Riff Of The Week: Best Of 2020 So Far Edition
Riffs from Ripper, Pyrrhon, Mare Cognitum, Oranssi Pazuzu, Nechochwen, Odraza, Civerous, Skam, Wayward Dawn, and Slaughter Messiah. Who you gonna vote for?
Sorry.
Look, everytime I remembered I needed to compile this post it was when I wasn’t at my cpu. It just so happens that I’m not on my laptop 99.98% of my life. Hell, the only reason I ever actually use a computer these days is to download shit and do Toilet ov Hell stuff. So this post is about 3 – 4 weeks late. Send your vitriol to toiletovhellradio@gmail.com.
Anyway, last time on Riff Of The Week we battled it out with our fave +10 minute songs for our L O N G Edition. Sensing shennanigans with the looks of those results, I’m awarding victory to Megachiles once again. Come at me.
Today we’re putting forth some of our fave riffs from the first 6 months of 2020
Here’s what you sent in…
Andrey Tkachenko
Civerous – ‘Decay and Decline’ (Riff @ 5:40)
Normally I can’t do the Riff Of The Week thing properly because I always tend to vote for/submit the riff based on my love of the band and particular song, not on the merits of the riff itself. Not this time, though. This time I’m choosing the most filthy riff I’ve heard this year, primitive and brutal like a stone club to the head and just as effective. The rest of the song (and both sides of this split) is great, but this is irrelevant now. This riff, in and of itself, slams.
KM
Mare Cognitum – “Mars (The Warrior)” (Riff @ 1:28)
This atmoblack riff will set you on fire on the subatomic level.
Holdeneye
Wayward Dawn – “Ridicule” (Riff @ 0:00)
This obscure release is one of my favorite death metal albums of the year. The opening riff on “Ridicule” wowed me the first time I heard it, and I come back to it at least weekly. This is criminally under-supported on BC. Remedy that, people!
Hans
Skam – ‘Shit Out Of Luck’ (Riff @ 1:22)
Lest we forget this little exercise in maintaining mental health. Still kills convincingly and consistently.
mikezero
Ripper – ‘i Origin’ (Riff @ 0:00)
This whole song is a riff fest, but the beginning is especially good when that tasty bass drops in.
Megachiles
Nechochwen – ‘Of Wisdom and Prophecy’ (Riff @ 0:36)
This split didn’t feel like it got enough love back in January. The Panopticon side is one long bonkers song with a really heart-wrenching backstory. Y’all are all bad people for not submitting it for our previous RotW. Anyways, Nechochwen kicks off the split with one of the catchiest riffs I’ve heard all year. Short, sweet, makes you feel like you’re atop a rugged bluff overlooking endless prairie and sky. Checks all the boxes. Somehow the spoken word section also sounds bad ass, which is practically unheard of in a metal song.
Evhron
Odraza – “…twoją rzecz też” (Riff @ 3:45)
Priest is a fucking god.
This year has had so many great releases this year so far, and the surprise return of Odraza was one of the highlights of my year. Is there anything better than getting a bandcamp ‘released’ notification to one of your fav bands, and finding the fucking thig is out instantly? No 3 month waiting and getting your album experience ruined cause you played those two singles way too much cause you have no discipline and now you kinda feel like skipping them cause burned out a bit compared to the rest of the album but it feels wrong so you never do it and even after months the singles are still the most memorable tracks…
Anyway, you guys should listen to Odraza. Here are some reasons why you should listen to this duo rather than the other very popular foggy duo:
-can make anti-nazi statement without taking legal action and playing alt-right victim card
-no ski-mask gimmick
-lyrics aren’t edgy 4chan talking points
-if you get into Odraza you’re gonna like all the side projects of these two ( Totenmesse, Biesy, Gruzja, Furia…) and their friends without fear of running into fascists
And, while I find Mgla’s music good, I just can’t agree with every single youtube comment trying to sell this as the biggest thing in black metal. And the allegations don’t help with trying to get into ’em.
So anyway, consider checking out the album if you haven’t, itsa mastapiece. Check out Biesy‘s newest release too, now turned one (wo?)man band, with an unexpected change of theme, and some new developments to the sound.
McNulty
Oranssi Pazuzu – “Tyhjyyden sakramentti” (Riff @ 6:12)
OP’s newest one includes songs that could each be broken up into smoller songs. This one here transforms at around the six minute mark. It’s an awkward transition, but who better to handle awkward transitions than the greatest band on the planet?
vanNeun
Slaughter Messiah – ‘Descending to Black Fire’ (Riff @ 21:21)
Somewhat gnarly.
Lacertilian
Pyrrhon – ‘The Cost Of Living’ (Riff @ 0:00)
As I said on the Twithole a few months ago, DiLella’s main riff on here is one of the most demented and intoxicating I’ve heard in 20+ years of listening to metal.
Next week’s theme is 1990
Send in riffs released in that year only
Anyone can enter
Submission details below
