Best opening/closing riff to a song.
 

I usually don't start threads like this but i gotta see what others think.

Opening: Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" (mabey one of the heaviest and best riffs ever)


Closing: Thorns' "Interface to God"

what are your favorites?

opening:
stairway to heaven - led zepplin
the great southern trendkill - pantera
13 steps - pantera
along all the watchtower - ala hendrix

..all i can currently think of

fucking right trendy, fucking right.

I love the intro to Slaughter of the Soul by At The Gates

And i hate closings that are just feedback

i hate intros where they just jump right into the riff with a whole lot of blastbeats
"you gotta warm up the oven, before sticking in the turkey"

i love the meshuggah - transfixion intro, where it sounds like it's fading in, and then there's a sudden increase in volume, that's awesome.

i really like the nile - the howling of the jinn outro, it's all dark and depressing, and it just fits so great after the brutal music.

actually this is a pretty nice thread.

there are a lot of starter riffs i like.

Dark tranquillity-punish my heaven. its instant energy!
mithotyn-upon raging waves. a nice calm ocean intro that goes into guitar.
kalmah-hollow heart. a nice fade in melodic riff
arch enemy-ravenous. i like how that one starts
in flames-moonsheild. nice acoustic intro.

theres a lot more, but im going to stop there. i can even think of more anyway.

I dont like the closings that are fade outs. ESPECIALLY when it is a different part that wasnt played earlier. thats just wrong.

The opening to War, Burzum
I hate the opening to Raining Blood/Reign in Blood - Slayer, are they two songs? or are they just the one song misinterpreted?
I hate the closing of The Last With Pagan Blood - Amon Amarth, fading people talking is crap

opener - Dark Tranquillity - Yesterworld
closer - Grey Skies Fallen - Drawn To The Earth (simply beautiful)

Opening riffs. Hmm. These aren't exactly "beautiful" or "touching", I just happen to think they are great riffs:

Vile - Interrogation Rites
Deeds of Flesh - Human Trophies
Necrophagist - Only Ash Remains
Mortal Decay - My Mind Bleeds Tragedies
Pyaemia - Impaled on Stakes

i like the thing for the opening thecnique to the last track off deliverance (which name i cant recall at this time)

By The Pain I See In Others

Yeh, the way its sort of poor quality radio-ised, then it goes all Spice Girls fade in sort of shit

Opening: South of Heaven - Slayer
Closing: Cowboys from Hell - Pantera

From what I can think of now...

Openings:

Morbid Angel: Caesar's Palace
Slayer: Metal Storm/Face the Slayer
Slayer: Hell Awaits (album intro)
Megadeth: Lucretia

Endings:
Obituary: End Complete
Carcass: Empathological Necroticism
Slayer: Hell Awaits (album ending)
Impaled Nazarene: Suffer in Silence

This is crazy, too many songs to list.

Joe Satriani - Satch Boogie

AHEM... Vile - Unit 731 just starts off and you seem to like that song.

Slayer - Raining Blood has that awesome thunder effect, then the tom drums... than BAM! the song starts.

As for outro's i like the outro to Arch Enemy - We Will Rise... the solo's just kinda fade out.

davidian - machine head. starts off with probably my favourite riff of all time, and ends with a heavy repetitive riff that fades out.
fire in babylon - shadows fall. opens greatly (and if you include the acoustic prelude it has a good buildup) and ends with a great solo riff underneath all 3 vocalists.

I hate closings that begin to fade, but don't decrease volume all the way, they just cut it off at mid volume.

some blood red throne intros are great, like the opening to unleashing hell is awsome, maybe my favorite. Unfortunatly the songs do get borring after a while.
Raining blood is the song name, Reign in blood is the cd name. But that's an amazing intro and outro because of the crazyness at the end. The beginning is just classic.
The intro to phobophile-cryptopsy is just plain awsome

Intros:
With Ravenous Hunger-Satyricon (When
he says "At my signal unleash hell")
Slayer-Raining Blood
Dying Fetus - Scum(All that coughing and stuff)
Cryptopsy - Cold Hate,Worm Blood
Cryptopsy - ...And Then It Passes[(You hear that?) and the
opening riff]
Dying Fetus - Schematics
Nile - Unas,The Slayer Of The Gods (the riff with
the acoustic guitar,which thanks to Johnmansley I
can play :beer: !)

Closings:
Dying Fetus - Scum(Take that motherfuckers!)
Nile - Ruins(the whole song as a closing to the album)
Thorns - Interface To God
Dodheimsgard - Wrapped In Plastic(same as ruins)

well most of them aren't riffs but anyway

Open Riffs:
Amon Amarth - Across the Rainbow Bridge - opening riff rules and the lyrics of the song are just so god damn awesome
At the Gates - Blinded by Fear - just a kick ass riff period
As Hope Dies - Legions Bow to a Faceless God - sweet emotion in the riff i think
Kataklysm - 1999/6661/2000 - another great riff that just gets me pumped and start banging my steering wheel while driving.
Forest of Impaled - Forward the Spears - I love songs about war and death and this song has an awesome little sound clip and then immediately puts you into the song
Amon Amarth - An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm - Great opening riff off the new Amon Amarth cd. Nice heavy shit of course
Ancient Rites - Dim Carcosa - just a nice sorrowful song and riff
Dimmu Borgir - Progencies of the Great Apocalypse - Love the riff, the song, the lyrics, it absolutely kicks ass. Orchestra is a big part of getting the mood going there
In Flames - Rerout to Remain - just cool is all

Closing Riffs:
Ancient Rites - Dim Carcosa - not all of the ending is guitar but the riff for that...
The Black Dahlia Murder - Contagion - Just a cool mean riff at the end of the song. Lyrics go with it as well which i sure as hell love to bellow
Elvenking - A Poem for the Firament - the acoustic on it is just so damn cool and peaceful. a great way to end a cd
Elvenking - Seasonsong - another acoustic that just kicks ass. not that it is hard but just sounds so sweet
GWAR - Happy Death Day - good song about school and society ha good riff to finish the cd again

I think that's it...