Mankind cannot advance if it knows nothing about the past. One must be fully informed about each and every step of those that came before them—successes and failures—in order to go forward. This concept applies to everything; science, politics, philosophy, technology, and most importantly, the riff.
Now, the history books show that Tony Iommi invented the riff, consequently influencing anyone that came after him. Everyone that has written a real beefcake of a riff post-Black Sabbath took cues from him in one way or another. There’s absolutely no point in arguing, it’s fact. There have been worthy warriors like guitarists Scott “Wino” Weinrich and Jus Oborn of Electric Wizard who have injected their personal style and constructed inventive tones that brought the riff to different planes of existence, but they couldn’t have built anything without the bedrock and bone Iommi provided for them.
With their third full-length Rust, Sweden’s Monolord hoist their Sabbathian riff flag high, clear, and give it a prideful salute. The opening riff for “Where Death Meets The Sea” is monstrous, bleak, and powerful; much like the riff that opens Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath.” Just about every subsequent, spotlit riff on all six tracks of Rust is the same strain as the slow, skulking side of Sabbath’s discography. In moderation that’s fine, but for Rust it means that the record’s pace from end to end is the same. There’s no peaks or valleys, just hills and plains.