With the omnipresence of media and the inevitable homogenization of media, it only feels right to start covering some aspects of video games here on Heavy Blog is Heavy. You may remember at the end of 2014, we posted a review of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- due to its heavy metal theme and, thus, its relevance to our own.
Today, we bring to you a wholly justified Rock Band 4 update, because beloved acts Between the Buried and Me, Symphony X, and Opeth are making their way into the game!
Longtime Rock Band players may remember that Between the Buried and Me are simply returning to the series, having had half of “Prequel to the Sequel” as a temporary free download for Rock Band 2, as well as a few choice songs on the now-defunct Rock Band Network, including “Alaska,” “Selkies,” “Mordecai,” and a few others. Opeth are also returning with their second song, having previously had “Ghost of Perdition” as official DLC. However, this marks Symphony X’s debut in the series!
The upcoming songs are as follow:
- Between the Buried and Me – Coma Machine
- Opeth – Heir Apparent
- Symphony X – Nevermore
The new tracks coincide with the Rock Band 4 update (containing several desirable features), but also comes packed away with the brand new ‘Brutal Mode,’ a new difficulty level that bestows a reward higher than Gold Stars called Crimson Stars.
The spirit of Brutal Mode is “the better you do, the harder it gets” as your on-screen note highways disappear as you hit more notes. Certainly for anyone that has mastered Expert and is looking for a new challenge.
For anyone playing, there is also a Brutal Mode contest going on, so make sure to get all the information here if winning any of the following sounds good to you:
- All finalists will receive round trip airfare to and lodging in Boston for the Final Battle. They will have the opportunity to meet with some of the Rock Band 4 developers during their stay, and time permitting, tour the Harmonix office!
- 2nd and 3rd placed finalists will receive one Rock Band 4 PAX East Penny Arcade Limited Edition guitar controller and the 3Rock Band DLC tracks released on 12/8/2015.
- Our 1st place finalist will receive all of the above, PLUS:
- One custom skinned Rock Band 4 Xbox One or PlayStation®4 console and controller.
- The entire 2016 calendar year’s worth of Rock Band 4 DLC FREE for the console of their choice.
- And, to top it all off, a $1,000 cash prize!
Expect more updates like these in the future as worlds collide!
-KG