Riff ov the Week: Female-Fronted Edition // 1-30-16
Awesome Mohawk Man Jumps With Guitar In Studio
Awesome mohawk man.
Welcome. This week we’re jamming some riffs featuring our heavy metal sistren, but first, I guess we gotta talk about what happened last week.
The lizard won again.
That’s what happened.
Bow before your lacertilian lord.
Next week, I don’t want nothin’ fancy. Just send me some riffs. I don’t care what type as long as they rock, son.
Send your riffs to toiletovhellriff@gmail.com. Include your name, a link to the riff, the time of the riff, and an explanation. I encourage all you lurkers to submit, too. This is for everyone.
Masterlord
I could’ve taken the dartboard approach to picking a Nocturnal riff, but I really wanted one that highlighted the vicious snarl of the mighty Tyrannizer, so I went with “Swarm of Insects”. Kick it off at the beginning and realize that you need to listen to waaaay more Nocturnal.
W.
Kat Katz is 300 pounds of hate in what’s maybe a 105-pound bag, so what better way to accentuate that hate than with absurdly heavy doom? This song is overburdened with juicy riffs, but we’re going to with the fast one at about 5:46.
CT-12
The first time I listened to Ice Age, I was in love. The exhilarating speed, the quirky and subtly progressive riffing, the precision; everything about them was exactly what I look for in a top-notch thrash act. Sadly, they were plagued with consistently terrible management, personnel issues, and being the odd thrash band out in a burgeoning new death metal scene. These factors combined not only led Ice Age to their demise, but also damn near blotted-out any history of their existence. Thankfully, they recorded some demos in their time together and put them up online for free for anyone to enjoy. In the meantime, crank up your speakers, click the 2:00 mark on the link, and “THRASH IT UP”!
Jack Bauer
The riff around 0:44 is a fucking sick riff. And that’s all I really have to say about that.
Tigeraid
Many metal fans are hot or cold on Kobra and the Lotus; perhaps it’s Kobra Paige’s traditional opera chops mixed with a bit of a pop sensibility for vocals. I happen to like her work, and the band’s had some really catchy tunes. The main riff for “Soldier” immediately came to mind with this RotW challenge.
Ellipsis
Declared The Best Unsigned Band in New Jersey by this very site, Black Table are fronted by vocalist and guitarist Mers Sumida. @1:04 of the title-track off their Sentinel EP, the four piece lay down their brand of Blackened-Post-Metal-Whatever-I-Dig-It in fine style…
Richter
Ludicra is not the first band that came to my mind when this week’s theme was announced; they were the second. But they are the first woman-fronted band to come to mind in which the RIFFS are also generated by a woman. Which sucks for me, because their career is so replete with killer riffs that choosing just one is like choosing one of your umpteen children to be spared by genocidal marauders. Hopefully the riff I have chosen will make something of itself one day: spearhead a revolution, assassinate a prominent leader, star in a widely viewed reality television show. Y’know, whichever. Stab the overturned triangle button at 5:30. (Or, for the full effect, stab at 5:17 for the acoustic preamble to the all-out RIFFMAGEDDON.)
Lacertilian
The upcoming Lotus Thief release is my single most anticipated release of 2016. Bezaelith’s ethereal riffs and transcendent vocals are otherworldly. When combined with Otrebor’s (Botanist) stellar percussion I am transfixed, every single time. Be ensorcelled at 0:29 (or just hit play at 0:00 and listen to those beautiful harmonics).
Vegglampe
0:20 Evil.
Brock Samson
Sludgey goodness from this two girl unit. Start at 1:03.
Ted Nü-Djent
I shit you not, I was listening to this song when I read the theme for this week. How could I not submit after that? Main riff.
KJU
Done by none other than Elisa C. Martin, one of the best female singers out there, and a band so epic it puts Rhapsody to shame: Forget the goofy name, and enjoy!
Stanley
I don’t have many albums like this one in my collection. Maybe I need to get out more as Agrimonia’s Rites of Separation has some seriously headbangable riffs. While most of the band members are known from their output with bands such as At The Gates, Miasmal and Martyrdöd, as far as I can tell, this is lead singer Christina’s main focus. And it shows. She is one angry, hate filled young lady, with a lot to gripe about and the means to voice it. The riff starts as 1:27, but it’s at it’s most vehement when the drum tempo changes and Christina’s mean bellow kicks in at 1:43. Bang it!
Waynecro
The first minute of this song is a total riff salad. This part of the song changes frequently, shifting between chaotic flurries of high-speed riffing and slow, chugging grooves. Rachel Heyzer’s frenzied vocals are a nice fit for this frenetic pummel fuck of a song.
Boss the Ross
Lady Beast is a Pittsburgh based, female fronted, Metal band in the vein of the classic NWOBHM style. Last year saw the release of their second LP, aptly titled Lady Beast II. It’s a ripper of an album with riffs for days, but my personal favorite is on the track “Caged Fury”. We are greeted by a nice sliding intro and a few lines of vocals before the bass starts thumping and at 0:40 THE RIFF kicks in. STAND TALL, BE STRONG! THEY THOUGHT THEY HAD YOU ALL ALONG. BE BRAVE, BREAK THROUGH! THOSE WALLS NO LONGER HOLD YOU!
