Black Sabbath – The first bruise
Black Sabbath's 1970 debut out of Birmingham used a tritone riff and the down-tuning that followed Iommi's factory injury.
Metallica – Speed with a scar
Metallica took Bay Area thrash from Kill 'Em All through Master of Puppets to the Black Album's radio scale.
AC/DC – The schoolboy riff that would not sit down
In November 1973, in Sydney, Malcolm Young and his younger brother Angus started AC/DC.
Aerosmith – Boston swagger built for arenas
In early-70s Boston, five local players joined blues riffs and arena ambition and called the result Aerosmith.
Deep Purple – Organ, riff, hard rock blueprint
Deep Purple formed in Hertford, England, in 1968. The Mark II lineup locked in during 1969 and defined the band's hardest classic stretch.
AC/DC – Shoot to Thrill
Shoot to Thrill, from AC/DC's Back in Black (1980), is Brian Johnson's first fast track after Bon Scott: spare riffs, Compass Point volume.
Knebworth 1979 – Led Zeppelin
In August 1979 Led Zeppelin played two Saturdays at Knebworth Park, their last British concerts with John Bonham, before In Through the Out Door hit the shops.
Aerosmith – Walk This Way
Walk This Way, from Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic (1975), is Joe Perry's riff before the 1986 Run-DMC remake gave it a second chart life.
Moscow 1991 – Metallica
On 28 September 1991 Metallica opened with Enter Sandman on a Moscow airfield, weeks after a failed coup, in front of a crowd nobody has ever quite agreed how to count.
Kiss – I Was Made For Lovin You
Kiss’s I Was Made For Lovin You (Dynasty, 1979) puts a Desmond Child disco beat under Paul Stanley’s chorus and hard guitars.