i'm currently listening to DT's haven and i noticed that the keyboar part in indifferent suns sound almost identical to the one that sounds in U2's new years day.

is there other cases like this?.

There are many cases of one riff sounding very close (or even identical) to another. Most of the time it's unintentional, though there are cases where it was done on purpose.

I seriously doubt Dark Tranquility really meant to rip off U2.

Here's one you haven't heard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Zm92AJLNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c3L0bqUnao

There was that case of Dimmu Borgir stealing some keyboard passages for Stormblast, and having to omit them from the re-recording.

The riff in Judas Priests "Revolution" is pretty much an exact rip off of Janes Addictions's "Mountain Song"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7oGGud2Jk4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QScHlhI ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkbM7yRl8QQ

Just heard it - it's nearly an exact copy. How embarrassing, because "Mountain Song" is fantastic while this one just sounded pathetic.

I've always thought it was hilarious how Testament fanboys complain about Lamb of God ripping off Into the Pit with Laid to Rest when Ulysses Siren did it first. Same can be said for Trivium using Metallica's Through the Never riff (see Metal Church's Over My Dead Body).

A melody from Heathen's Guitarmony is almost identical to Yngwie's Black Star.

Obligatory for these threads is Iron Maiden's The Nomad taking its middle section straight out of Beckett's Life's Shadow.

Sodom's Proeslytism Real and Aura Noir's The One Who Smite opening riffs are VERY similar. Most likely done as a tribute, though.

http://riffripoffs2l.ytmnd.com/ and Revolution is an awesome song, regardless.

Iron Maiden's Wicker Man has a riff at the beginning that sounds like Priest's Running Wild.

http://riffripoffs35.ytmnd.com/

Dawn Patrol and the God that Failed. The similarity is frightening.

My personal favorite rip-off...

Slayer - Souls in Black

Bullet For My Valentine - Waking the Demon

That's utterly shameless.

Here's another one which sounds similar, around the 1:00 min. mark:

Atrocity - Hold Out (To the End)

Trivium ripping off the "Blinded By Fear" riff in their song "A Gunshot To The Head of Trepidation" and I remember them ripping off a riff from "Through The Never" in one of their songs as well.

EDIT: You also have Manilla Road using the Angel of Death riff from Angel Witch in their song Dreams Of Eschaton.

The riff in Municipal Waste's "Intro/Deathripper" is thieved from the middle riff in Vio-lence's "Eternal Nightmare"

Blüdwülf's Full Metal Warrior uses Sign of Evil by Violent Force main riff, and there is no doubt about that. Probably a homage or something I guess...

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the butchering of Metallica's "Sad But True" when it's opening and main riff was used for Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass". The only good that song served was to help The Undertaker's return as the biker, the song fit him far more then Kid Rock

Come to think of it, I mentioned in my In Flames - Whoracle review that they ripped off one of the solos(?) or part of their solo from Arch Enemy's "Fields Of Desolation (Black Earth).

Also, isn't there a youtube channel that's very purpose is to uncover songs with similar sounding riffs? I'm pretty sure there are +10 of those.

I lost my copy of Bonded by Blood a couple years ago, and haven't listened to it since then because I'm a cheap bastard and refuse to buy a new one. But I recall the chorus from Strike of the Beast being identical to the chorus from Kreator's Total Death. Not sure who ripped off who, quite possibly just a coincidence (as it is a pretty simple riff).

Bal-Sagoth recycles their own riffs! Case in point: listen to the first Hyperborean Empire song on Starfire, then listen to Blood Stains the Sands at the Circus Maximus. At least they admit to doing it, though I would rather that they didn't....

But yeah, with the amount of music being released every year it is impossible to write 100% brand new riffs that have never been done before. You can try, but how can you remember every song by every band?

It's not a rip off. He sampled it with Metallica's permission.

Bringer of Torture by Kreator sort of reminds me of Battery by Metallica.

W.A.S.P. is the exact same. In the early days they were able to stear clear, but when the band really became Blackie's project (circa The Crimson Idol), then it really had him revolving around the same style and such. Many riffs post-Still Not Black Enough (and including that album) I can pretty much reference right back to The Crimson Idol. I know it had a big impact on him, but god damn man you don't have to make every other song be a variation of "Chainsaw Charlie" or "The Idol!"

He is one man, though, and most of the music he write himself. However, some songs are blatant copies of other songs written by him:

The best example would be I Can't from Still Not Black Enough (1995) - skip to 2:00. The other is Clockwork Mary from The Neon God: Part Two (2004) - skip to 2:25. IT'S THE EXACT SAME FUCKING SECTION, JUST RE-RECORDED! Damn, Blackie, you gotta try harder than that!

As for a similar riff from a different band, W.A.S.P.'s "Rubberman" main riff is pretty much a heavier variation of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut."

Interestingly enough the re-recording stole even more riffs.

Bullet For My Valentine stole the main riff to Burzum's War in Hand of Blood.

Also, yesterday I was at my freind's house, and we were messing around on the guitar. I started playing the intro to Hypothermia's Gratoner, and he told me the first part sounded like Pretty Woman. Depressive black metal sounding like classic pop/rock? Makes perfect sense....

EDIT: Anyone know of cases of bands stealing their own riffs? As in from songs released at previous points in their careers?

I've noticed that a riff towards the end of Rememberance of Times Long Forgotten by Satanic Warmaster (Off Black Katharsis, one of their early releases) is the same as the main riff to Distant Blazing Eye off of one of their later releases.

Emperor ripped off Metallica on Anthems to the Welkin At Dusk. The slowdown part in The Acclamation of Bonds sounds just like For Whom The Bell Toll's opening, death toll sample and all.
Ceremonial Castings ripped off that same fucking Metallica song with Propagating the Witch on Immortal Black Art. It's such a blatant rip off, I thought it was a cover upon first few seconds of listening.

Carcass' riff from Corporeal Jigsore Quandry was bitten by Trivium on the song Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation if I remember correctly.

Does anyone of you recognize this tune?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c3_BvmDCRU

It reminds me of Space Dye Vest a bit.

I'm feeling super lazy today, but I will say that the songs:

Scything Harrow by Nocturnal Breed - opening riff
To the End by Persuader - opening riff
Valhalla by Grave Digger - opening riff again
Framing Armageddon by Iced Earth - the one cool part, 45 seconds from the end if I remember correctly

All use a very similar sounding riff. It's not a very difficult one, so variations of it popping up all around don't shock me, it's just that I happened to listen to those four in a row and I thought it was hilarious. I used to know more instances of "that riff", but can't remember them at the moment.

And I'm sure most everybody knows the Welcome to Hell / Curse of the Pharaohs / 2 Minutes to Midnight / Warfare deal.

Well, Clockwork Mary is a lyrical sequel to I Can't. One is about Blackie's mother, the other about the mother of the fictional boy in The Neon God. That was definitely intentional.

But yeah, there's plenty of WASP songs that have variants of old riffs and melodies.

The main riff of Death's 1000 Eyes sounds suspiciouly similar to Anata's opening riff of Better Grieved than Fooled.

Here's another one. Not precisely the riff, but the keybord lines:

Samael - Baphomet's Throne

and

Hollenthon - On the Wings of a Dove

Besides, I've heard the same keybord lines played in classical piano in some really old tune, i just can't remember which one.

Velvet Cacoon is notorious for stealing music and also notorious for proclaiming that they do in fact steal music and there's nothing anybody can do about it so you may as well suck their giant black metal cocks. Though perhaps I've exaggerated their verbage.

Sounds more like My Friend Of Misery to me.

Also, Burzum ripped off the riff from War off of Root's song Pisen Pro Satana.

most of these riffs aren't anywhere near similar enough to seriously claim they were a ripoff without it being a pretty big stretch. Doesn't help that a lot of these riffs are pretty basic at that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNN_8MN7iqE

Solarfall, anyone?

That... I did not know. Thanks for clearing that up!

Also, Bethlehem's Nexus is VERY simmilar to Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi's Dead

Bethlehem - Nexus

Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead

This is getting ridiculous. I'm sure most of these are purely accidental. Do you actually believe BFMV is going to steal a riff from Burzum? Do they even know what Burzum is?