Metal Hammer could've just compiled a list of 50 riffs they said were the best, threw all the household names at the top and called it day. Instead, the publication recruited members of Paradise Lost, Baroness, Between The Buried And Me, Arch Enemy, Ayreon, Code Orange, Zeal & Ardor and way more to pick out their favorites.
The list below, succinctly compiled by The PRP, doesn't seem to be ranked from best to worst either, which is pretty cool. The list includes everything from Artificial Brain, Dødheimsgard and Suffocation to Black Sabbath, Nevermore, Nirvana and Steve Vai. So there's certainly a lot to choose from! Check out the full explanations here.
50. Artificial Brain – “Estranged From Orbit”
(chosen by Ash Gray of Venom Prison)49. Savatage – “Hall Of The Mountain King”
(chosen by Michael Amott of Arch Enemy)48. Steve Vai – “The Attitude Song”
(chosen by Clint Lowery of Sevendust)47. Mötley Crüe – “Too Young To Fall In Love”
(chosen by Alexi Laiho of Children Of Bodom)46. Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
(chosen by John Baizley of Baroness)45. Soilwork – “Bastard Chain”
(chosen by Michael Weikath of Helloween)44. Whitesnake – “Still Of The Night”
(chosen by Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage)43. Parkway Drive – “Romance Is Dead”
(chosen by Sam Kubrick of Shields)42. Dødheimsgard – “Traces Of Reality”
(chosen by Mat McNerney of Grave Pleasures)41. Suffocation – “Infecting The Crypts”
(chosen by Jason Mendonca of Akercocke)40. Nevermore – “My Acid Words”
(chosen by Richard Shaw of Cradle Of Filth)39. Van Halen – “Mean Street”
(chosen by Alex Skolnick of Testament)38. Extreme – “Money (In God We Trust)”
(chosen by Dan Weller of SikTh)37. Keep Of Kalessin – “Armada”
(chosen by Serena Cherry of Svalbard)36. SikTh – “Way Beyond The Fond Old River”
(chosen by Keshav Dhar of Skyharbor)35. Celtic Frost – “Procreation (Of The Wicked)”
(chosen by Gregor Mackintosh of Paradise Lost)34. Periphery – “Pale Aura”
(chosen by Midori of Lovebites)33. Annihilator – “Phantasmagoria”
(chosen by Frederic Leclercq of DragonForce/Sinsaenum)32. High On Fire – “Baghdad”
(chosen by Isaiah Mitchell of Earthless)31. Ozzy Osbourne – “Bark At Moon”
(chosen by Stefan Helleblad of Within Temptation)30. Dissection – “Beyond The Horizon”
(chosen by Erik Danielsson of Watain)29. Fu Manchu – “Ojo Rojo”
(chosen by Tim Sult of Clutch)28. Deftones – “My Own Summer (Shove It)”
(chosen by Chelsea Wolfe)27. Judas Priest – “Victim Of Changes”
(chosen by Brian Tatler of Diamond Head)26. Forbidden – “March Into Fire”
(chosen by Frederica Gialanze of Black Moth)25. Opeth – “Master’s Apprentice”
(chosen by Paul Waggoner of Between The Buried And Me)24. Converge – “Heartless”
(chosen by Brady Deeprose of Conjurer)23. Manowar – “Gloves Of Metal”
(chosen by JB of Grand Magus)22. Veil Of Maya – “Punisher”
(chosen by Stephen Carpenter of Deftones)21. Gojira – “Toxic Garbage Island”
(chosen by Plini)20. King Diamond – “Welcome Home”
(chosen by Chris Broderick of Act Of Defiance)19. Meshuggah – “Sickening”
(chosen by Acle Kahney of TesseracT)18. Rammstein – “Du Hast”
(chosen by Sean Long of While She Sleeps)17. Type O Negative – “Everyone I Love Is Dead”
(chosen by Reba Meyers of Code Orange)16. Lamb Of God – “11th Hour”
(chosen by Doc Coyle of Bad Wolves)15. Alice In Chains – “Check My Brain”
(chosen by Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon)14. Rage Against The Machine – “Bombtrack”
(chosen by Luke Kilpatrick of Parkway Drive)13. Slipknot – “Three Nil”
(chosen by Kristan Dawson of Bury Tomorrow)12. Scorpions – “The Sails Of Charon”
(chosen by Ice Dale of Enslaved)11. Carcass – “Black Star”
(chosen by Jock Norton of Puppy)10. Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People”
(chosen by Jørgen Munkeby of Shining)09. At The Gates – “Slaughter Of The Soul”
(chosen by Sarah Longfield)08. Slayer – “Angel Of Death”
(chosen by Corey Beaulieu of Trivium)07. Pantera – “A New Level”
(chosen by Satchel of Steel Panther)06. Dio – “Holy Diver”
(chosen by Padge of Bullet For My Valentine)05. Machine Head – “Davidian”
(chosen by Scott Middleton of Cancer Bats)04. Iron Maiden – “Run To The Hills”
(chosen by Joel O’Keefe of Airbourne)03. Metallica – “Creeping Death”
(chosen by Pepper Keenan of Corrosion Of Conformity)02. Megadeth – “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”
(chosen by James Barnett of Cane Hill)01. Black Sabbath – “Symptom Of The Universe”
(chosen by Manuel Gagneux of Zeal & Ardor)
