Rock Band fiends…Entertainment Weekly recently got the scoop on a bunch of new full album releases coming to the Rock Band platform in the coming weeks. The most exciting being the seminal 1986 classic Peace Sells…But Who's Buying? by Megadeth.

While being a worthwhile addition to the Rock Band library, I would've much have rather seen Rust In Peace in there. That would be a truly Dave-riffic release. But, beggars can't really be choosers. This also strikes me as a little strange, as the actual song, Peace Sells, is one of the confirmed songs from the forthcoming game, Rock Band 2. Will the full album download be a little cheaper since the title track is already on disk? Anyways, just download Peace Sells…But Who's Buying? the day it is released, and let our numbers do our talking and maybe we will get more full metal album downloads in the future.

Here are the other albums being released:
Foo Fighters' The Colour and the Shape
Stevie Ray Vaughn's Texas Flood
Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking
Red Hot Chili Peppers's Blood Sugar Sex Magik

No official release date for these has been announced, so keep a lot out in the DLC section.

So this Konami Guitar Hero clone, dubbed Rock Revolution ( Initial coverage here ) just leaked their full tracklisting, and for video game fans who buy the games for the tracklists, there are certainly a ton of great metal songs that made the cut. We were going to split up the metal and non-metal songs into two seperate lists, but there are so many songs metalheads would enjoy its pointless. So here is the full list of leaked songs… (more…)

Here is a fun little game for everyone. We want to know what "real" metal bands you want to see in Rock Band, in a future game, or as a downloadable song. Sure, in the past we have gotten such gems as At The Gates, Dream Theater, Megadeth, Testament, Machine Head, and more, and they have sold gangbusters as DLC. They also recently announced that there is going to be a "Metal" full album as download very soon down the road. That just goes to prove that we want more damn metal in our fake band games. I, for one, would like to see more thrash, like Anthrax and Slayer, and definitely more bands like Opeth, Between The Buried And Me, Behemoth and other cool band names I can throw around.

We want to know what you guys want to see as future DLC in Rock Band. Heck, they might even take notice of this, and actually bring more metal into Rock Band. What are your top three bands and songs you want to see brought into the game? And while we are at it, which "Metal" album do you want to see? Just post a comment, and in the future, we will make a top 3 or 10 or whatever number we decide on list for everyone to see…

Above is some behind the scenes footage of OZZY OSBOURNE shooting his appearance in the forthcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour video game. ZAKK WYLDE will also be in the game, and you will be able to play as both characters jamming out to Ozzy hits such as "Crazy Train", "Mr. Crowley", and even the Zakk Wylde track "Stillborn".

Among the other tracks listed for the game, the entire new METALLICA album Death Magnetic will be playable on the game the day of their album release, as well as an encore for the track "Trapped Under Ice". Other songs recently announced include:
At the Drive-in – "One Armed Scissor"
System of A Down - "B.Y.O.B."
Survivor – "Eye of the Tiger" (Yes, that Eye of the Tiger!)

For more of our coverage on the game, click the Guitar Hero tag below

Evil C. here from MSRcast, and I'm here to bring you my first bit of news about games for a new weekly (semi-weekly) video games article. Roadrunner Records and Rock Band have some good news for metal fans next week. The downloadable content next week is going to pack a metal wallop. The pack will be 480 MSP (aka $5.99) and single tracks will be 80 MSP (aka $0.99) for the first month. From that point on the pack will be 800 MSP (aka $9.99) and the single tracks will become 160 MSP (aka $1.99).

Tracks will be out on Tuesday on Xbox Marketplace and Thursday on the Playstation Store.

TRACKS:
AIRBOURNE – Runnin’ Wild - 80 MSP - $0.99
DEVILDRIVER – Clouds Over California - 80 MSP - $0.99
DREAM THEATER – Constant Motion - 80 MSP - $0.99
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE – My Curse - 80 MSP - $0.99
MACHINE HEAD – Aesthetics Of Hate - 80 MSP - $0.99
MEGADETH – Sleepwalker - 80 MSP - $0.99

All tracks are masters.

I could have done without Airbourne, and much rather get something from the new Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, or something from their vast back catalog, but beggars can't be choosers. There is enough killer metal in this pack to make up for it. With the past Earache thrash pack and bands like System Of A Down, Metallica, and others getting more play time, we can only hope for Rock Band: Extreme Metal edition in the future.

It's safe to say that a sizeable percentage of the Guitar Hero audience are metal heads, and every metal head would dream of not having to suffer through pussy songs from the likes of BLOC PARTY and THE POLICE to get to the good stuff. Looks like some Playstation 2 modders agree. As some kind gentleman (I assume its a dude) with perhaps too much free time on their hands completely gutted a Playstation 2 version of Guitar Hero 2 to create a metal version…every song a metal classic with every one from CARCASS, TESTAMENT and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY to AS I LAY DYING, DEVILDRIVER and JOB FOR A COWBOY.

The downside? This is all terribly illegal. You need to have a custom modded PS2, and then download and install the game yourself. For full instructions on how you can be on your way to metal heaven, Guitar Hero style click here. Maybe some of the makers of Guitar Hero are reading this, if so…I WOULD DEFINITELY BUY THIS GAME LEGALLY…MAKE IT HAPPEN! Check out a few videos and the tracklisting after the jump… (more…)

Over the last few days, a ton of news has come out about Rock Band 2. Leaked photos of the new issue of Game Informer made their way online on the ScoreHero Forums and we found out this awesome info:

- All songs from the first iteration of the game will be portable to the new version, including downloaded songs.
- "No Fail" Mode for people who just want to have a good time and not get booed off stage.
- Drum trainer mode which will teach you howto play drums, and even a freestyle mode to just let you jam out on drums. New quieter drums will also be produced (including the premium drum set with cymbal attachment pictured above).
- Solo World Tours for each instrument (including bass) as well as simpler tours for those not out for world domination
- Easier navigation through screens, overall improvement to all gameplay, calibration and setup screens.

Oh and the songs! 84 master tracks from the likes of GUNS N ROSES (unreleased track), MEGADETH (Peace FN Sells!), METALLICA, MASTODON, MOTORHEAD, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and more. Full list after the jump… (more…)

Cary Gordon, a.k.a. Evil C, co-Host of Metal Injection Radio's MSRCast sent in this review…

With the brand new Guitar Hero game out on the shelves, Activision has another hit on their hands, no matter how good the game is. Pure money they are printing on these game disks. The new installment is the first in the entire series to spotlight one particular band, and the lucky winner to be chosen first is Aerosmith. Is Aerosmith still relevant in this day and age? Of course, they still play some balls to the walls hard rocking fun tunes, albeit with a few pit stops in their career. Does anyone remember "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", or whatever Celine Dion leftover they sang for that Armageddon movie? Praise be to the metal gods that this song is NOT included in this game…one of the high points for me. (more…)

The people at Harmonix, the developers of the carpel tunnel inducing Rock Band video game, have announced that the sequel to last year's revolutionary all-band game will be seeing a September release on XBOX 360 (and shortly thereafter on PS3) and will feature all new peripherals, new game play modes…improvements on virtually every aspect of gameplay, as well as what they are calling "easily the best setlist I've ever seen in a music game" which is akin to bands saying this is "the heaviest record we've ever put out."

During the interview with IGN was tight-lipped on revealing too many new details, saying everything will come out in the next few weeks but he did make some promises. All the DLC (Downloadable content) for the current iteration will be playable on the sequel, more online gameplay, strongly hinting at user-generated music capabilities similar to what Guitar Hero just announced. Also, it was strongly hinted at that there would be wireless peripherals as well as more accessories like distortion pedals and other little gizmos.

The full interview can be read here where he discusses the topics I mentioned as well as more hints of info about the new game. As always, as soon as something new is announced we will post it here for you!

The latest GameInformer magazine has a one page spread on Konami's new music-based instrument video game entitled Rock Revoluton. Yet another game, by another developer, trying to cash in on the Guitar Hero/Rock Band dynasty. Albeit, Konami was the first with GuitarFreaks, Bemani, DrumMania and the Dance Dance Revolution series. However, there are some minor differences with this game and the GH/RB conglomerate. Here are the most essential parts of the article:

Rock Revolution features 40 cover songs, and apart from playing through all the songs, its three instrument career mode (drum, bass, and guitar) contains challenges such as having to avoid poison notes while playing or making your way through a song without the benefit of seeing any of the falling notes. Although the game doesn't use master tracks, it is turning this to its advantage by letting you perform fills at any time that will sound out along with the song in real-time. It also features a Jam Mode where you head into the studio and create your own music.

Konami isn't talking about instrument controllers for the game beyond a drum set, but the recent demo we saw was being played with a Guitar Hero Les Paul controller. The company says downloadable content will be available, and Rock Revolution's online mode will feature band vs. band play, co-op, and multi-instrument face-offs.

After the jump, we have the track listing (including PANTERA, METALLICA and SYSTEM OF A DOWN), trailer and first look at the whacky drum controller… (more…)

We've been ragging on GUITAR HERO a lot lately. Whether it be their retarded port to the Nintendo DS or their overpriced fourth iteration of the game, but finally there is some news of a video game to look forward to. After some sleuth investigating, GameSpot discovered the following bit of awesome news:

Guitar Hero: Metallica is no longer a case of wishful thinking or idle speculation–it’s fact. When sifting through an SEC filing of Activision’s over the weekend, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Edward Woo–associate of the highly visible Michael Pachter–uncovered a gem in the section where the Santa Monica, California-based publisher discussed its upcoming game slate.

Very interesting. If this follows the same format as the Aerosmith game, you would go through the venues as the years pass and work through most of the band's material. Which means you only reaaaally need like 1/2 the game. Either way, this is the first bit of Guitar Hero news in a while where I wasn't completely rolling my eyes. Kudos, Acitivision

Well, GUITAR HERO, I've mentioned before how with the 4th iteration, it may just be too little too late, but after stumbling upon this demo for the upcoming DS version of Guitar Hero, I can definitely say that your 15 minutes are up! Besides being a cheesy demo, the gameplay just looks incredibly inconvenient. It will be interesting to see how it does, but I for one will not be rushing to the stores…

Above you see the first look at the upcoming "Create Your Own Song" feature of the fourth iteration of the Guitar Hero series, officially being called Guitar Hero: On Tour. The game is set to include the ability for full-on band play, with a microphone and drums, and all those extra drum pads are going to cost you. Gamestop is listing the bundle for $189.99 for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and $179 for PS2 which is 20 bucks more than the Rock Band bundle is going for. I am wondering if this will even sell of if the whole Guitar Hero fad has kind of peaked at this point. Check out a new trailer for the drums and more screenshots after the jump… (more…)