Your top three must-know rock/metal riffs from the 80's on...

[Oldschool59]

What are your top three licks from the era? Not complete songs, not solos, just the coolest riffs; in your opinion, must-know pieces of musical history.

Mine (without too much thought into it):

-Into the void intro (Soundgarden, not the Sabbath version)
-Ain't talking about love intro (VH)
-Always on the run intro (Lenny Kravitz, okay, I admit, there's something very cool about this open E riff)

What are yours?

 

[skhan007]

The VH riff you mentioned is from the 70s, isn't it?

Any way:

Over the Mountain
Round and Round
Two Minutes to Midnight

 

[T Dizz]

Bark at the Moon
Lay it Down
Steal Away the Night.

 

[Blanket Jackson]

From the '80s everyone should know how to play Crazy Train, Sweet Child O' Mine, and Electric Eye. Extra credit: The Trooper.

 

[ghengis99]

Intro to Mean Streets -VH
Intro to Way Cool Jr. -Ratt
the main riff in Lost in Germany -King's X ( this may have been the 90's)
The main riff in Mission -King's X

 

[TheGuildedAge]

Kind of an odd question for me. I don't like covers and feel the first step towards being creative is stepping away from what others do. If you were into singer songwriter stuff, I would say there is no need for you to study hard rock "just because."

On the other hand, I think being a well rounded musician means having versatility, knowing "a little bit of all of it" as B.B. King once said.

However, if I were to look at English, I could see where there are certain books I just feel everyone should read. So I get your point.

So, long winded intro aside, here's my three for fun:

1. Crazy Train intro
2. Sweet Child O' Mine intro
3. Master of Puppets intro

My original choice was Eruption, but then I realized that was 78.

EDIT: How could I have forgotten "Mean Street?" Damn it.

 

[sods]

South of Heaven - Slayer
Bad Penny - Big Black
Then Comes Dudley - the Jesus Lizard

Intro bits for all the above.
I assume we're using 'Rock/Metal' to cover 'slightly aggressive electric guitar music', right?

 

[Guitar Josh]

Bark at the Moon
Lay it Down
Steal Away the Night.

Lay it Down is the proper Ratt song to name.

I prefer Over the Mountain to BATM

Then Unchained from VH.

 

[Echoplexi]

Lay it down- Ratt
Diary of a madman (when the overdrive kicks in)- ozzy
Postmortem- slayer

 

[Turi]

From the '80s onwards, or just from the '80s?
I'ma assume '80s onwards because Lenny Kravitz.

I'm Not Okay - My Chemical Romance
All The Small Things - Blink182
American Idiot - Green Day

Three must know pieces of musical history right there.

 

[T Dizz]

From the '80s onwards, or just from the '80s?
I'ma assume '80s onwards because Lenny Kravitz.

I'm Not Okay - My Chemical Romance
All The Small Things - Blink182
American Idiot - Green Day

Three must know pieces of musical history right there.

reported

 

[mikebat]

Over My Head- King's X
Dogman- King's X
Man in the Box- AIC

 

[micycle]

I'm keeping it to the 80s! And more personal taste than historical..

"I Don't Believe In Love" intro - Queensryche. A cool departure from power chords and riffs
"Satch Boogie" intro - Satriani
"5150" (all of it, too hard to pick a favorite riff) - Van Halen

 

[Wolfgangsta]

Since my top 3 has already been mentioned (Lay It Down, Unchained, Crazy Train), here's my next 3:

Love Removal Machine - The Cult (Hell, just about any song on 'Electric')
Breakin' The Law - Judas Priest
High N' Dry - Def Leppard

 

[Berlin Chris]

80s Riffs. Guilty pleasure stuff comes to mind:
Rock you like a hurricane - Scorpions
Paradise City - GnR
White Wedding - Idol/Stevens
Unchained - VH
Sad but true - Metallica
Gods of War - Def Leppard
Cowboys from Hell (ok, that is already 90s, right?) - Pantera

 

[JeffK]

Crazy Train is pretty much required.

Fill in the rest as you see fit.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

If we're doing "1980s and beyond" as I believe the title suggests, then I'll throw in three "must know" riffs from my formative years. (At least in the circles I ran in...)




!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BONUS ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[A-Bone]

"Spellbound"



"Push"



"Eighties"

 

[Yer Blues]

Since thread title states "80s on...." and I started playing guitar in the mid 90s, I will go with some of what I remember my friends and myself starting with.....

Smells Like Teen Spirit (obvious choice.. haha)
Killing in the Name ("dude.... you take the low E string and make it match the D string.....)
Man in the Box (as soon as someone got a wah we were all trying to do the "na na na na na na na na na" part that matched the vocal line)

 

[Oldschool59]

Now, where's my guitar?!

This is exactly what I was looking for! Great riffs, everybody! Keep'em coming...

PS: Didn't realize «Ain't talking about love» was from the late '70s. My bad. I'll leave it here, just because I can... ;-)
PPS: My question covers periods from the 80's onwards, so 90s are OK (even encouraged...)