Bullet for My Valentine guitarist Michael ‘Padge’ Paget is our latest guest to play his favorite riffs on Gear Factor. In this episode, Padge delves into his formative years as a player before taking fans through his personal favorite BFMV riffs.

The first riff Padge learned that made him want to play guitar was Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” “I think it changed the course of heavy metal for a lot of people my age,” Padge says. However, the first song the BFMV axeman learned to play was Nirvana’s hushed Nevermind cut “Polly.”

“Were there any techniques that I struggled with early on? All of them,” Padge says laughing. “That’s the struggle with learning. I’m not the best guitar player in the world by any means … I was just playing riffs for a long, long time. As you progress, you start learning more techniques and looking into scale patterns and modes and stuff like that.”

As for his favorite Bullet for My Valentine riffs, Padge picks three from throughout the band’s two-decade career. Watch the video below to see for yourself.

Padge also plays the chorus to “Knives” — Bullet for My Valentine’s heavy first single from their upcoming self-titled album. The new BFMV album will drop Oct. 22.

Watch Padge play his favorite riffs below and click here to pre-order Bullet for My Valentine’s self-titled album.

Bullet for My Valentine's Michael Paget Plays His Favorite Riffs

The 66 Best Metal Songs of the 21st Century

More From Loudwire