The Riffs of the Week (02/10/2026)
Another Friday, another pile of riffs — although this week someone appears to have turned the gain up considerably.
The Riff Master himself, Tony Iommi, leads the charge with another glimpse of his forthcoming solo album, while Clutch return to the wastelands, Slash and Myles Kennedy fire up The Conspirators again, and Amon Amarth arrive just as The Allfather Awakens is unleashed upon the world.
Here are some of the best new riffs landing in our speakers this week.
Tony Iommi – “Stormwatcher”
If you are going to start a feature called The Best New Riffs, you might as well start with the man who practically wrote the rulebook.
Tony Iommi returns with “Stormwatcher”, another taste of his forthcoming album From The Dark. Dark, heavy and unmistakably his, that guitar tone still carries more menace than most bands manage with an entire wall of amplifiers. With Jørn Lande on vocals, Becky Baldwin on bass and Karl Brazil behind the kit, Iommi sounds completely at home doing what Iommi does best: finding another enormous riff hiding somewhere between doom, blues and heavy metal.
Clutch – “Wasted Lands”
Clutch rarely need much decoration. Give Neil Fallon a microphone, put Tim Sult in front of an amplifier and somewhere along the way a groove is going to appear.
“Wasted Lands”, the title track from their forthcoming album, has exactly that familiar Clutch swagger: dusty riffs, Fallon’s unmistakable delivery and a rhythm section that seems physically incapable of sitting still. No reinvention required. Sometimes you just want Clutch sounding like Clutch — and this does the job beautifully.
Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – “Flying Blind”
Slash, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators are officially back.
“Flying Blind” is the first taste of their next chapter, with the band's new album set to arrive in February 2027. Slash's Les Paul and Myles Kennedy's instantly recognisable voice remain one of modern rock's most reliable combinations, and “Flying Blind” wastes little time reminding us why. Big guitars, a proper rock 'n' roll swagger and The Conspirators back in business. It's been a while.
Amon Amarth – “Oden’s Hunt”
With The Allfather Awakens arriving this Friday, we could hardly let this week pass without inviting a few Vikings aboard.
“Oden’s Hunt” is one of the album’s most immediately infectious moments, driven by that wonderfully simple “Hunt! Hunt! Oden’s Hunt!” refrain and the kind of riff built for thousands of fists in the air. After spending plenty of time with the record this week, this is one that refuses to leave the head. Thirty years in, Amon Amarth still know exactly how to make heavy metal feel enormous.
Grave Digger – “The Number”
Forty-plus years into their career and Grave Digger still sound like they have unfinished business.
“The Number” is the first taste of forthcoming album Faces of Pain, due in January, and comes wrapped in everything you would want from the German veterans: dark atmosphere, traditional heavy metal muscle and a riff with absolutely no interest in being subtle. Sometimes old-school heavy metal just needs to sound like old-school heavy metal. Grave Digger understand the assignment.
Hatebreed – “The Carrion Choir”
Hatebreed don't exactly specialise in easing you gently into things, and “The Carrion Choir” certainly isn't about to change that.
Taken from the forthcoming Fatal Paradox, the track pushes hard into the band's thrashier side while keeping that unmistakable Hatebreed punch underneath it. Fast, hostile and built around riffs designed to cause structural problems in a pit, it provides this week's list with a welcome shot of pure aggression.
Keep the riffs coming
From Tony Iommi still showing everyone where the riff came from to Hatebreed trying to tear the room apart, this has been a particularly loud week — exactly how we like it.
All six tracks join The Best New Riffs, our regularly updated Spotify playlist collecting the songs that have been occupying The Riff Collective speakers lately.
Turn it up. We'll bring more riffs next week.
The Riff Collective
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