Double DLC Week: Pantera and Spoon

This week we'll catch up on 2 weeks of DLC (Pantera and Spoon weeks). We'll also be moving up to 11th place in
the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "The Complexity of Light", by Children of Nova: It's great to see more progressive music in the game. If we ever get the full Dream Theater catalog in the RBN it would be prog heaven, but for now tracks like this one are refreshing. The guitar and bass tracks are very dynamic. The drum rolls on Expert drums are crazy, but it is really fun on Hard due to the tempo changes. I didn't have a chance to try the song on vocals yet, but the somewhat odd high pitch section sounded difficult.

2. "We Are Not Anonymous", by Unearth: This is a Gothenburg metal-infused metalcore song that has some good riffs and a really fun drum chart. I liked the sections with double bass hits followed by triple bass. The guitar chart was really fun, especially on Hard during the tough riffs and the solo. Normally I don't like metalcore bands as much but when they mix in some extreme metal (ex: symphonic black, melodic death (Gotherburg), etc...), they can deliver some great tunes like this one.

1. "War Nerve", by Pantera: Being a big fan of the early groove metal-era Pantera, I was a bit bemused by this album choice, as it is faster and more chaotic than their previous albums. After playing it on every instrument except vocals, I have to say that I am happily surprised by the many fun moments. "War Nerve" was my favorite song overall due to the many great riffs and tempo changes, a really neat drum beat 2/3rds in, plus a great bass chart that gives me a better appreciation of Rex's talent. Other highlights include an amazing drum chart for "The Underground in America" (5-6 really fun and unique beats), plus 2 sublime guitar solos in the slower songs ("10's" and "Floods"). All in all, I truly enjoyed playing as Dimebag, Vinnie and Rex, and am looking forward to the eventual release of Pantera's other groove metal albums.

Honorable mention. "A Little Faster", by There For Tomorrow: This was another standout week for RBN songs released on the PS3. I could easily have picked the industrial metal song "Juke Joint Jezebel" due to its great industrial feel on drums and bass, but "A Little Faster" certainly deserves praise for an awesome drum chart. It is fun because it is constantly changing, with some great patterns and accents.