Riff Of The Week: November Free For All
Choose your fighter!
Last week we held our J Edition. Voting was pretty tight but in the end the people voted in favour of continued employment for a particular bovine bumper. May all your cattle remain chaste during this difficult time.
This week we had a good ol’ fashioned free for all. As it’s a themeless round, you won’t be getting any special deals as we were unable to attract a sponsor. If you’d like to offer your services for future promotional spots, leave your business details below. Now, on to the riffs!
HD
W.A.S.P. – ‘Mean Man’ (Riff @ 0:00)
I like to imagine that this riff is the auditory equivalent of what Chris Holmes felt like about 30 minutes before he chugged that bottle of vodka in The Decline of Western Civilization Part II. In other words, it’s completely fucking awesome, badass, belligerent and unstoppable. He may be the butt of jokes nowadays, but at one point he was a mean motherfuckin’ man, and for that, I salute him. Riff @ 0:00. [Disclaimer: Howard Dean, Chris Holmes, and W.A.S.P. are not responsible for the life choices you make under the influence of this riff]
Tom Warrior’s Beanie
Savatage – ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’ (Riff @ 00:24)
I tried to submit this to a Riff of the Week once before and was disqualified because my dumb drunk ass forgot to to paste the link into the email; so this is my redemption. Also extra points for the super cheesy video.
FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper
Glassjaw – ‘Mu Empire’ (Riff @ 0:08)
Seeing as Glassjaw have finally seen fit to grace us with new material, (OH MY GAWD DAT NEW GLASSJAW SONG IS SOOOO GOOOODDD!!!!! Ahem… sorry about the allcaps, the choon got the better of me) I thought it would be a good idea to submit a song by them, it was between the riff at 0:09 and the bridge, which alternates between a pretty cool slower bit and some lightning fast picking that really complement each other, but the brute force of the opening riff cant be fucked with. There is just so much power in that riff it’s unbelievable.
DrummerNard
!T.O.O.H.! – ‘Kali’ (Riff @ 3:04)
Riff from 3:04 onwards.
Nukenado
The Reticent – ‘The Decision’ (Riff @ 6:24)
I was originally going to go for the main riff from Anaal Nathrakh’s “Of Fire, And Fucking Pigs”, but considering AN has won two RotWs and the exact song has been nominated (for worst riff, ironically), I guess I should dig deeper and find something less conventional.
This being a free-for-all, I had plenty of choices to choose from, but I guess I’d choose the most obscure, albeit not the most kvlt.
The ending riff from The Reticent’s “The Decision” has one of the best “fade to black” outros I’ve ever laid eyes (ears?) upon at 5:32. I’d compare it favorably to “Dry The River”’s outro by Harakiri for the Sky. Emotional and tense but still catchy, this riff is one that I’ve had in my head since hearing it. The video’s a bit campy, but learning about the backstory behind the album and listening from the start, the simple repetition suddenly gains massive weight as it builds to its crescendo…
I think I’m going on way too long.
The riff should be at 6:24 on the official video (on the CD and downloaded versions, the intro and song are seperate), but I encourage you guys to listen to the song from the beginning. Ending this before I go on for another 100 words.
Jimmy McNulty
Inanimate Existence – ‘In Moonlight I Am Reborn’
Hi Toilet, it’s James McNutty here. I am submitting “In Moonlight I Am Reborn” by Inanimate Existence because holy cow that’s a good riff (akshually, it’s two riffs in one). Start at 0:00 and jam along as both lead and rhythm axemen play to each other’s strengths. It’s catchy, it makes for a great “hook” to a death metal tune. The whole album’s great too, and features tons of memorable moments like this one. STAY DEATH
Yarnhawk
In Mourning – ‘For You To Know’ (Riff @ 3:04)
I absolutely love this riff. Something about it just clicks in my brain in a way that few other things do. Regardless of how long it’s been since I’ve actually listened to this song, this riff will pop into my head once a month at minimum, usually more often. We’re treated to a clean guitar preview at 3:04, and then at 3:21 it kicks in for realzies. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
tigeraid
Khemmis – ‘Serpentine’ (Riff @ 5:40)
Khemmis’ effort last year was immense, but there’s treasure to be had in their first album, 2015’s Absolution. Around 5:40, Ben and Phil take us up out the thudding, churning doominess of Serpentine into a sudden, triumphant marching riff, with a second accompaniment joining the fray about 30 seconds later. Great stuff
Lacertilian
Throaat – ‘Tormentia’ (Riff @ 0:00)
Throaat’s occult-drenched black thrashing debut from last week is still getting mad replays over here, the album is melting pot cauldron of infectious raw thrash riffs, spooky synths, and 80’s trad-metal hooks. The intro to the (first of two-part) track ‘Tormentia’ is a majestic hell-march straight out of The Chasm’s thicc prog-death playbook. However, it’s not long until this cedes back into the primal thrashing hijinks of yore. Hit play, crack a brew, and secure your headphones tightly.
Next week we’re getting radikvlt. Send in your fave Morbid Angel riffs to toiletovhellriff@gmail.com by Friday, being sure to include a screen-name, and a short description + time-stamp.
