This riff consists of almost solely dotted eighth beats, with the exception of one short phrase. The purpose for this riff is to demonstrate what dotted eighth beats sound like being carried from one bar to the next. A very common rhythm form in most rock or metal, is to see five dotted eighth beats, followed by a straight eighth, it fills a bar of 4/4 fully - however, here we play over the bar line and continue the feel of the dotted beat.