Who pops into your head when you think of the best riffs in black metal? Anyone you guys think are overrated? Is there anyone in mind that is unique in their playing?
I did a search on here, looking for a discussion about this, and didn't find one surprisingly.
For me, I really have a lot of respect for Infernus. To me he has a way of playing that perfectly captures what comes to mind when I think of black metal. Personally I prefer single note tremelo picking to the two note riffs like Transylvania Hunger. Although I really enjoy Shatraug as well. Some other guitarists that come to mind are Isahn, Hoest, Jon Nödtveidt, Set from Antaeus, Hasjarl, Alex Poole, and Þórir Garðarsson of Icelandic fame.
If there is a discussion about this already, my apologies.

The guy behind Serpent Column is certainly one of the best in terms of technical ability. Ornuthi Thalassa feels like a classical album at times. https://serpentcolumn.bandcamp.com/albu ... i-thalassa

the guy behind Swedish band Svartsyn.

https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/ ... aad/263542

the riffs on Deceptis are just so good, i know 1 album is not much to go on but I'm simply amazed by how good it is

choosing among the veterans, my favorites are Lord Ahriman and Ihsahn

Vindsval for sure: Blut Aus Nord has distinctive and ambitious guitar work just bursting with character. And old Negura Bunget (Hupogrammos & Sol Faur) is similar for me: packing a lot of variety into long-ish tracks. In the case of these two acts, that's some black metal which I can describe as beautiful, and that's unusual (at least in my collection). Most of the stuff I have is nastier or grimmer or rockier, so for me it's a special achievement to hear guitar in this genre which evokes beauty.

I'm stoked to listen to some of this. Serpent column really got my attention. I feel like I've heard that name somewhere.

Keep this thread going! There's some fantastic recommendations here.

I'm going to keep it pretty simple for now. Demonaz has always been my favorite and is most likely a huge influence on today's all out aggressive black metal bands. Trondr Nefas (Urgehal, Beastcraft, etc) is probably close to or even with Demonaz for me. The Darkthrone guys and Shatraug are obvious, but Narqath from Azaghal has been extremely overlooked imo. Azaghal has been extremely active and never done anything, but pure quality black metal. M? from Mgla, Onielar from Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult (really waiting for their next release)

@quickbeam I don't know why I never listened to Blut Aus Nord much, I've been meaning to go back through their discography lately actually... Guess I'll just start at the beginning? I know I listened to some of the originals back in the day as they were being released, but really can't remember anything.

Haha! I mostly lurk here but I always watch out for your posts on the BM rec thread. I am certainly no expert on Blut Aus Nord, as Vindsval is seemingly a maestro in more than one style. I only know the Memoria Vetusta series plus the debut Ultima Thulee. Here's an example of the type I really enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IknKaReEN4

It's cool to know that someone's listening! I'll try to get around to some BAN tonight or tomorrow, I keep getting distracted by random things on bandcamp and buy stuff I end up realizing I don't like all that much.

Probably literally the most obvious one, but Euronymous was one hell of a guitarist. His work on "Freezing Moon" alone (that solo) secures his legendary status. So he's always been the favourite for me.

Snorre W. Ruch:
https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Snorre_W._Ruch/1120

very difficult to narrow it down to a single 'best' but guess I'll go with Carl August Tindemann. the way he mixes neo-classical with classic melodic black metal style is unparalleled.

If we consider Sacramentum as black metal so I would mention Anders Brolycke and Niklas Rudolfsson for their outstanding skills in creation of such mysterious feeling by guitars only.

Stuart and Gian while being in Cradle's lineup showed us one of the best guitarists duo and delivered innovative outputs to play black metal on guitars.

Outside of the obvious ones, Viktor from Enochian Crescent/The Crescent. Heavily influenced by Celtic Frost. Riffs on the first album were very catchy. Later on he got more progressive, but still remaining great.

Aw, but not Nökkvi Gylfason? His style is immediately recognisable, and nobody makes tremolo-picked chords sound as fluid and smooth as he can. He has a much darker style than Þorir, so maybe he doesn't appeal to the same melodic sensibilities.

Good call out, he has written some excellent and interesting riffs.

I've always had a lot of respect for Peter Huss from Shining's ability. I don't listen to Shining near as much these days as Kvarforth's vocals have wore on me, but his playing always seem top notch.

I'd have to say best all-round would be Jon Nödtveidt - perfect mix of right hand rhythms, accomplished but not overblown lead work, and melodies that'll bring a tear to your eye. He reaaaally knew what he was doing when he wrote a song. The first two Dissection albums are masterclasses in effective songwriting flow and superb musicianship. And it's proven by the fact that over 20 years later, those two albums have spawned a kazillion imitations but barely any worth their salt, and those few worthy albums were Dissection's contemporaries anyway (Sacramentum, Necrophobic, END OF LIST.) Just a shame Jon was a complete nut.

Definitely. Some of the fastest and most precise tremolo picking ever, and that's not even touching his songwriting.



You basically read my mind here.

Both Heks and Døden of Obtained Enslavement deserve a mention; the composition and arrangement on the average OE song is insane, not to mention they changed styles quite a bit throughout their discographies, yet these guys never had any problem nailing their parts to perfection.

I'd pick Øystein G. Brun of Borknagar and formerly Molested for being obscenely creative and having a personal and quite complex approach to playing.
Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved is in a similar position.

I agree with Ihsahn, but let's not forget Samoth: he did a ton of songwriting on the earlier records and he's an amazingly tight rhythm player, with an excellent ear for catchy progressions.

You guys are keeping me busy. Definitely some awesome inspiration in this thread. I agree whole heartedly about Jon. He's within my top 5. And Ilwyan, I love svartduadi and I just really started paying attention to zhrine. Aphotic womb just seems to capture my attention constantly, I keep coming back to it.
Thanks for the rec mutant clannfear, serpent column is insane.

Besides those that have been mentioned, I really enjoy the work of Sture and Strom from Windir/Vreid. Their riffs are heavy, melodic and catchy.

Some notable ones in terms of both skill and composition:

Ayloss from Spectral Lore is a force to be reckoned with in tems of skill and creativity with both electric and classical guitar. Sentinel, III and the gnosis ep are a must hear

Also Semjaza from Thy Darkened Shade is a monster on both guitar and bass, and the last album was wonderful

Last but not least the guys in Abigor have developed some seriously impressive technical chops lately, in particular in Time is the Sulfur.. and Leytmotiv Luzifer.
Some riffs sound like a deranged cousin of Cynic

Vicotnik - Dodheimsgard/Ved Buens Ende

They always had mad skills - compare the playing on their early albums vs. a lot of other bands' first recordings. Even on the demos they were already pretty damn tight. And of course they get my praise as songwriters too; much like Obtained Enslavement, they favor phrases and themes over straight riffs per sé, and they can switch from ultramelodic to crazily dissonant arrangements in a heartbeat. They're also taleneted multi-instrumentalists, in case we all didn't feel worthless enough already

You guys are posting a lot of stuff I've either been meaning to listen to or haven't listened to for years. I mostly think of "best guitar riffs" instead of best guitarists I guess... A few random thoughts:

In regards to Dissection, I never think of them as "black metal" or even really any genre specific type of band, I just think of them as "Dissection" I usually go through a Dissection week about once a year.

Snorre W. Ruch - Has a few amazing songs, but he's been inactive forever, it's a shame

Serpent Column is cool, I have their album and looking forward to more, does this guy have any other music?

Spectral Lore and Thy Darkened Shade - I have checked out both and liked what I heard, TDS is probably more my style, but I haven't given either enough time to really get into them.

Dodheimsgard has been around forever and I even had their early stuff on CD, but I literally remember nothing about them. I just put most of their stuff on my phone so I can finally give them a chance.

Abigor - I had the Satanized album and didn't really like it, I remember it was techy which was kinda cool, but just not catchy enough. Looks like that is one of their worst reviewed albums.

Last, but not least, the entire Icelandic scene is something I'm still struggling to get into. I liked the first Svartidaudi album, but wasn't something that I'd listen to very often. Zhrine, Sinmara and Misþyrming were more my style. I think I need to really focus on these bands to get more into them, I jump around too much and sometimes change albums before I finish one.

If any of these bands has a best, must listen to album let me know!

Speaking of this, has anyone noticed that the Thorns page shows their status as "active"?

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Thorns/1131

Did I miss an announcement of some sort? I did a search and didn't see anything about news of a reformation, though I admittedly didn't go back too far.

Klaus Matton's musicianship heard of Bethlehem's Dark Metal, and Dictius Te Necare is exceptionally well, especially as heard on the former full-length album. Particularly, Matton's guitar musicianship throughout the entirety of Bethlehem's Dark Metal hearkens to a traditional doom metal style, yet infused with an encroaching eerie atmosphere--his musicianship is certainly one of the several underlying hallmark facets of that entire full-length album.

Additionally, I thoroughly enjoy Onielar's musicianship throughout Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult's discography. Her style seamlessly compliments Velnia's guitar musicianship, resulting in a memorable duo, leaving a lasting stylistic impression throughout Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult's discography. In my opinion, her best guitar output is heard throughout Necrovision, as the guitar-riffs heard throughout that album, in particular, are nothing short of ferocious.

Lastly, Jaldaboath's input while part of The Meads of Asphodel (The Excommunication of Christ, and their first three demo tapes) is worth mentioning; reminiscent of a very 1970s-inspired psychedelic rock-and-roll style, adorned with harmonizing lead melodies, and rocking rhythms that supplement the bombast heard throughout that album. Jaldaboath's musicianship in his self-titled band is equally memorable, especially his input in the full-length album, The Rise of Heraldic Beasts.

Blasphemer deserves more props for his work in not only Mayhem but the mighty Aura Noir

I think it has been active since forever, as the band never officially disbanded and you always here news occasionally about how the album is nearing completion. The last piece of information dates back to the release of Deep Drone Master by Deathtrip (Aldrahn was saying in interviews that there were still some vocals missing), until this one popped up out of the blue: https://www.facebook.com/slagmauroffici ... =3&theater

I don’t know of work he’s done in any other metal project, but the second Serpent Column album is being written.

Best in regards to what?

to this! Their drummer, as I've mentioned in other threads, is a freaking monster too. New album this year finally!

Always gotta shout out my boi Shatraug, Horna and Sargeist got some of my favourite black metal riffs ever, although I have to admit their latest albums haven't been anything super special.

HV Lyngdal does a lot of really weird stuff in Wormlust. Maybe not the best or most technically talented (although he might be too because he mentioned having to really strip back the songs to play them live, just not going to swear by it), but thenunique approach and thought process might be up some people's alleys.

Absolutely seconding Hasjarl in particular, those guitar lines are ridiculous. The dude must have gargantuan hands, too.
Also want to add Shinichi Ishikawa, the old guitarist for Sigh. Always loved his groovy, weird lines and tasty solos. I like the new guy too, but very different style.

Semjaza from Thy Darkened Shade/Acrimonious gets my vote. I LOVE his riffs.

Vidar Vaaer from Ildjarn. He's not technically accomplished but I really like his style. It goes to the essential.

Absolutely! The band's musicianship as a collective is diligently composed, and highly enjoyable of course. I'm looking forward to their new full-length album.

Additionally, another guitarist worth mentioning is Revelation of Doom from the Brooklyn, New York-based band, Throaat. Last July, I had the opportunity to see Throaat perform live, and his musicianship was impressive; performed in a traditional black metal fashion albeit with a technical flair to boot. While I am not too keen on the percussion heard throughout Throaat's debut full-length album, Reflections in Darkness, Revelation of Doom's contribution is one of the several memorable traits derived from that album, e.g. the songs, "Tormentia II", "The Bells of Newcastle Upon Tyne", and "The Light" are representative of his musical style.