With the release ofGuitar Hero: Warriors of Rock on September 28th, Acitivision has a tall order when it comes to winning back fans of the once coveted trail blazing rhythm guitar phenomenon.
The franchise has been stagnant as of late, a redundant vessel too busy with its hands on all utters of the cash cow to realize that it has steadily grown light years behind Rock Band. Guitar Hero: Van Halen was an inexcusably lazy mess, so much so that Activision had to bundle it with Guitar Hero 5 to offload its supply. Released on December 22, 2009 and February 2010 internationally, the game would go on to sell less than 250,000 copies and would be the musical equivalent to this year's Ozzfest Main Stage.
“We engaged our fans to find out what they really wanted and then hand-picked over 90 tracks that deliver the ultimate rock experience,” said Tim Riley, Vice President of Music Affairs for Guitar Hero. “From the new guitar controller to the gameplay to the on-disc set list, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is truly a return to rock.”
With a plethora of new features starting with the aforementioned bundled guitar controller (see photo), Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock’s Quest Mode--the franchise’s first ever story-based career mode narrated by Gene Simmons, and unlockable perks (similar to Modern Warfare) with larger multipliers leading way to a 40-star song rating as opposed to the franchise's standard five, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is a summer tour away from winning me back as a fan and inspiring me to go out and purchase a $45 concert t-shirt.
The full track list includes: A Perfect Circle – “The Outsider”
Aerosmith – “Cryin'”
AFI – “Dancing Through Sunday”
Alice Cooper – “No More Mr. Nice Guy”
Alter Bridge – “Ties That Bind”
Anberlin – “The Feel Good Drag”
Anthrax – “Indians”
Arch Enemy – “Nemesis”
Atreyu – “Ravenous”
Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”
Bad Brains – “Re-Ignition (Live)”
Band Of Skulls – “I Know What I Am”
Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave”
Blind Melon – “Tones Of Home”
Blue Öyster Cult – “Burnin' For You”
Bush – “Machinehead”
Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get?”
Children Of Bodom – “If You Want Peace... Prepare For War”
Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Fortunate Son”
The Cure – “Fascination Street”
Deep Purple – “Burn”
Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)”
Dethklok – “Bloodlines”
The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants”
Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing”
DragonForce – “Fury of the Storm”
Drowning Pool – “Bodies”
Edgar Winter– “Free Ride”
Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance”
Five Finger Death Punch – “Hard To See”
Flyleaf – “Again”
Foo Fighters – “No Way Back”
Foreigner – “Feels Like The First Time”
George Thorogood and The Destroyers – “Move It On Over (Live)”
The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
Interpol – “Slow Hands”
Jane's Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
Jethro Tull – “Aqualung”
John 5 – “Black Widow Of La Porte”
KISS – “Love Gun”
Linkin Park – “Bleed It Out”
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Call Me The Breeze (Live)”
Megadeth – “Sudden Death”
Megadeth – “Holy Wars... The Punishment Due”
Megadeth – “This Day We Fight!”
Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – “Paranoid (Live)”
Muse – “Uprising”
My Chemical Romance – “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)”
Neil Young – “Rockin' In The Free World”
Nickelback – “How You Remind Me”
Night Ranger – “(You Can Still) Rock In America”
Nine Inch Nails – “Wish”
The Offspring – “Self Esteem”
Orianthi – “Suffocated”
Pantera – “I'm Broken”
Phoenix – “Lasso”
Poison – “Unskinny Bop”
Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Queensrÿche – “Jet City Woman”
Rammstein – “Waidmanns Heil”
The Ramones – “Theme From Spiderman”
Red Rider – “Lunatic Fringe”
R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion”
Rise Against – “Savior”
The Rolling Stones – “Stray Cat Blues”
The Runaways – “Cherry Bomb”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 1 – Overture”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 2 - The Temples Of Syrinx”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 3 – Discovery”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 4 – Presentation”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 5 - Oracle: The Dream”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 6 – Soliloquy”
Rush – “2112 Pt. 7 - Grand Finale”
RX Bandits – “It's Only Another Parsec...”
Silversun Pickups – “There's No Secrets This Year”
Slash featuring Ian Astbury – “Ghost”
Slayer – “Chemical Warfare”
Slipknot – “Psychosocial”
Snot – “Deadfall”
Soundgarden – “Black Rain”
Steve Vai – “Speeding” (Vault Version)
Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song”
Strung Out – “Calling”
Styx – “Renegade”
Sum 41 – “Motivation”
Tesla – “Modern Day Cowboy”
Them Crooked Vultures – “Scumbag Blues”
Third Eye Blind – “Graduate”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Listen To Her Heart”
Twisted Sister – “We're Not Gonna Take It”
The Vines – “Get Free”
The White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army”
ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man (Live)”
Please note: including Nickelback, Sum 41, and Third Eye Blind in the same sentence as the words "music" or "rock" is detrimental to your health. Loss of credibility and friends may occur. Please consult your physician when choosing to listen to terrible bands.
