Top Ten Thrash Metal Songs With the Best Guitar Riffs

The Top Ten
1 Holy Wars... the Punishment Due - Megadeth

This should not eve be on the list. It should be presented as the GOD of metal riffs, I mean, look at the song, 10 riffs, it's just flawless. Dave is a genius.

Are we talking about the opening riff?

2 Master of Puppets - Metallica
3 Raining Blood - Slayer

And one of the heaviest songs ever was born.

4 Madhouse - Anthrax

Madhouse riff higher than Holy Wars, The Four Horsemen, Phantasmagoria, Black Prophecies, Funeral Hymn, Desperate Cry, Masked Jackal, Creeping Death? (to name a few)
No way, #5 is too high for this riff.

Scott Ian is awesome in this one.

5 Symphony of Destruction - Megadeth
6 Mouth for War - Pantera

While Pantera is groove, I think this song qualifies as thrash. So is Hostile. So I think this can be here.

I'm aware that groove metal is a derivative form of thrash but I think it's quite different from thrash. What I wanna say is that this song maybe shouldn't be on this list. However, this is my fave riff from Pantera.

7 Tornado of Souls - Megadeth
8 Souls of Black - Testament

Not only does it have a beautiful guitar riff, but the bass solo alone gets my vote m/ Rock on Brothers and Sisters!

This one speaks for itself. Testament always gets left off of the "greatest riff" lists, unfortunately.

9 Children of a Worthless God - Exodus
10 Creeping Death - Metallica

I love the riff of this song. I mean the main riff.

The Contenders
11 Phantasmagoria - Annihilator
12 Damage Inc - Metallica
13 Black Prophecies - Dark Angel
14 Ride the Lightning - Metallica
15 A Skeleton In the Closet - Anthrax
16 Caught In a Mosh - Anthrax
17 South of Heaven - Slayer
18 Black Metal - Venom

Venom not thrash? I grew up on thrash (early 80s). Venom was part of my daily diet.

19 Obstruction - Living Sacrifice
20 Schizos (Are Never Alone) - Annihilator
21 Elimination - Overkill
22 Wake Up Dead - Megadeth

Why is it so low on the list? Spider chord riff is amazing and the final riff is pure masterpiece literally impossible not to headbang to.

23 Dyers Eve - Metallica
24 Funeral Hymn - Exodus

My favorite Exodus riff - maybe it was unnoticed because it was released in 2007 and thrash fans usually focus on their 80s stuff. Children of a Worthless God from the same album is also pretty cool.

I guess the 2008 Testament album experiences the same problem - I like a lot the intro riff of Henchman Ride (while the main riff is quite standard - you can hear similar riffs on many speed/power metal songs).

25 Seek & Destroy - Metallica
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