War Pigs by Black Sabbath
War Pigs appeared on Black Sabbath's 1970 album Paranoid. The track was born from late-1969 sessions with Tony Iommi laying down the heavy riffs that would help define early metal. Its slow, crushing groove and anti-war lyrical stance captured a mood that resonated with a generation wary of conflict, and the song's iconic riff quickly became a blueprint for how to fuse menace with melody in rock guitar.
The cultural impact of War Pigs extended beyond the studio: it helped propel Sabbath's image into mythic territory and influenced generations of players to embrace bold, heavy riffs, palm-muted chugs, and politically charged material in rock. For guitarists, it remains a rite of passage—a proving ground for tone, timing, and the art of turning a simple riff into an anthem.
🎸 Want to know the techniques, practice tips, and lesson details? Scroll below the lesson!
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you will learn the main riff and its groove, the verse riff interplay, how to apply palm muting to get the chugging attack, and the basic power-chord shapes that drive the rhythm. We'll cover how the riffs transition with the drums, and a taste of the guitar solo phrasing. The tricky parts to watch for are staying in tight tempo with the drums, maintaining precise palm muting across the repeated chugs, and cleanly shifting between shapes without letting noise bloom.
Intermediate; helpful prior skills include clean power chords, accurate palm muting, and comfortable alternate picking to navigate the riff-based parts.
🎸 Techniques Used
Practice Tips
- 💡Start by isolating the main riff at a slow tempo with a metronome, then gradually accelerate to performance speed.
- 💡Dial in a gritty, saturated tone and practice muting with your picking hand to keep the chugs tight.
- 💡Learn the riff on the low string first, then layer in the higher strings to match the track's fullness.
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