Riff Of The Week: Where In The World Edition
Where the riffs at?
Last week saw you jockeying for the front in our Badass Horserider Edition of Riff Of The Week, and after an intense battle Finnish riff flailers Havukruunu fought off their Nordic nemeses from Emperor and Satyricon to claim the crown of the most badass of all.
This week we were seeking riffs from songs that feature a (real world) place in their title. Let’s go globetrotting to check out what great, good, and/or objectively shithouse stuff you sent in.
Janitor Jim Duggan
The Band – ‘Atlantic City’ (Riff @ 0:00)
Hey y’all, it’s Janitor Jim Duggan. My riff is Atlantic City by The Band. The riff mark is at 0:00 Here’s a link and a short description.
This song may not be metal but it’s a really good song. The instrument work is great and the people playing them are amazing. RIP Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Levon Helm.
FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper
Ultravox – ‘Vienna’ (Riff @ 1:21)
This is not metal at all, (it’s new wave) but this song is so fucking good I actually chose 2 riffs from it, the verse riff due to the mix of a tight as fuuccc drum beat, some awesomely percussive synth work as a bassline that would probably be pretty fucking heavy if transported to, say, a distorted guitar and the awesome piano flourishes that help make the song what it is, and the last chorus due to how over the top and grandiose it finishes. This song is an 80’s classic and was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the category. If I could be bothered to find a doom metal cover of this I probably still would submit this awesomeness over it, because this is peak new wave.
GoatForest
Nile – “To Dream of Ur” (Riff @ 3:19)
Ur was a real place. Look it up. This is a real riff. Listen to it.
Hans
Behemoth – “Transylvanian Forest” (Riff @ 1:17)
The riff might be a little hard to make out b/c TRVE and KVLT, but I really dig the chorus of this song.
xtuffxghostx
Pig Destroyer – “Baltimore Strangler” (Riff @ 2:11)
There are a ton of good riffs in this track (not to mention the fantastic lyrics from the strangler’s POV – I just wanted to hold her like an anaconda) but I like this slightly sloppy one best.
Jack Bauer
Zhrine – ‘World’ (Riff @ 2:08)
The world counts as a place right? You can travel to and from it technically. That eerie otherworldly riff that starts around 2:08 is one of my favorites.
wesselbr
Testament – ‘True American Hate’ (Riff @ 0:33)
The amount of killer riffage throughout the whole of Testament’s discography is just unbelievable and maybe unequalled by their thrash metal contemporaries. This song is a more recent example of that. When that intro ends and that riff kicks in, you just know shit is going to go down. Into The Pit! \m/
GRUMP DUMPUS
Katy Perry – ‘California Gurls’ (Riff @ 0:54)
THE RIFF SLAMS INTO YOUR EAR DRUMS LIKE TWANGY GLASS CAUSING YOUR BODY TO UNDULATE IN HYPNOTIC HOLYWOOD SUN WORSHIP YOU CAN FEEL ALL WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE DRAIN FROM YOUR MIND AS IT IS REPLACED BY AN UNCOMFORTABLE COMBINATION OF CHILDHOOD CANDY IMAGERY AND NOT-VEILED SEXUALITY YET YOU CANNOT STOP THE PUNISHING SONG BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU DESERVE IT FOR NOT INCLUDING IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT IN YOUR GUITARIST COMPETITION ENJOY YOUR JUST DESSERTS YOU UNCULTURED SWINES
TheGranulatingDarkWitchyMilfs
Cathedral – ‘North Berwick Witch Trials’ (Riff @ 0:30)
North Berwick is a place in Scotland where in 1590 a group of alleged witches allegedly cast a curse on King James VI to make his trip to Denmark go bad. But we know that if those people had any magical power at all, it was nothing compared to the power of Gaz Jennings’ riffing on this sweet tune. The riff at 0:30 is a riff for the ages
vanNeun
Behemoth – ‘Towards Babylon’ (Riff @ 0:24)
You get to decide whether it’s about an ancient city or some town in the US.
Lacertilian
Russian Circles – ‘Geneva’ (Riff @ 2:45)
The clean loop @ 2:45 that eventually cedes into the simple but nonetheless awesome octave riff a minute or so later reminds me of how much I missed listening to Russian Circles over the past few years. Incredible band.
Next week we’re looking for Atypical Riffs. You know those ones that take you by surprise by being completely different to the band’s usual style? Yeah, them ones.
Submission details below.
(Header image courtesy of That’sTheJoke.com)
