12 Best Ever Hard Rock Riffs
8. Them Bones - Alice In Chains
Out of all the Seattle bands, the group that seemed to have the heaviest sound was Alice in Chains. The grooves of their music were so metallic that the band even supported acts like Megadeth and Anthrax before blowing up in the mainstream. Once the band opened their masterpiece Dirt with "Them Bones," there was no going back.
The riff of this song almost sneaks up on you, as it seems to creep through the intro almost like a snake stalking its prey. While most of the grunge bands had fairly straightforward riffs, this little piece is one of the most off-kilter tunes in Alice in Chains' canon due to its odd time signature. Just when you think the riff is about to end, the tempo flips it around yet again.
Once you get to the verse, the riff elongates itself into ringing power chords, which sound like the sonic equivalent of a satanic demon about to come down upon the Earth. Even if much of the focus on Alice in Chains comes down to the band's gorgeous harmony work, the riffs that were coming from Jerry Cantrell's soul were the perfect backdrop to the band's diatribes about the dark side of drug use.