Top 5 most iconic riffs

[markD]

No, I'm not 14, and I respect the fact you don't like Pantera, again it's your opinion. Yes Dime was great at solos, but he was also a riffmaster. Cowboys from Hell, Walk, I'm Broken, Mouth for War, 5 minutes alone, living through me, revolution is my name, etc... those are just a few of Dime's kickass riffs. Yes, Phil is one of the best screamers of all time, but listen to his falsetto work on the album Cowboys from Hell, especially Cemetery Gates at the end, when Phil and Dime are dueling between guitar, and vocals. I know it's my opinion that Pantera are Gods, and yours is that they suck, but please name a few bands that make more interesting music, I'm not being a smart aleck, I'd just like to know.

that's cool. a few bands that i think make "interesting" music include:

Fates Warning - every album in their catalog shows specific growth, aside from their early stuff each one is a departure from the next. a new album may take time to grow on me because it differs from my expectation (based upon the prior album), but in the end it is always quality music that is challenging.

King Diamond - between his solo stuff and Mercyful Fate, there are dozens upon dozens of inspiring songs. song structures, riffage, lead work....andy larocque, pete blakk, mike wead, hank sherman, mike denner, glen drover, michael harris - ALL great players that add drama to King's stories.

Edguy - from power metal to modern day hair metal, these guys offer up FUN music. the playing is great and depending on the album you get speedy melodicism or nice, retro styled hard rock.

Celtic Frost/Tryptykon - avant-garde metal. Tom Warrior creates HEAVY music that has a lot of cool elements. the "Monotheist" album has to be one of the most crushing things ever recorded. the Tryptykon stuff picks up where "Monotheist" left off.

those are the ones that instantly pop off the top of my head without much thought....

[canadian bacon]

It's just a "southern" thing I think.

Or that unlike others, he did not die by his own hand or by accident.

[Nimitz]

[Sephiroth]

In no particular order:

1. Crazy Train
2. Stairway to Heaven
3. Sweet Child O Mine
4. Number of the Beast
5. Tom Sawyer

[CowboyFromHell]

I've thought long and hard before speaking again on the subject since it seems I have a habit of speaking before thinking sometimes. The reason I have such respect and admiration for Dimebag goes back to a time when I was down in Texas and was fortunate enough to meet him in a local drinking establishment. When approached after I recognized him, he was one of the most down to earth people I've ever met, and I've met quite a few over the years. Back in Myrtle Beach I once had the opportunity to meet Don Dokken who pulled the old "Do you know who I am!?!?!" routine and showed how much of an ass he is (IMO). Dime was pretty much exactly the opposite. We had drinks while we shot the bull about bikes, guitars, etc.

The place emptied out come closing time and I got up, started to say bye and was instructed to sit my ass back down, lol. That night we sat there for hours just being "people". I got drunker than I ever recall being in my life. At one point Dime scooted me on out of the booth and being drunk I about busted my ass before I caught myself and stood up. I looked to him wondering wtf but it was cool, it was just time for him to play. He walked across the bar to the small stage area, reached down and opened a guitar case and lifted up his axe and plugged it in. I promptly sat down on a stool close by thinking I was about to witness an impromptu session with the man himself but before I could get comfy he motioned towards another case sitting by the first. I guess I looked like a deer in headlights because he motioned again so I got up, opened the case and was awestruck at a 'burst Dean ML. I went kind of numb and guess I didn't get the clue at first because he asked if I was gonna stare at it all night or play. Of course I pulled it out, found a cord to plug in with and sat down on the stool. He watched me for a min so I tore into "Still Loving You" by the Scorpians. To this day I still don't know why that song was in my head at the time, but it's what came to me. Dime jumped in at some point and that night I got to hear an entirely different side of him than I had ever imagined. I still don't know how the hell he transitioned from that into Cowboys From Hell or how I managed to keep up to be honest.

We played til the barkeep was about to pass out and sun was coming through the window before deciding it was probably a good time for us to take off. After putting everything back in its place, we "walked" outside and started to say bye before heading our separate ways. Before he "let" me leave though he hugged me, gave me a card with his contact info on it. He told me I should take what I know and run with it, that I was pretty damn good and to never give up my dreams. He said that anytime I ever need anything to give him a call. That night it wasn't just an awestruck fan meeting one of his heroes. That night, I'm honored to say, we became friends. over the passing years I called him a few times when things were extremely shitty with life and all or just in a rut and felt like giving up playing. He was always an open ear, a shoulder to lean on, and a source of inspiration when it was much needed.

Why do people respect Dime so much? I believe that it's because the world is full of stories like mine where Dime showed that he wasn't living on a pedestal. He was a down to earth guy that was in many ways just like you and I. Some people will think I'm crazy when I say this but the day Dime was murdered, the closest thing I can recall to that feeling was when the Twin Towers were attacked but honestly, I don't think even that measured up. Thanks to Nathan Gale there's a part of me that will always be missing.

The respect for Dime was there because it was earned, not expected, and that same respect was, in my experiences with him, very appreciated and sometimes overwhelming. Through everything though he held it together. Through shit that would have send many people over the edge, he persevered, succeeded, and came out on top. His murder left a void in the lives of many people. As was stated above, his leaving us was through no fault of his own nor because of some freak accident. Dime was a man. He was someone that didn't "demand" respect from people. He was simply himself and was real with the people. The respect for him was never even expected by him, but it was, in his own way, earned by his actions.

[Nimitz]

[CowboyFromHell]

No argument there. Perhaps you should have read before you posted that.

[micha]

Who posts a "didn't read" pic after reading?
But seriously, try some paragraphs.

[CowboyFromHell]

So a question gets asked, I take my time and answer that question as carefully and well worded as I can with no typos and instead of comments about the content I get nitpicked over paragraphs? Seems there's just no way to please all of you.

[Jayster]

CFH ~ It was difficult to read without paragraphs. Kind of wall of text thing.... Great story, I enjoy listening to Pantera. Although I don't think any of their riffs are iconic yet, I may just be showing my age.

[SausageofPower]

Great story, Jerry. Huge block of text, granted, but worth the time to read. Thanks for sharing.

[MartinBarre]

Cool story Jerry.

[Nimitz]

So a question gets asked, I take my time and answer that question as carefully and well worded as I can with no typos and instead of comments about the content I get nitpicked over paragraphs? Seems there's just no way to please all of you.

Relax dude it's just a guitar forum.

[CowboyFromHell]

Thanks guys and gals. Hopefully now more of you understand my personal respect for Dime. I'm not trying to take respect away from any other artist and I hope one of you think that. In fact I hope that my writing will open up a lil room for respect of Dime at least as a person.

P.S. - I'll edit my post above and break it into paragraphs for you.

[jgcable]

that's cool. a few bands that i think make "interesting" music include:

Fates Warning - every album in their catalog shows specific growth, aside from their early stuff each one is a departure from the next. a new album may take time to grow on me because it differs from my expectation (based upon the prior album), but in the end it is always quality music that is challenging.

King Diamond - between his solo stuff and Mercyful Fate, there are dozens upon dozens of inspiring songs. song structures, riffage, lead work....andy larocque, pete blakk, mike wead, hank sherman, mike denner, glen drover, michael harris - ALL great players that add drama to King's stories.

Edguy - from power metal to modern day hair metal, these guys offer up FUN music. the playing is great and depending on the album you get speedy melodicism or nice, retro styled hard rock.

Celtic Frost/Tryptykon - avant-garde metal. Tom Warrior creates HEAVY music that has a lot of cool elements. the "Monotheist" album has to be one of the most crushing things ever recorded. the Tryptykon stuff picks up where "Monotheist" left off.

those are the ones that instantly pop off the top of my head without much thought....

Hey Mark, I think everything above is quality riffage but I don't think any of it could be considered "Iconic". Here are 2 examples. A great riff that isn't iconic would be Say You Will by Fastway or Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden or I'll See the Light Tonight by Yngwie Malmsteen. They are all great riffs but not Iconic riffs.
Examples of Iconic riffs would be Layla by Eric Clapton or Paranoid by Black Sabbath or Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin or Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana or Johnny B Goode by Chuck Berry. Those would be closer to the definition "Iconic".