In the song “The God that Failed” from the Black Album, there is not only a change in the melodic interval of a riff but also a change in the melodic contour and direction. The main riff of the song contains a series of motives made up of a short descent followed by a larger descent. The interval of these descents initially is a minor third (G to E) and a perfect fifth (B to E), respectively. Note that in each case, the descent follows the second sixteenth-note attack of the motive. Note also that though these motives are repeated throughout this riff, they are also intermingled with motives on different intervals or melodic directions. Instead of labeling and analyzing each of these (which would just complicate matters), the focus will instead remain on the first two intervals.
