You know a riff means business when you try to headbang to it and your neck files a formal complaint. The 7/8 bridge of Haken's "In Memoriam" is exactly that kind of riff: heavy enough to loosen fillings, but built on a meter that steals one eighth-note from you and refuses to give it back.
This clip is a compact playthrough of that crushing bridge section — a small but demanding slice of odd-time prog metal that's a perfect gateway drug into feeling and playing in 7/8. If you've ever wondered why your foot keeps landing in the wrong spot, this is your riff.
How this 7/8 riff actually works
The whole trick to 7/8 is refusing to count to seven. Seven is a horrible number to feel — nobody grooves by counting "one-two-three-four-five-six-seven." Instead, break the bar into a group of two and a group of three-and-two: 2-2-3. Say it out loud as "chug-chug, chug-chug, chug-chug-CHUG" and suddenly the "missing" eighth-note stops being a bug and becomes the whole hook. That last group of three is where Haken lands the weight, so let your palm-mute breathe there and hit the accent hard. If you want the theory behind why 7/8 feels lopsided in the first place, my breakdown of time signatures is a good warm-up.
Concrete takeaway: set a metronome to eighth-notes, not quarters, and program it to click every 8th so you literally hear the 2-2-3. Tighten the palm mutes until each chug is a short, dry thud rather than a ring, and keep your picking hand relaxed — odd time punishes tension more than any straight-4 riff ever will. Nail it slow, and the speed shows up on its own.
Fair warning: once 7/8 clicks, straight 4/4 starts to feel suspiciously easy and slightly boring, and you'll become insufferable at parties. If you'd like the tab, GuitarPro and slowed-down breakdowns for this riff, I put them on my Patreon — come count to seven with me.