I wasnt sure wether to put this thread in the guitar section, but since it can apply to bass players as well, here it is. Sorry if this topic has been used.

The topic is: Have any of you guys ever been making up a new riff and then you notice it sounds familiar. Then you realize it is almost exactly like a riff youve already heard a band play. Sometimes its not REALLY close, but still similair. This has happenend to me around 7 times. But i forgot some of the songs it happened on. Heres what i do remember.

In flames-swim. (Its the second riff at the beginning of the song when its just guitar. This one happened today.)
Death-1,000 eyes. (the part after chuck says living in the pupil of 1,000 eyes)
Children of bodom-deadnight warrior. (the part at 2:02)
Dimmu borgir-Hunnerkongens Sorgsvarte Ferd Over Steppene. (first riff)

And the closest one ever was the solo on Mother Europe by Ancient Rites. Its not the solos from the beginning, but its right after gunther says "leap from Europe's bank, and call thee from the tomb". It is ironic how close mine was to it, and the weirdest thing is i hadnt even heard the song yet!!!

all the time, i cant come up with anything original

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Its so hard to be original, just about everything has been done before, if not twice or thrice.

Don't throw a riff away just because it sounds familiar, everything someone makes is a ripp-off of something else, it only matters if you did it on purpose or not

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Haha, not me. I've actually tried to make a riff like a certain band, ya know, like a "in the style of" song, but they just come out like something I've never heard before.

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The majority of the time i write things which in my opinion don't sound like anything else i've heard. But i have made 1 or 2 riffs that have been close to some of my past favority songs.

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I wrote this bad ass fucking song a long time back like when i first started playing, well more like two riffs an intro and filler they went kind like this

---0----------------0------------------------
---0----------------0------------------------
------4-3------------------------------------
-2--------1--5-3-2---------------------------
-2-----------5-3-2---------------------------
-0-----------3-1-0---------------------------
and
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
-2-----1--------------------------------------
-2-----1--------------------------------------
---3-0----------------------------------------

Untill one day I was looking up the tab for seasons in the abyss........

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yeah I have that every now and then.

latest one was the riff from the haunted's bury your dead.

Yeah, even the old girl. I've had this riff in my head for awhile now and today was the first time I was playing it in my head and realized it was part of Rush's "Working Man." CRAP!! And I thought it was cool, too.

t'dragon--Back when I was in school one of my friends commented on a certain Alice Cooper song. I don't remember which one anymore, but she had dreamed the whole song years before anyone had ever heard of Alice Cooper. So I can sort of understand your feelings on the weirdness of coming up that. Actually it makes me wonder about the parallel vibes travelling around the universe. Freaky stuff.

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Yup all the time for me as well, that's why i started to play viking and folk metal...which is more like a newer style with lots of opportunities.

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L,B'XXX-thats crazy, about your friend. A whole song? I didnt have to whole solo i mentioned before, just the first two parts, which make for about 8 or 10 seconds. But a whole song!

Darkenelf-i try to play viking but i am a big tremolo user, and its hard(for me) to stop the pace and add some viking stuff in there. Not to say that viking is never trem, but im talking about those slower, melodic, viking riffs.

Yeah, it was pretty darn weird to say the least. And we were not into that kind of music at all.

Hey, somebody pm me with some examples of viking and folk metal. Those sound intriguing. I won't clutter the board.

An' have a brew ! if your old enough....

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Yeah i accidentally used the first riff, in fact i think its the only riff, for Macabre - Serial Killer. It pissed me off cuz i liked the sound of it. and tdragon, Ive actually been working on a viking song and you can still implement tremolo into faster riffs. Take a look at my tab for metalwrath by amon amarth thats a great example.

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Im not old enough, but i'll have one anyway
I think darkenelf can best guide you through the viking metal/folk directory, hah. He can list all the bands i would, and much more. But i'll give you my favorite four, Mithotyn, Ancient Rites, Finntroll, Moonsorrow. And it is very very intriguing! look them up, youll probably find the most trouble hearing mithotyn though. if all fails, go to www.emusic.com for samples

Oh of coarse. But i was specifically talking about myself you see. I am the one who has trouble. but i'll get it. And to be a little more specific, i was talking about transition from the fast paced stuff to the slower kind of viking (non tremolo) those are the ones i have trouble writing.

almost all grind stuff i come up with already's taken like thirty-eightthousand times

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I get that all the time, most of the songs i've created just sound like iron maiden rip offs

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I've made 4 or 5 riffs that were the same with songs
I knew.
The songs were:
Thorns-Aerie Descent( main riff)
Darkthrone-Ravishing Grimness(main riff)
Thorns-Existence
Nile-Execration Text(second riff)
Morbid Angel-God Of Our Own Divinity(first riff)

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Very often when I have made this kick ass riff, it is a fucking Darkthrone riff Darkthrone is close to my style I guess...

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its all been done before man. everything. even if you think it is original, it isn't.

Check the bandlist of: http://www.vikingblood.net/

there are lots of interesting bands!!

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i did that with the opening riff to slayers south of heaven, after i knew the song, i was fucking rocking it out, and i was like, that sounds familiar, then i realized what it was.

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I really didnt expect this much people to have this same riff "problem". But its not like it isnt bound to happen... You sit and play your guitar for hours, make up stuff and play other stuff. Youre most likelygoing to make up something already taken.

Yeah, I usually dont have a problem with that but it sucks when it happens cuz you think yoyu created a nice ass riff but then you cant use it.

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just about everything ive come up with has already been played

katatonia-for funerals to come
death-flattening of emotions,lack of comprhension
cky-escape from hellview

all songs ive ripped off on accident

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It gets to be frustrating for me . Cause I keep coming up with stuff thats really something I enjoy playing and the notes just start flowing then after playing it over and over and over.... Then you realize you just played the beginning of Arch Enemy "Silent Wars" and get totally pissed. It happened to me the other night when I was trying to write this melodic mellow sounding part and I starting to think it sounded sorta like the beginning of metallicas sanitarium riff . So I just gave up the entire idea. Well anyway theres my two cents. Not that it really matters probly I only have 3 posts

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I wouldn't sweat it too much. I've come across a band using the exact same background rhythm in two songs. I never noticed it before when I listened to it. I only noticed it when I tried to play the songs. It suprised the hell out of me. The same artist using the same chord progression on two songs. I wonder how often that happens?
I suppose it's all been done before. Just think of the 1,4,5 chord progression in music. It's been around forever and they still make songs out of it.

I think of Obituary. They've taken every heavy song possibility out there. There's none left for us.

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hahahah, very true about obituary

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Obituary was one of the first bands I listened to. But does anyone find that after listening to large amounts of death metal with heavy, simple, brutal, grinding riffage starts to lose its effect? Like I'm listening to shit lately, and I know I should be getting into it cause its heavy and all, but I just feel it's the same rehashed stuff over and over, so I get bored with it. I'm also getting tired of the same old lyrical themes. Its like I can only enjoy technical stuff now, and stuff with long term appeal (the stuff that's usually shithouse for the first 5 listens).

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Yes! I am bored with borning death metal. those hevy chords, one after another are just simply boring. WHere is the emotion!!!!!!!!! It is just heavy and doesnt have much meaning. And i also wonder why death metal must be about guts and blood spewing and all of that stuff. There is no wonderful feeling in the thought of your intestine being "incenerated". youkno w what i maen. Fuck im druni again!! In any case, i completely understand you Bozonightmare

yeah, but obituary are good

except when he says "rotting ways" , something about that makes me so angry, i HATE it...no other rationale behind that though

"dont care" is a great song.. Deeeuuuu AHHHHH, I DONT CAREEEE.... I REALLY DONNTT CARREEE

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That is sort of what happens to me. I get tired of brutality, thats when I put on Dream Theater or Satriani. I listen to them for a while to take a break from the britualness. But once I start listening to the heavier bands again I get even more into it then before.

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Yeah, I find that you have to take a break from it every now and then as you tend to get "immune" to the brutality after a while. Listening to a less brutal and pummelling style of music for a few days just reminds you of how heavy DM/extreme music can be.

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true, but if you listen to a rock band they usually try to do something sort of heavy and fail miserably. nothing a band like dream theater can churn out is as heavy as something suffocation could, so thats why i listen to jazz when im not in the mood for metal.

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