February 3, 2009 (360) / February 5, 2009 (PS3)

Thin Lizzy Pack 01 ($5.50 / 440 MSP or $2 / 160 MSP each)

• Thin Lizzy – Boys Are Back In Town (Live)
• Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (Live)
• Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song (Live)

Singles ($2 / 160 MSP each)

• Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot
• The Pretenders – Precious

Singles ($1 / 80 MSP each)

• Nikko – Don’t Tell Me
• Nikko – Break My Heart

Videos and tier information after the break.

This week’s giving us some good tracks! Thin Lizzy 01 is three songs from a “new” live album being released this year, but actually recorded in 1977. Everyone knows Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and the other tracks are solid, despite being an album filler song and two Nickelodeon songs.

Thin Lizzy – Boys Are Back In Town (Live)

Album: Still Dangerous – Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 (2009)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 4
Notes: Everyone should recognize this song by its opening riff. Should be an amazing guitar song!

Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (Live)

Album: Still Dangerous – Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 (2009)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 2
Notes: This song’s just as good as Boys Are Back, even if you’ve never heard of it. Again, guitar is the highlight.

Thin Lizzy – Cowboy Song (Live)

Album: Still Dangerous – Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 (2009)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 3
Bass: Tier 2
Notes: Also not as well-known; also just as good. This one’s a little trickier to sing. Pick up this entire pack!

Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Album: Crimes of Passion (1980)
Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
Notes: Guitar should be a bit harder than the cover in Guitar Hero III. Drums have some fun fills. Definitely worth picking up for the “oh, I know that song!” factor.

The Pretenders – Precious

Audio preview @ playlist.com

Album: Pretenders (1980)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 5
Bass: Tier 3
Notes: The Pretenders’ label is hardcore about this song not appearing anywhere on YouTube. This song’s vocals will destroy you, though it’s worth singing for the “shitting bricks” line, and the bass is fairly interesting. Drums are annoying in the fast-and-repetitive way, but some of the patterns are all right.

Nikko – Don’t Tell Me

Album: Spectacular! (2009)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 1
Notes: Both of the “Nikko” songs are from am upcoming Nickelodeon (see what they did there?) direct-to-TV movie, making them effectively the same as “Get Your Rock On”, back in August. This one is actually all right, because (or in spite of) a very new-All-American-Rejects-album feel. Get it, it’s only $1.

Nikko – Break My Heart

Album: Spectacular! (2009)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 2
Notes: The lesser of these two songs. A potentially catchy swing beat is ruined by sheer annoyance. Might still be worth getting because it’s $1, though.

Credit to IGN for all tier information. Keep up with the Master Song List to stay updated. See you next week!

January 27, 2009 (360) / January 29, 2009 (PS3)

Grateful Dead Pack 02 ($10 / 800 MSP or $2 / 160 MSP each)

• Grateful Dead – Hell In a Bucket
• Grateful Dead – Don’t Ease Me In
• Grateful Dead – Cold Rain and Snow
• Grateful Dead – Doin’ That Rag
• Grateful Dead – Fire On the Mountain
• Grateful Dead – Uncle John’s Band

Videos and tier information after the break.

Everyone’s familiar with the Dead by now, especially after the inclusion of Alabama Getaway on-disc for RB2. This pack will put us up to 13 Dead songs, making them one of the most-represented bands in the Rock Band library. (AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pixies, and The Who all have more songs.) The constant joke is that you have to be stoned off your ass to enjoy their songs, but as Grateful Dead 01 proved, that’s…only partially true. This pack should have at least one download for everyone, unless you’re one of the idiotic metalheads that spams DLC threads with useless drivel. But I digress.

Grateful Dead – Hell In a Bucket

Album: In the Dark (1987)
Full Band: Tier 4
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 4
Vocals: Tier 6
Bass: Tier 3
Notes: Tier 6 vocals! Not really like any of our existing GD songs. Drum part sounds very fun.

Grateful Dead – Don’t Ease Me In

Album: Go to Heaven (1980)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 3
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 4
Notes: Vaguely like Truckin’. Hopefully its drum chart will be much better.

Grateful Dead – Cold Rain and Snow

Album: The Grateful Dead (1967)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 5
Notes: A very mellow song. Challenging bass part.

Grateful Dead – Doin’ That Rag

Album: Aoxomoxoa (1969)
Full Band: Tier 4
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 6
Bass: Tier 4
Notes: More T6 vocals! This one seems pretty drugged out, but solid. Guitar seems okay for a T2.

Grateful Dead – Fire on the Mountain

Album: Shakedown Street (1978)
Full Band: Tier 3
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 4
Vocals: Tier 0
Bass: Tier 0
Notes: One of the more radio-friendly songs in this pack. Almost a reggae feel. Very mellow.

Grateful Dead – Uncle John’s Band

Album: Workingman’s Dead (1970)
Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 0
Bass: Tier 1
Notes: A lot of people won’t like this one. Kind of a Beatles sound, but not quite. Kind of a “meh” song overall.

Credit to IGN for all tier information. As usual, the Master Song List is available for reference. Check back next week for more DLC previews!

December 23, 2008 (360/PS3)

Foo Fighters Pack 01 ($5.49 / 440 MSP or $2 / 160 MDP each)

• DOA
• Times Like These
• This Is a Call

Videos after the break.

No detailed song info this time – the holidays catch up to all of us.

DOA ($2 / 160 MSP)

Times Like These ($2 / 160 MSP)

This Is a Call ($2 / 160 MSP)

December 23, 2008 (360/PS3)

Rockin’ the Holidays 2008 ($3 / 240 MSP or $1 / 80 MSP each)

• Barenaked Ladies – Hanukkah Blessings
• Billy Squier – Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You
• The Pretenders – Blue Christmas

Song info after the break.

Barenaked Ladies – Hanukkah Blessings ($0.99 / 80 MSP)

Jewish rockers (including Rock Band-featured Bob Dylan) rejoice – finally, a Rock Band song with lyrics in Yiddish! For those of you keeping track at home, this brings our total number of languages up to 6 (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Yiddish). More significantly, the much-requested Barenaked Ladies have finally made a RB appearance. “Hanukkah Blessings” is a great singalong song for guitarists, bassists, and pretty much anyone in the room, provided that you can fake Yiddish. The actual guitar and bass parts should be fairly straightforward, but the drums sound interesting and varied.
Pre-release verdict: Meh. Drummers will want to check out the chart. Otherwise, decide from the sound. Can’t go wrong for $1, though.

Billy Squier – Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You ($0.99 / 80 MSP)

’80s rocker Billy Squier, featured in Guitar Hero ’80s with “Lonely is the Night”, swings his way through the season with this mouthful of a song. “Christmas is the Time” is a basic swing beat with a nice, ’80s-y guitar solo in the middle, and much like the previous song, the chorus has got a big singalong going on. Guitarists will definitely want to check this one out for a nice guitar solo at $0.99, and drummers will want to check out the chart to see how it goes down. (Rock Band’s swing-beat songs can go either way on drums, but many have been excellent – see “Like a Fool” and “Don’t Make Me Wait”.)
Pre-release verdict: Probably worth it for $1. May not be the most technically challenging, but has plenty of cheesy energy your family or boy-/girlfriend will enjoy.

The Pretenders – Blue Christmas ($0.99 / 80 MSP)

(No video yet – song is brand new. Preview it on iTunes to get an idea.)

Coming from a just-released holiday EP, The Pretender’s present this year is an, um, interesting cover of “Blue Christmas”, originally made famous (but not written) by Elvis. This cover starts out as a usual version of the song – country-esque, slow, good guitar work. A bit of the way in, The Pretenders launch into an entirely different genre, punk, and the song goes on to end on more of a Ramones feel than an Elvis one. Instrumental charts, particularly guitar, should have some replay value here. Useless trivia: The Pretenders will be the fourth band to have both masters and covers in Rock Band, after Rush, Coheed and Cambria, and David Bowie.
Pre-release verdict: Guitarists should probably grab this while it’s $1. Everyone else should do the usual YouTube trawl for charts to make a decision. Just don’t expect it to be like the original version!

No Doubt – The Singles 1992-2003 (album) ($20 / 1600 MSP)

1. Just a Girl
2. It’s My Life
3. Hey Baby
4. Bathwater
5. Sunday Morning
6. Hella Good
7. Underneath It All
8. Excuse Me Mr.
9. Running
10. Spiderwebs
11. Simple Kind of Life
12. Don’t Speak
13. Ex-Girlfriend

Videos, difficulty tiers, and more information after the break.

The Singles 1992-2003, as you might’ve guessed, is a compilation album – the first to come to Rock Band (since “The Best of The Who” was hand-picked for the game by The Who). This is only a good thing for players, though. Anyone who cares for just one of an artist’s several albums would either be elated or really disappointed depending on which album made the cut, but this makes everyone happy. Hopefully we’ll see more Greatest Hits albums in the future (if only to minimize whining). Here’s each of the tracks in this week’s album, organized by the original albums they appeared in. Tier information courtesy of IGN.

Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Spiderwebs

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 3
Many players will recognize this song from GH: On Tour or GH: World Tour, and now we’ve finally gotten it in a game worth playing. “Spiderwebs” is Tragic Kingdom’s second single, and shows one of No Doubt’s signatures – the ability to blend a ska/reggae feel with a pop beat. This is one of this week’s big hitters on bass, but the guitar and drums are solid too. Definitely pick this one up, both for the charts and the big-name factor.

Excuse Me Mr.

Full Band: Tier 5
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 5
Vocals: Tier 4
Bass: Tier 4
“Excuse Me Mr.” is the difficult song in a pack of otherwise playable pop music. Guitar features lots of rapid strumming, probably with some weird chord changes; drums are just FAST, with lots of rolls; vocals are all over the map; and bass has to try and keep up with the guitar and drums. Take a listen to this song before buying – it’s a bit of a different feel than No Doubt’s big hits, with a lot more punk rock than their big singles. If you wanted a hard song this week, though, definitely pick it up.

Just a Girl

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 1
Tragic Kingdom was what put No Doubt on the map, and this was its leading single – the most famous track of the album behind the legendary “Don’t Speak”. This song is No Doubt’s pop sound at its best, and has enough variance in guitar and drums to keep you interested. If you don’t buy the whole pack, pick this one up as a recognizable song.

Sunday Morning

Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
I’m vaguely surprised that this song is tier 0 bass – take a listen to that hook at the start and tell me that’s tier 0. Bass is one of the highlights in this song, as guitar is mostly a series of ska-influenced chords. Drums, though, has some great fills and interesting patterns. I can see this song being a sleeper hit among those who buy the pack, especially drummers. If you drum, this is a must-buy. Otherwise, see if you like the sound.

Don’t Speak

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 2
Vocals: Tier 0
Bass: Tier 0
If you’re 18 or older and don’t recognize this song, you never listened to the radio in the ’90s. “Don’t Speak” is No Doubt – it’s Tragic Kingdom’s third single and spent a whopping sixteen weeks at the top of the radio charts. Instrumentally, it’s one of many Rock Band songs whose parts will be really fun to play despite being tier 2 or lower (”El Scorcho”, anyone?) The Spanish guitar solo invokes memories of Hotel California and will be incredibly satisfying. Drummers’ main pattern is kind of slow, but that’s made up for by the varied fills. This song is a must-buy this week.

Return of Saturn (2000)

Ex-Girlfriend

Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 0
This song opens Return of Saturn, and immediately shows the changes in the band’s sound. By 2000, the ’90s pop scene was already under many of the influences we see in today’s music world, for better or worse. (One way to think of it? Compare this song to Tragic Kingdom, and then to Gwen Stefani’s solo work.) All in all, it’s very…eccentric. The guitar is fairly bland, but the drums aren’t any worse than Tragic Kingdom’s, just different. Take a listen and see if you like it.

Simple Kind of Life

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 3
Bass: Tier 0
This song starts exposing No Doubt’s mellower side, which is explored more later in the album and on Rock Steady. Drums continue to deliver, but the rest of the song will vary by taste. Personally, I found the vocals in this one a bit more grating than Stefani’s usual. Pass on this one, most likely, unless you’re a drummer.

Bathwater

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 0
Drums: Tier 2
Vocals: Tier 4
Bass: Tier 0
“Bathwater” is yet another new sound for No Doubt, for the most part, and is also fairly famous (though not nearly as much as “Don’t Speak”). This song has a special kind of energy that will appeal to some people much more than others. Nothing here is particularly difficult, and unfortunately the solo is given to the horns and not the guitar. Buying this as a single depends entirely on whether you like the song or not.

Rock Steady (2001)

Hella Good

Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 1
Drums: Tier 2
Vocals: Tier 0
Bass: Tier 4
Rock Steady is a divisive album, due entirely to the huge departure it is from the other two big albums. “Hella Good” is the flagship of the new sound, and it shows even more elements of the early 2000s pop scene – electronic samples, a repetitive hip-hop-like chorus, etc. The song got a lot of airplay, so it may be worth buying just for the recognizability. I’m curious to see how various things get charted, as there’s a lot of stuff going on that may or may not be interpreted as guitar. If you liked Rock Steady’s sound, this is the perfect song for you.

Hey Baby

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 4
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 0
This is the other big recognizable part of Rock Steady. Remember this song? Of course you do. I’m not convinced that this guitar part will be very fun, but the drums are promising (and apparently challenging). “Hey Baby” also features the awkward vocal stylings of Bounty Killer, which will certainly be charted and will be really weird to sing alongside Gwen Stefani. This song’s not quite Holla Back Girl, but it’s trying. Pick it up if that’s your thing.

Underneath It All

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 1
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
“Underneath It All” goes back to the reggae/ska feeling that No Doubt fans knew from the previous two albums, and is one of the laid-back songs this week, alongside “Running” and “Simple Kind of Life”. Nothing special here except a few interesting elements in the drum chart and another guest vocalist. At least this time she’s the same gender as Gwen. As usual, this one will swing on your tastes.

Running

Full Band: Tier 0
Guitar: Tier 1
Drums: Tier 0
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
This track is the biggest black sheep of this pack, with a “Still Alive”-ish children’s feel to the background noises and drums. Unfortunately, this track’s simplicity will really hurt its playability. It’s got a consistent vocal track, if you dig its vocals; everything else is fairly simple, and will depend heavily on your opinion of it.

Check back next week for information on the upcoming country music pack (ugh). As always, you can stay updated with the Online Master Song List.

December 2, 2008 (360) / December 4, 2008 (PS3)

Singles ($0.99 / 80 MSP each)

• Children of Bodom – Are You Dead Yet?
• Finley – Tutto È Possibile
• Platero y Tú – Hay Poco Rock N Roll
• Squeeze – Tempted
• Tokio Hotel – Ready, Set, Go!
• The All-American Rejects – Real World
• The Naked Brothers Band – Body I Occupy
• The Naked Brothers Band – I Don’t Want To Go To School

Singles (Free)

• Miranda Cosgrove – Headphones On

More info on all of these tracks, and this week’s milestone, after the break.

This week’s milestone is that the Rock Band song library is surpassing the promised 500-song mark. For reference, 500 songs is more songs than the GH1, GH2, GH80s, GH3, and GHWT setlists combined, including DLC for all of those games. Jeez.

First up is what many people – like most of those in the 19-page bitchfest over at Scorehero – will see as the only “good” DLC this week, Children of Bodom. This is because a significant portion of the professional GH/RB community only like metal and hard rock, but there’s no denying that this track will kick ass on guitar and drums. Listen to the guitar riff that starts around 1:25 into the video (above) for evidence. Vocals don’t promise to be anything interesting beyond the usual screamy metal talkies, though. The first five singles this week all hail from different European countries, and Children starts us off with Finland. Not that they have a particularly Finnish sound, really, but…
Download this track if: You like metal and want to add another difficult guitar/drums track to your collection.
See also: All That Remains Pack 01.

Finley’s “Tutto È Possibile” takes us south across Europe to hit Italy. This pop-rock track (with a touch of punk to it) has a fairly catchy chorus, though I’m sure most people who buy this song will be mumbling through it on vocals (did you take any Italian in high school?) It’s got several “whoa-oh-oh”-type sections that are excellent for singing along, and “Tutto”’s energy promises to be a great party song if you can get your friends past the whole Italian thing. Instruments sound fairly bland here, though there’s a few nice guitar hooks hidden here and there and a good drum section for the bridge.
Download this track if: You enjoy songs with lots of energy, or enjoy singing background vocals while playing an instrument. Or if you speak Italian.
See also: Honestly, I’m reminded most of RB2’s on-disc “Give It All”. Possibly “Perfekte Welle”, from the first set of Euro singles, though it’s got a different feel.

Next up is Spain, with the now-defunct Platero y Tú’s “Hay Poco Rock N Roll”. This song starts with an interesting buildup and jumps directly into a really solid guitar solo. It’s sung in Spanish, but don’t let this detract from the song’s energy and definite AC/DC feel. (For a song released in 1994, “Hay Poco” is a rock anthem straight out of the ’80s.) Instrumentally, guitar is the only thing getting any love here; drums are the same pattern the entire time, and the bassline is mostly repeated eighth notes on the same fret. The solos are fantastic, though!
Download this track if: You speak Spanish. Or if you’re a guitar-centric player that enjoys laying down some sweet-sounding, though not particularly difficult, solo riffs.
See also: The entire AC/DC Track Pack.

Squeeze represents Britain with a track that is both incredibly famous and much, much better than their on-disc song: “Tempted”. Take a short listen to it – if you don’t recognize “Tempted”, you apparently never listen to the radio. This song is absolutely a must-buy if your RB setup gets frequent party use, as this song is a karaoke staple. Unfortunately, though, the instrumentals here don’t get the same love as the vocals. The guitar isn’t an important part of the song and is mostly basic rhythm strumming, and the drums – aside from a few nice fills – see just the same basic, slow pattern throughout. The bass is a fairly interesting melody, though, as RB basslines go. Fun fact: Elvis Costello, also featured on-disc, sings one of the lines in the second verse.
Download this track if: You want to build your collection of well-known songs or primarily play vocals or bass.
See also: Oasis Pack 01, arguably, though it’s got more going on instrumentally.

The final European track is Tokio Hotel’s “Ready, Set, Go!”, rounding out the Euro countries with Germany. The first Tokio Hotel track (”Monsoon”) got a lot of flak from the community upon its original announcement; apparently Tokio Hotel is well-known as Europe’s counterpart to the many American whiny emo bands. That may be, but both of their RB tracks aren’t half bad, though “Ready, Set, Go!” is much more upbeat than the soft, laid-back “Monsoon”. Guitar here is nothing special, seemingly just a chordfest during the verses and a single-fret pattern for the choruses. Drums are all right, but also nothing terribly out of the ordinary.
Download this track if: You like the sound, honestly. I did mention all of these tracks are $1, right?
See also: The All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy.

America strikes back against all of this European shenaniganry with The All-American Rejects‘ first RB single since Christmas ‘07. This single is actually from their as-yet-unreleased third studio album, When the World Comes Down, set to be released in December. “Real World” sounds quite different from “Move Along” and “Dirty Little Secret”; I don’t want to say it’s more “bland”, but it is, in a way. The optimistic energy of Move Along seems to be absent on When the World, for better or worse. Anyway, the instrumentals here are fairly bland as well. The guitar breaks from its chain of chords here and there, but it’s mostly nothing particularly interesting, and drums are about the same (nothing as fun as “Move Along”).
Download this track if: You like the band, or have a dollar lying around. Seriously, it’s $1, why not?
See also: Most of the bland rock songs in RB.

I’ll keep this fairly brief. The Naked Brothers Band aren’t a real band so much as they are a Nickelodeon publicity stunt, and their inclusion in RB is almost certainly a nod to MTV’s robot overlords at Viacom (who own Nickelodeon). When “Get Your Rock On” was released, the feces hit the fan among the dedicated DLC fanbase, but it was nothing compared to this. All I can say is: Remember that DLC is optional. These tracks are $1, making them accessible to their pre-teen fanbase, but you don’t have to buy them. With that out of the way, “Body I Occupy” isn’t THAT terrible, despite going on for about a minute and a half too long. Take a listen. The drums have a little bit going on, and the guitar is a fairly interesting acoustic pattern. The best part is that the vocals are tolerable, though, which can’t be said for “I Don’t Wanna Go To School”. Ugh. I…you know, I really don’t want to have to talk about that song.
Download these tracks if: You have a younger brother or sister who will be into them, or you can tolerate “Body I Occupy” long enough to enjoy its drums and guitar. Don’t download “I Don’t Wanna Go To School” for any reason.
See also: Uh…no idea. Perhaps our final track this week.

The last track this week is FREE, and Nickelodeon joins the not-terribly-illustrious ranks of Portal, The Rocker, and The Colbert Report. Miranda Cosgrove is an actress that headlines “iCarly”, a preteen Nickelodeon show that seemingly encourages its viewers to be camwhores. (I know the live-action Nick shows weren’t much better back in the ’90s, but come on.) This song is from the show’s soundtrack, and…well, honestly, we could be doing worse for a free track. Listen to it all the way through, however grudgingly you have to. It’s mostly generic rock, but it’s not particularly bad in any way except the mild grating of the teen pop vocals.
Download this track if: You have any space open on your hard drive. The worst case is that you end up deleting it, and you lost only about 5 minutes of your life, all told.
See also: Once again, running low on comparisons, here. It’s almost like “I’m Gone, I’m Going”, except not nearly as good.

Check back next week, when we get concrete information on the leaked Best Of No Doubt pack. As usual, you can find the information about all songs, released and rumored, on my Online Master Song List.

November 25, 2008 (360/PS3)

The Killers Pack 01 ($5.49 / 440 MSP – $2 / 160 MSP each)

• Mr. Brightside
• Smile Like You Mean It
• Spaceman

Yngwie Malmsteen Pack 01 ($5.49 / 440 MSP – $2 / 160 MSP each)

• Red Devil
• Damnation Game
• Caprici di Diablo

Singles ($2 / 160 MSP each)

• Soundgarden – Jesus Christ Pose
• Soundgarden – Pretty Noose
• Lamb of God – Laid to Rest

Detailed song info follows.

First up this week is one of the few bands featured on the Rock Band 1 disc that hadn’t yet received DLC – The Killers. Many of you are likely familiar with them through “Somebody Told Me”, a ridiculously huge single from their 2004 album Hot Fuss. Two of this week’s tracks – “Mr. Brightside” and “Smile Like You Mean It” – are also singles from Hot Fuss, but “Spaceman” is practically premiering on Rock Band. (Its album, Day & Age, was just released on November 19th.) Take a listen to the songs linked above; The Killers’ unique use of effected vocals and other electronica elements make them a welcome addition to the Rock Band lineup.

The other pack this week is a little different, featuring semi-legendary shredder Yngwie Malmsteen and his band, The Rising Force. All three tracks are from his new (October 14) album Perpetual Flame, its title perhaps a nod to the fact that Malmsteen has been releasing material since the early 1980s. The album, in fact, is so new that finding YouTube links to studio versions is nigh impossible. Trust me, though, when I say that these songs are shredding at its finest. “Red Devil” and “Damnation Game” are ridiculous enough, but “Caprici di Diablo” is quite possibly the hardest guitar chart in any music game with Guitar Hero 2’s timing window and engine. (Yes, that includes “Jordan”, “Green Grass and High Tides”, and “Thrasher”.) “Caprici di Diablo” is the second instrumental track (no vocals) to be featured in Rock Band after Rush’s “YYZ”. It doesn’t need vocals; you’ll be too busy focusing on the guitar. For any of you who have complained about Rock Band’s lack of challenging guitar parts, pick up this entire pack. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Soundgarden is another band that shares the rare distinction (with The Killers) of being featured in Rock Band 1 but not in the downloadable tracks. “Jesus Christ Pose” and “Pretty Noose” both hail from the early ’90s, a decade that can always use more Rock Band representation, and they don’t disappoint. Neither song is much like “Spoonman” or “Black Hole Sun”, except for a certain grungy undertone, but that just shows how versatile Soundgarden is with their sound. Drummers won’t be disappointed with either track, with “Jesus Christ Pose” in particular showcasing a nice, complex set of beats. “Jesus Christ Pose” is actually quite complex on every instrument – guitarists and bassists may find their work cut out for them as well.

Finally, Lamb of God makes its triumphant return to a Harmonix music game, with the master track of Guitar Hero 2’s “Laid to Rest”. GH veterans may remember this song as having an incredibly fun chain of HO/POs on the Expert guitar chart, and we can only hope that this returns. Even if discarded in favor of the more dominant chords during those sections, the rest of the song shines as a very fun guitar pattern, and it should be a must-buy for any GH2 players or guitar aficionados. The screamy vocals are much more pronounced in the master than in GH2’s cover, and if singing “D.O.A.” or “Clouds Over California” is the best 4 minutes you’ve ever spent, this song is for you, too.

This week knocks the song total up to 496 across both games, or 493 songs playable in Rock Band 2. Check back next week, when we’ll almost certainly surpass Harmonix’s promised 500-songs-by-the-holidays, and hit up my Rock Band Master Song List to see all 493 songs together.