]

xenogenocide- fatality

[@lebarak69]

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

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Hehehe

[@terriblecertainity]

downpicking " Elder Misantropy"...NICE!

[@jojoplaysmusic]

;)

[@tolyo96]

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

[@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

[@ghouliethousandtrouser2905]

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

[@obscurelanguages]

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 😂

[@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

[@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

[@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! :)

[@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.

[@JamieSlays]

Such a cool video 0:25

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Thank you so much! :)

[@nonyodambiz]

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

[@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

[@JosiahR1]

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

[@leoncvrtila3995]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@disidenciatotal]

Maestro, excelente toque como siempre, saludos desde Colombia.

[@jojoplaysmusic]

A la orden

[@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

[@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!

[@whatcanibreakdrums]

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

[@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.

[@robertray2714]

That one riff from Painkiller comes to mind as well

[@RodrigoBoschi]

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

[@MISERABLE_SLAM]

0:46 is a masterpiece, black dahlia is so good, the riffs they have are so well put together

[@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

[@lowlifestyle]

I knew from the title alone that the video was going to be Gothenburg style melodeath riffing lmao

[@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

[@playdiscgolf1546]

Cracked a rib at As I Lay dying to Through Struggle

[@realcarlspartacus]

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

[@dillonbija9592]

You've got insane down picking, crazy hand strength

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Thank you so much! I do pride myself on my down picking :]

[@AndrewSchnitzer-jf5dk]

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

[@EncoreASMR]

Cheers for introducing me to Avenger and Ceremonial Oath

[@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

[@drpibisback7680]

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

[@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!

[@movzhepok]

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

[@Kvkvlvtvs]

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

[@jimtobakos1933]

He is Legend - Scram Toots

[@lightningmonky7674]

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

[@AntiSocialMachine]

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

[@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 🥴

[@mclovinlife4018]

This video earned a sub

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Happy to have you

[@p1xmcm]

Falling To Pieces - Shades of Grey (Left to Rust 2007) This is a mostly unknown band with great solid songs. As far as I remember they produced three albums before their break.

[@brandonbramblett1345]

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

[@Dieafreak]

Destruction of a statue by Suicide Silence was written and recorded in 2005 before that Parkway Drive song you’re comparing it to. Most likely destruction of a statue riff was influenced by aveneged sevenfold and unholy confessions. They sound similar, I’ve always thought ever since I heard Suicide Silence’s 2005 EP years when it came out

[@NursesVersesCurses]

Where Jazz has the Lick, Metal has the Riff.

[@nine5661]

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

[@debayanchakraborty7635]

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

[@RXLXNTLXSS]

There's also a riff in a Kreator song named "all of the same blood" at 3:58

[@valence9503]

you’re a master of tone bro

[@sykx7]

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

[@claudiasolomon1123]

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

[@alexvoyd1132]

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

[@daviderizzi_]

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

[@spookyindeed]

It's just like the family guy star wars special when they ask the cantina band to play something different and they just whisper to themselves to just play the same song again.

[@terenceaaron1999]

I like the Crimson Vow bundle box in the background.

[@jojoplaysmusic]

It has my unfinished chunky vampires deck

[@HiThereFaceHere]

Nik Nocturnal put out a song not long ago called 5-7-8 and it's meant to be a meme song. Just can't go wrong with it

[@jojoplaysmusic]

You really can’t. It just works.

[@SavageOra]

ICONIC AND GENERATION DEFINING

[@WeWokeTheGiants]

That riff is just three blind mice we all learned in preschool.

[@bigbelafonte8237]

This is one of the little reasons why i appreciate meshuggah so much. Their riffs are literally like no other sheeesh 🤯

[@suyogyakarki5417]

Not really man. If you look further into nydm bands, New Jersey hardcore and a lot of sludge and industrial metal you'll find riffs similar to meshuggah a lot of them. I mean it's not like they're obviously ripping off those bands but you want to check them out for sure

[@suyogyakarki5417]

Confessor, Kobong (they are another 90s band as important as meshuggah for the similar kind of sound), Lethargy, even nydm bands like suffocation, malevolent Creation

[@bigbelafonte8237]

@@suyogyakarki5417 Ive been studying, playing, reading, & making music for a long time. Meshuggah riffs are like no other. Ive gone deeper than a rabit hole’s rabit’s a hole. I appreciate the advice on “looking further” into other bands/music but it wont do any help… although i would definitely love getting some song or band recommendations from you! 🤘🍻

[@bigbelafonte8237]

@@suyogyakarki5417 great minds think alike!

[@suyogyakarki5417]

@@bigbelafonte8237 these bands were mentioned as influence to meshuggah and kobong were basically half brothers to meshuggah with even more interesting riffs. they have some of the most unique sounds. and ive been in the scene since the 90s ive met the guys from suffocation and confessor

[@atvena]

Suffocating under words of sorrow

[@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

[@NephilimKC]

I didn't even think this was possible and felt like we were borderline committing copyright infringement if a riff we had written even sounded similar to anyone else's.

[@jackalessi87]

it never gets old tbh

[@MusiCaninesTheMusicalDogs]

Did you discover all these songs by yourself or did you get them in some list!? If you figured it out all by yourself, that was a huge work, eh!? 😮 I'm not sure Spirit Crusher fits in there, but I'm a suspect because I'm a huge Death fan.

[@flaminghead1va]

+1 to this question; I think he HAD to do legwork on this. It just seems like too complicated of a thing to ask g00gl3

[@balintpalotas7807]

@flaminghead1va Well it surely isn't a very straightforward thing to google. But this style of riffing is actually called 5-7-8. Because you chug 0's on the low Drop tuned string and spice it up with higher notes on the 5th string at frets 5-7-8, (7th and 8th fret, not a native speaker sorry if it's not accurate) which are the first, second and third notes of the scale, but an octave higher. This riffs are essentially all built on the same formula with their own little unique variations and additions to the original. Nik Nocturnal recently wrote a song called 578 where the main riff is built on this same formula. you should check it out!

[@borisrobokov7002]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aauWq6OtbqqAfqM&ab_channel=TylerRossow

[@williamdavidortega6968]

There's a video called "Who created the metalcore riff" or sum like that, and it shows most of the bands here, including Death, Ceremonial oath, and Avenger. This video is still great tho.

[@Unknownusername1004]

@bobsmithg-eo7ordude almost every one of these songs are 10+ years old if not more than 20 (elder misanthropy is 21 years old as of this year) it has nothing to do with how all metalcore has become is watered down djent bands again just like they did in 2013.

[@FyreofShadow]

Soon as I saw the thumbnail I knew Spirit Crusher would show up lmao, that riff almost kicked off metalcore as a whole istg

[@anujupadhyay10]

There's a similar Trivium riff out there somewhere

[@brandanmaza2413]

I guarantee it i think in waves era or their first album has a couple

[@OkOk-bj6nn]

Like light to flies counts I think

[@anujupadhyay10]

@@OkOk-bj6nn that one yes, but could be a couple more.

[@whyisyes3957]

Like light to flies and requiem fit the bill

[@Adramaelech]

Maybe Ember to Inferno and Rain

[@emilianodesantis1302]

Camon dude, blinded by fear is the first and only riff that can be played with these notes and speed. It was borrowed too in first new in flames song

[@cru2006]

Can't get better than this honestly

[@metal_fan72rus]

That riff also appears at the end of The Poison (song) by BFMV, which I think is the best interpretation of it

[@ehudzechariahschmidt7036]

At this point, I think it's safe to say that this riff, like many jazz standards and chord progressions, should be in the public domain

[@helix1281]

You also couldve added that main riff in hope dies with the decadent from carnifex

[@jojoplaysmusic]

Trueee

[@rlobbest]

What a blast from the past.

[@anewt72690]

Iron Savior's "The Omega Man" also opens with this. Just everywhere lol.

[@Windir2112]

I can’t believe you didn’t include an Amon Amarth song that riff is like a third of their discography

[@Xstagnation]

Also used in Summer's End - Haunting Hallowed Graves

[@Bigtaco6031]

2002 Atreyu - Dilated Track #2 off the album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses 29 seconds in

[@broondjongen]

And I can listen to it over and over again 😎

[@Vordb666]

lmao pulled this up when I heard Dreamsong a minute ago and forgot it was in this video