12 Best Ever Hard Rock Riffs

Many guitarists in the hard rock genre have a tendency to play too much than is needed. It may be easy to put a complicated riff together, but what is even more difficult is to take something simple and make it sound fresh and new. Though it is a daunting task, it's a talent that the Young brothers have in spades.

After coming off of Highway to Hell, Malcolm Young was coming up with guitar riffs for what would the band's next record. When the death of singer Bon Scott left their future uncertain, Malcolm just returned to his trusty six-string and started strumming 3 basic chords. For any other guitar player, these basic chord strums would be nothing, but Malcolm knew that there was something magical about the way those chords interacted.

Quickly making a demo of it, Malcolm presented the riff to his brother Angus in hopes that he would see if it worked. What he had hit upon became the basis for "Back in Black," which would become the lynchpin that reignited the band's career once new squealer Brian Johnson entered the fold. When many bands were content to play a millions notes at a time, AC/DC found their real power in one of the most timeless grooves in rock and roll.