The Greatest Guitar Riff Ever: 1983
In the year of Thrash coming to fruition, what takes the Best Riff of 1983?
Bad Brains - Destroy Babylon
Bad Brains expand on the sound a bit and the production a lot and yet this is just as raw and frenetic as the debut. Dr. Know is simply outta this world. A real riffer if there ever was one.
Bauhaus - She’s in Parties
David J continues to blow my mind as a bassist. I love the repetition of post-punk bass parts, just carrying a groove and melody throughout a song. So simple and yet it creates an entire mood on, like, every track. “She’s in Parties” sounds massive and the instrumentation is essentially just bass. We love the bass.
David Bowie - China Girl
Maybe the last great riffing album from the GOAT? We have Nile Rodgers primarily on guitar on Let’s Dance and “China Girl” is the shining moment here. I don’t really know how to describe what this music is doing but the riff is bouncy and a total earworm. The song is carried by Bowie but, like most great Bowie songs, the supporting musicians elevate it into the stratosphere.
Dio - Holy Diver
Holy shit dude. Yes lmao. This is the cheesiest shit in the world and it fucking rules. I think I first heard this song from, bear with me, Killswitch Engage’s 2007 cover lol and the riff in that version immediately hooked me. Guess what, the riff is sicker in the original! Who knew! Everyone on Earth I’m guessing!!
Echo & The Bunnymen - Back of Love
Oh my god dude this bass is fucking moving. This thing has a hemi. Really regret thinking this band was a one-hit-wonder for so long. It seems like this track was a single so why the fuck haven’t I heard this bass riff a trillion times like the other song?
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
”Where Eagles Dare” is not just my favorite song off of Piece of Mind but is also my favorite Maiden song overall, but I’d be lying if I said “The Trooper” didn’t have the best riff on the album. Steve Harris, the band’s insane bassist, wrote this one and you can tell because the thing is going a million miles an hour. Having that bass riff glue the two guitarmonies from Adrian Smith and Dave Murray together is why this band is one of the best from this era of metal.
Mercyful Fate - Satan’s Fall
I’ve never heard this song or any other Mercyful Fate song. I’m going to choose to ignore the vocals and focus on the riff. This is the Riffletter after all. The faster riffs don’t move me much but the slower, grooving riff around a minute in is such a sick sound that almost sounds like proto-Alice in Chains. High praise.
Metallica - Seek & Destroy
Really feels like I could almost have taken every volume of the Riffletter before this song and made it a prologue to this week. Few genres highlight The Riff more than thrash. Kill ‘Em All is Metallica at their thrashiest and “Seek & Destroy” is the song off the album that’s going to last until the heat death of the universe. Het is the GOAT rhythm guitarist and, thus, one of the GOAT riffers.
Minor Threat - Look Back and Laugh
An entire generation of punk music trying to rip this shit right here off. Tom Delonge eat your heart out.
The Minutemen - Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs
Mike Watt only bassist ever.
The Misfits - Earth A.D.
The best punk band ever’s best song. It’s funny this album came the same year as Metallica, Pantera and Slayer’s debuts because this feels like the precursor to thrash almost as much as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden were. Has guitar feedback ever sounded this cool?
New Order - Age of Consent
I know it is a different band in name than Joy Division but this is the poppiest shit ever and it’s insane that it’s the same players. But, then again, even though the melody is so immediate and obvious, the bass thumps so hard that you can kinda tell it’s the same guy who played on “Isolation.” On most days, I prefer Joy Division to New Order but I think “Age of Consent” is my favorite track these guys ever played on and it’s mostly because the riff that carries on throughout the track.
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
I think I prefer Randy Rhoads as a soloist but Jake E. Lee might be the best non-Sabbath riffer that Ozzy ever worked with. “Bark at the Moon” is insane. You could tell me this is the fastest riff ever and I’d be inclined to believe you.
R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
It’s a shame that college rock kinda took off at the same time as thrash because this fucking shit right here is out of this world but, like, how is Peter Buck going to compete with these other guys? I fucking love this song. The Rickenbacker guitar, folks.
Slayer - The Antichrist
The birth of maybe the best guitar duo in history. Far from their best riff (that’ll come in a few years) but you have the DNA here in this riff. Jeff and Kerry came out of the gate firing from the hip.
Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
Thank you so much to the creators and masterminds behind the video game Guitar Hero II. You have done a great service to so many middle-aged men.
U2 - New Year’s Day
I’m just choosing to ignore what The Edge is doing here and focusing on Adam Clayton’s bass riffing. It’s really insane that one of the best post-punk bands that could rip like this decided to make shit like the uno dos tres catorce song. Unbelievable.
The Wipers - Romeo
It makes sense Kurt Cobain and J Mascis both shouted out Greg Sage’s playing a ton because “Romeo” feels like if J played guitar on Bleach. I don’t really know if I can say something nicer about a guitar sound than that right there.
What is the Best Riff of 1983?
This feels like another relatively easy one. I could try to make it seem like it’s a competition and give Dio, Maiden, the Misfits, R.E.M. etc. etc. all extra flowers. They certainly deserve them! They aren’t going to win this. Come on. It’s Metallica. It’s “Seek & Destroy.” Could not be more easy to choose.
Does it top the previous Best Riff?
Best Riff of 1983: Metallica - Seek & Destroy
Best Riff Previous Champion: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
I think so. I think “The Trooper” is a better riff than “The Number of the Beast” and “Seek & Destroy” cleared that one with ease. I think most would agree with me here. “Seek & Destroy” is going to be tough to beat.