Guitar Hero 2 Official Set List Released

willith writes "IGN has posted the official list, straight from RedOctane, of the 40 licensed tracks in Guitar Hero 2. There's a great mix of songs, running the list from 'stuff my parents like' (Allman Brothers) to 'music that kills' (Megadeth). You can get an early start with the GH2 playable demo in this month's Official Playstation Magazine, which contains four songs (Strutter, You Really Got Me, YYZ, and Shout at the Devil). For those about to rock, we salute you!" If some of the songs on the list are making you scratch your head, a helpful gent online has put together YouTube clips of the set list.

nice list

I was kind of shocked, I'm an old guy as far as gamers go and I still knew all but 3 bands (Sword, Avenged Sevenfold and Living End). Might have to check this one out. Is it just me or does Freebird seem a bit out of place with the Face-Melters? At first glance Dick Dale seems a bit out of place unless you are familiar with is work and his speed, but Freebird I just dont get, its not a particularly hard song to play on a real guitar and certainly doesnt have the difficulty of some of the others on the list.

Re:nice list

pre-Black album Metallica

God, I'll never forget the day that abomination of an album came out. I popped it into the CD player, listened to about 6 tracks and immediately returned it to the store. The one band I *NEVER* thought would sell out had released an album of songs with controversy-free meaningless lyrics, cut to radio time, with Bob Rock producing. And, if that wasn't bad enough, a FUCKING BALLAD! I could almost deal with them cutting their hair and not trashing as hard, but a FUCKING BALLAD?!?!

I left metal behind that day. If Metallica could sell out, anyone could.

-Eric

Re:nice list

It's time to move on now, it really is.

Freebird

Freebird has a special place in Guitar Hero lore, since in the first game, one of the loading screens said: "They don't really want you to play 'Freebird'. They're just heckling you."

I think it's the final song of Guitar Hero 2 because it's meant to be a 10-minute endurance marathon. If they don't increase the difficulty of the solos, I'm guessing they'll at least spruce them up with some really challenging key combos. When people talk about GH2, it'll be like, "I know a guy who actually finished Freebird on Expert!"

F*** you, I won't do what you tell me!

I wonder how (if?) they're going to censor the lyrics [lyricsdepot.com] at the end of "Killing in the Name Of".

Another reason I won't get the sequel.

I hate censorship of music. Not only does it detract from the original goodness of the song, but THEN you're missing out on fun stuff like ending parts where you could finish the song with some style.

Censorship of music, Wal-Mart style, means you don't get my money.

Re:Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!

So, why did you censor the lyrics?

My mom might be reading.

This has to be a joke

4. Thrash and Burn Warrant - Cherry Pie

I think that this is the only time that "Thrash" and Warrant have ever been associated. But seriously, there should be some Overkill or Exodus on here if they wanted thrash.

I've played the demo

I've played the demo, and the game is just more of the same.

GREATNESS

It was a blast to have new songs to play, and it's quite clear they aren't letting up on the difficulty. The first time I saw a three fingered cord, it threw me for a loop for a second (although I was expecting them), but I managed to nail it. In a later song in the demo though, a string of 'em weren't so kind to me.

Just under a month left. I can't wait.

And I wonder what the bonus songs will be (there are 15 of them).

No Stairway?

Denied!

Nightwish Crownless

I wouldn't mind having a crack at Nightwish's Crownless myself. /me crosses his fingers for it to appear in bonus tracks.

guitarists are a dime a dozen...

where's the bass hero game? come on now, they're including yyz, so obviously the people behind this are familiar with good artists... why not throw it out there?

seriously, toss in a lot of kiss, iron maiden, rush, etc and you could have a game that lots of kids get into. since there's ratm in this offering, i could see including some neat-o bass pieces from some of the more modern acts as well.

maybe they're afraid of what happens when the drums stop? if you aren't familiar, read the first piece on this page: http://www.music-prank.com/Musician.html [music-prank.com]

FREE BIRD!

I think that's about all that needs to be said.

but it's our Favorite!

Thirteen [slashdot.org] Guitar Hero stories since April?

Pretty soon, it's going to need its own Slashdot section. Over that period, Guitar Hero out-articled Apache (0), BSD (0), Geeks in Space (0), features (0), interviews (0), search (0), linux (2), Apple (5), science (5), IT (11), developers (12), and 6 of the 14 substections of Games.

Still no Iron Maiden...?

WTF?

Dream Theater, lawl

Too bad the in-house band can't play Dream Theater.

Part 1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZZM04-ysM7g [youtube.com]

Part 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=eXstvXu5sPs [youtube.com]

The Sword - Freya

Not many people have heard of the small band from Austin, The Sword. [myspace.com] They are a truly excellent band, and their driving riffs make them perfect for a game like Guitar Hero.

They sound like early Black Sabbath, but with a Celtic/Viking fantasy theme. And their live act is damn near flawless. They're on tour right now, and if they play anywhere near you, I highly recommend seeing them now while they're still playing smaller venues.

I'm really impressed that they were able to get into something as big as Guitar Hero 2. I have a feeling Freya is going to be a beast to play.

Please, oh PLEASE!

If just ONE of these songs is amongst the secret unlockables, I'll be a very happy man:

Muse: Hysteria
Blur: Girls and Boys (sweet base line)
Smiths: Barbarism Begins at Home
The Cure: Hot Hot Hot!
Queen/David Bowie: Under Pressure
AC/DC: Back in Black
The Kinks: You Really Got Me
Smashing Pumpkins: Today
Adorable: Homeboy
Ash: Goldfinger
B-52's: Private Idaho
Blondie: Atomic
New Order: Regret
The Bravery: An Honest Mistake
The Cult: Bad Fun
The Hives: Hate to Say I Told You So
INXS: Devil Inside
Pixies: Here Comes Your Man
Radiohead: Street Spirit
Stone Roses: This is the One
The Strokes: Last Night
Suede: The Beautiful Ones
The The: The Sinking Feeling
U2: The Fly
Weezer: Say it Aint So
The White Stripes: LIttle Bird

Re:The List - Text Mode!

1. Opening Licks
Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
Danzig - Mother
Cheap Trick - Surrender
Wolfmother - Woman
Spinal Tap - Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight

2. Amp-Warmers
Kiss - Strutter
Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box
Police - Message in a Bottle
Van Halen - You Really Got Me
Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son

3. String-Snappers
Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench
Alice in Chains - Them Bones
Iggy Pop and the Stooges - Search and Destroy
Pretenders - Tattooed Love Boys
Black Sabbath - War Pigs

4. Thrash and Burn
Warrant - Cherry Pie
Butthole Surfers - Who Was in My Room Last Night
Mathew Sweet - Girlfriend
Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knockin'
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

5. Return of the Shred
Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name Of
Primus - John the Fisherman
Sword - Freya
Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation
Aerosmith - Last Child

6. Relentless Riffs
Heart - Crazy on You
Stone Temple Pilots - Tripping on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Stray Cats - Rock This Town
Allman Brothers - Jessica
Jane's Addiction - Stop

7. Furious Fretwork
Anthrax - Madhouse
Living End - Carry Me Home
Lamb of God - Laid to Rest
Reverend Horton Heat - Psychobilly Freakout
Rush - YYZ

8. Face-Melters
Avenged Sevenfold - Beast and the Harlot
Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
Dick Dale - Misirlou
Megadeth - Hangar 18
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird

Re:Great song list but...

I assume it's for the same reason Donkey Konga did covers of the songs. Something along the lines that they're buying rights to reproduce the song, not the rights for the original recording of the song. That said, most of the covers in Guitar Hero are done very well. It took a few songs for my untrained ear to actually tell the difference. I think it was Infection that did it for me.

Re:Great song list but...

That's right, they explained that in the videos on the origional Guitar Hero. They wanted the real versions but were either turned down flat or the band/artist wanted WAY too much money. That's why they used covers for all songs but the bonus tracks (which were all smaller bands, bands of employees, etc).

Because of the success of Guitar Hero they were able to get the origonals for some songs and that is why some tracks are not covers.

Harmonix didn't have that problem in their previous games (Amplitude and Frequency, both great) because they were made in conjunction with Sony Music and so Sony basically gave them the songs to use (which would be the smart thing to do for a band: free exposure). At least that's what I think was the case.

Re:Great song list but...

Oh, and where oh where is Stairway to Heaven?

Can't you read the sign?

Re:The List

Sure, sure, maybe they're one of the most over-rated bands lately (given their last 3+ albums), but why isn't Metallica on this list? Did Lars reject the idea of putting their music on a game due to his 'copyright' stance?

I really was hoping to see Master of Puppets, Orion, One, Call of Kuthul(sp?), Ride the Lighting, 4 Horseman, or basically any song off Master of Puppets, Ride the Lighting, And Justice for All, or Kill them All. As long as it wasn't Enter Sandman.

'm still very happy with this list and I'm going to rock out with this new 'album' of GH2, with tons of great tunes.

Cheers,
Fozzy

Re:Great song list but...

I think they did a fantastic job at recreating the songs. Sure, it's not the hardest to tell the difference, but at some points, you do scratch your head.

I think maybe the explined a little bit of the reason behind this on the Games 'bonus' videos?

Re:Great song list but...

...I take it that much like the first GH, all these songs will be renditions of the real thing =\

Of course they will. Aside from the purely practical/technical reasons, you have to keep in mind that even if you're an astounding guitarist in the most awesome cover band in the world, your performance of a song isn't going to sound exactly like the original. Virtually playing the songs in a video game isn't (and shouldn't) sound exactly like the originals, either. If you want to hear the original songs, those are still available elsewhere.

Re:Great song list but...

Part of the problem is that they need the original master tracks to be able to create the "keysounds" (the sounds played when you strum a note). These aren't always easily obtainable... especially at a reasonable cost. Instead, you just commission a cover group to create their own for much cheaper. (If I recall correctly, the covers on the GH games are by WaveGroup, who have also done songs for Karaoke Revolution and Beatmania.)