3 Macas and a Reject

January Sessions

2011-02-09T16:16:00.008-05:00

In January we only had 2 sessions due to conflicting schedules, but they were memorable nonetheless. For example, it was the first time we ever played with 2 Pro guitars.

Our weekly DLC strategy seems to be to play all unplayed Pro Guitar songs, then make progress on all unplayed Pro Keys songs. We'll eventually play all of these and get to the songs without Pro Guitar or Pro Keys (RBN and mostly pre-RB3).

Highlights:
- The zaniness of trying to sightread some of the recent European DLC on vocals made it quite hilarious (ex: "Peut-Être une Angine")
- blingdomepiece did an amazing imitation of a teenage girl when he sang "Open My Eyes"...
- Bongoo picked Expert for Pro Guitar by mistake, leading to some pretty striking numbers (ex: 1 song had 78th rank, 4% of notes, 388 points, 0 stars...)
- The beers of the month were "Rochefort 8" and "Rochefort 10" (Trappistes Rochefort), plus "Aphrodite" (Dieu du Ciel)

Bring on 2011!

2011-01-06T02:02:00.014-05:00

Last month we had 3 sessions, which allowed us to complete the game's "Road Challenges and finish the year in style.

Going into 2011 we can finally say we're an all-Pro band (even Pro Bass), as I just received my Pro Guitar (Mustang). Even though it was pre-ordered, it took more than 2 months to arrive...

In order to learn Pro Guitar and Pro Bass faster, we'll now play in "All Instrument" mode, using 2 Pro guitars. The downside is that Harmonies won't count in the score, but we'll still sing at the same time to practice. Hopefully this will be fixed in the next Rock Band game.

Highlights:
- blingdomepiece's "Oh My God" singing was epic!
- The funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "No One Knows"
- We got some of our first FCs in RB3 on harmonies
- Some of our Expert Pro Guitar percentages were extremely low, but we were still in the top 100 scores for that instrument (ex: 8% of notes and 59th overall for "Hold On Loosely")
- Chrissy was sick for most of the month so she couldn't join us on harmonies
- We got an amazing 1.5 stars for "Llama"...
- The beers of the month were "Harviestoun Ola Dabh Special 30 Reserve", "Maredsous Brune", "Route des Épices" (Dieu du Ciel) and "Corne du Diable" (Dieu du Ciel)

"blingdomepiece" joins the band!

2010-12-07T00:47:00.008-05:00

Last week we had a great session, with talented multi-instrumentalist "blingdomepiece" (of Score Hero fame) joining the band. If you've been following the band's history, the 3 Macas were alternatively joined by Trapper (1st band name: 3 Macas and a Trapper), some random people (2nd band name: 3 Macas and a Random Guest), DMan (3rd band name: 3 Macas and a Reject), Sylvie (no name change for historical reasons), and now Chrissy and blingdomepiece.

It was also a special session as blingdomepiece brought over one of the rare new Mustangs (Pro Guitar). We each tried this new instrument at various points during the night and I have to say that it is an amazing addition to the Rock Band platform. I can't wait to get my own and slowly learn to play a real guitar.

With a new member, we no longer will have to have both Bongoo and Raikan do multiple instruments. This will free up someone to concentrate solely on harmonies. We'll be rotating instruments for now for variety, but eventually settle on 1 or 2 core lineups. For example, it could be:

Bongoo: Pro Guitar or Harmonies (red)
Phoenix: Pro Drums
Raikan: Pro Keys\Bass and Harmonies (blue)
blingdomepiece: Pro Guitar or Harmonies (red)
Chrissy: Harmonies (brown)

Note: We will not be playing in "All Instruments Mode" because we want the Harmonies scores to count. We'll opt to remove Pro Keys or Bass, depending on the song. Hopefully this "bug" will be fixed in Rock Band 4...

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown: Didn't keep track, mix of 3s and 4s
- Our 1st ever song with a Pro Guitar was "20th Century Boy"
- We played DLC for the 1st time in RB3 (a few "The Doors" songs)
- We were at the last section for the "Road Challenges". After we finish this mode, we'll spend our time in Quickplay playing new DLC and our worst on-disk songs by stars, rank, etc...
- The beers of the week were "Blanche du Paradis" (Dieu du Ciel) and "Espresso Stout" (Dark Star)

"The Police" indeed

2010-12-02T02:36:00.008-05:00

Last week, we only played 7 songs due to starting later than usual (Raikan has amazing board games), plus an odd moment when Chrissy came down the stairs and said, "Bongoo, the police is at the door for you!"

It turned out the neighbour was quite particular about warning her if we infringe a bit on her always empty parking space and she called the neighborhood's security service (not the real police, phew). The car was duly moved and a lenghty chat between herself and Raikan resolved the misunderstanding.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 7 songs: 4 stars (4), 3 stars (3, for "China Grove", "Crosstown Traffic", "Fly Like an Eagle")
- Raikan continues his tradition of messing with the look of Bongoo's character (normal look is "extreme metal"), choosing some truly odd combinations, including a really horrendous purple v-neck shirt...
- We have to restart "The Killing Moon" 3 times, finally passing it when we were about 1 nanosecond from dying (not an exaggeration)
- Trapper helped us with a few songs on keyboard\bass when Phoenix had to leave earlier than usual
- We finish the session with 17 unplayed RB3 songs
- While waiting for Raikan to come back from his talk with the neighbour, we entered Bongoo's real first name in Google (ex: type "(name) is " without clicking Enter), and Google suggested that he was "gay for robots", "gay", "mad for fish", "a douche"... Hmm, quite funny considering I'm a well-mannered (I hope) straight vegetarian! :)

Happy Robot Sounds

2010-12-02T02:31:00.005-05:00

Two weeks ago, we played 25 songs, also in the "Road Challenges" section. We ended the session with 22 unplayed RB3 songs, 15 of which are without keys.

We got an odd "Happy Robot Sound" all of a sudden 3 times during the session. Someone joked that it sounded as if C3PO petted R2D2 in the right way... I also heard this at my place so it must be a RB3 glitch on the PS3 and not an issue with Raikan's sound system.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 25 songs: 4 stars (17), 3 stars (8)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah keyboard moment was during "Whip It"
- We get our 1st FCs in RB3: 1 for Raikan on Pro Keys, 1 for the triple vocalists

Junior Chicken Sauce

2010-12-02T02:25:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog...

Three weeks ago we continued our RB3 journey, playing 23 songs in the "Road Challenges" section. It was our 2nd week with Raikan valiantly attempting to play "Pro Keys" on Expert (doing an amazing job overall)!

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 23 songs: Gold stars (2), 5 stars (2), 4 stars (12), 3 stars (7, for "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", "25 or 6 to 4", "Break On Through (To the Other Side)", "Good Vibrations (Live)" , "I Need to Know", "Dead End Friends and "Llama")
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah keyboard moment was during "Killing"
- One "Road Challenge" set tells us that we "Need to Know" a "Centerfold" in order to "Kill(ing) Loneliness"
- It's hard to "Imagine" that there's an on-disk song without guitar...
- Raikan gets 2* for his 40% notes hit Expert Pro Keys performance of "Don't Stand So Close to Me"... ;)
- The "Road Challenge" sets throw us "Werewolves of London" twice in a row. At least it allowed us to get better at the song and get 5*
- We somehow got "2 of 22 Triples" when only Raikan and Bongoo were on vocals for "The Look" (must be the talkies)
- Hilarity ensued when Phoenix added "Junior Chicken Sauce" as random words to the the beat of "Killing Loneliness"

1st session with keyboard

2010-11-11T15:51:00.010-05:00

Last week was our 1st session with the keyboard. All Bongoo was able to find in terms of new instruments\equipment before the session was a cymbal kit and a keyboard stand. To everyone's surprise, Raikan was able to get his hands on the very rare Canadian PS3 keyboard (EB gets 1-2 pre-ordered one per week it seems).

On our shopping list:
- Pro guitar with buttons (hopefully within 1-2 weeks)
- Pro guitar with strings (March 1st)
- Mic stand (Bongoo using Raikan's ceiling beams as mic holder)
- Keyboard (Bongoo)

Raikan played most songs on Expert Pro Keys, but had to drop difficulties a few times, which is understandable for a new instrument.

Phoenix tried with 3 cymbals for the first time (using 1 of Bongoo's new ones). This set-up will do until Raikan gets his Pro Ion kit. Phoenix also forgot to bring his Roland KD-8...

One interesting note is that we started playing the "Road Challenges" this week instead of just doing Quickplay.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 11 songs: 5 stars (1), 4 stars (9), 3 stars (1, for "Whip It")
- The game crashed when we were playing "Oye Mi Amor", the system perhaps rebelling that we were not all on Expert (Hard for Pro Keys)...
- We failed multiple times on "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1". The only good thing about that is that harmonies got easier and easier for each attempt

1st Rock Band 3 session

2010-11-04T01:51:00.021-04:00

Last week we had our 1st RB3 session. What impressed me the most was the neat new sorting and filtering options. Since we have the entire song library, this will make it much easier to find what we want. It was useful from the getgo as we decided to start our RB3 career by playing the longest songs first.

I also liked the new "RB3" and "All Song" Leaderboards (no glitch so far!), plus the ability to sort by "Leaderboard Rank". The comparison with friends when you finish the song is also neat, as well as the ability to see Bass scores... It makes me wonder if Harmonix would ever have added all this in their game if we didn't create the Rock Band Score Reader plus RockBandStats.com (1st stat website) back in the day. Perhaps these kind of efforts were the catalyst for change.

The only disappointing thing about the launch was the lack of Pro instruments. Only Phoenix was able to play Pro as Raikan already had 2 cymbals (need another soon, but it also works with 2). Bongoo brought his new Mapex dual bass pedal for Phoenix's Roland KD-8. We are looking forward to the release of the Pro guitar and keyboard in Canada on the PS3.

We seem to be known as "Raikan81's band". Who knows how some people get their band name in the Leaderboards instead...

Chrissy joined us on harmonies, with Bongoo and Raikan also on vocals (in addition to guitar and bass, respectively).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 18 songs: 5 stars (4), 4 stars (10), 3 stars (4, for "Roundabout", "Beast and the Harlot", "Caught in a Mosh" and "Bohemian Rhapsody")
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during: none! The wah-wah bass in RB3 is not loud enough...
- We were halfway through "Free Bird", our 1st ever RB3 song, only to find out that there weren't getting energy sections (someone had joined after the start of the song)!
- We finally got to play some Rammstein in Rock Band ("Du Hast", not one of the longest songs, but we made an exception)! Now let's get some Rammstein DLC (12-pack ideas here)!
- We failed on the last note in "Smoke on the water" (tough on Pro drums)...
- Our percentages were between 56% and 86% on "Roundabout", ouch!
- Phoenix got the #1 rank on Pro Drums for "Roundabout" (one of the first to play it). We then checked out the Leaderboards later, only to find out he's been beaten by xXSHLONGFACEXx...
- Phoenix has fun with Bongoo's new dual bass pedal, which inspired a "death metal" version of "Sister Christian" (much to the Trapper's delight)! :)

Double session week

2010-10-19T19:50:00.014-04:00

Last week we had 2 sessions, which allowed us to catch up on all remaining RB2 songs (70). Our final score for RB2 is 1,455,577,362 points! :)

Tonight will be our first session with the much anticipated RB3. I can't wait to try the new keyboard and the Pro modes for all instruments.

For the foreseeable future, this blog will solely focus on the highlights of our weekly RB sessions. We'll be experimenting with the new modes and trying out the various Pro instruments, therefore there is no need to include details like "Top Performer", "Worst Performer", etc... I will also stop posting my top 3 DLC of the week as the focus will be on the RB3 on-disk songs.

Highlights:
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Creep (Stone Temple Pilots)", "Exodus", "Fire (Live)", "Indians", "Infected Nation", "Long Train Runnin'", "Tha Shiznit", "That's tha Homie" and "Sending Signals"
- Bongoo gets a dual FC on voxtar for "Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom"
- Phoenix gets an impressive 91% on "In Memory" on Expert drums and survives a lot of tough songs (ex: "3rd Stone from the Sun")
- Raikan tries the drums and also survives some fairly tough songs (ex: "Manic Depression")
- We have quite a laugh for Parry Gripp's 2 new RBN songs on the PS3 ("Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom" and "Last Train To Awesometown")
- The last RB2 song we will ever play was "Redemption Song" (Bongoo voxtar, no drums or bass)

PS3 swap

2010-10-19T19:48:00.003-04:00

Last week we had a short session due to Raikan's work hours. Thankfully this will be the last time we have to swap days or shorten the session as he just got a promotion. Congrats!

In order to avoid the need for Phoenix to bring his DLC complete PS3 to Raikan's new townhouse every week, they had the great idea to swap PS3s!

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 8 songs: 5 stars (4), 4 stars (4)
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (5), followed by Bongoo (3) and Phoenix (1)
- Phoenix was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (6), followed by Bongoo and Raikan (2 each)
- There were no FCs
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Death Quota for Purification" and "Among The Living"
- It's quite ironic that we barely survived "Among the Living" (Expert)
- Everyone fails within fractions of a second of each other at 20% of "Death Quota for Purification" (Expert)

Short session with some new Hendrix

2010-10-14T00:00:00.010-04:00

This week we'll have a shortened session due to Raikan's special work hours, but we'll still try to catch up on some of the unplayed DLC (including this week's new Jimi Hendrix album).

It will be our 2nd last session playing RB2 as the much anticipated RB3 is soon upon us! :)

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Betty and Me", by Jonathan Coulton:

Jonathan Coulton is back with another great RBN song, this time with some neat country guitar and a genetics theme. The drum chart is fairly fast and has a few tough rolls. There is also a decent amount of movement on bass. One highlight is the relentless hammer-ons on guitar, especially in the pre-chorus and chorus... The song is quite funny once you hear all the lyrics. It is in my top 3 Jonathan Coulton songs released so far in RB in terms of story due to its interesting progression (after "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Creepy Doll").

2. "Hey There Mr. Brooks", by Asking Alexandria:

What makes this metal track stand out is its amazing sound. I love the symphonic addition near the end and the various transititions and riffs throughout. It also has a bit of a black metal feel and some well-integrated techno elements. The drum chart is always fun, being fast and diverse with a lot of interesting bass pedal patterns. The guitar and bass charts are not overly difficult, except for a few fast strumming sections. The vocals have a good mix of death + clean vocals. I liked the voice during the symphonic part near the end.

1. "Shallow Waters", by Amberian Dawn:

This is my favorite Amberian Dawn track since "He Sleeps in a Grove" due to its amazing heavy riffs, interesting transitions and great operatic melodies. The drum chart is pretty diverse, including some fun fast rolls with lots of bass pedal. The strumming on guitar and bass can be pretty intense. Watch out for some really challenging guitar solos. As usual the vocals are a treat due to the singer's outstanding lyrical voice.

Honorable mention. "Driver 8", by R.E.M.:

The R.E.M. songs released last week are fairly simple, but I have to say that they definitely grew on me after each listen. There were lots of neat moments, including the infectious chorus of "It's the End of the World as We Know It" (would be great with harmonies), the super catchy "Stand", plus the fun constant sound of "Radio Free Europe", but overall the mellow "Driver 8" was my favorite due to its neat country-ish riffs on guitar and unique melancholic feel. The bass chart is pretty constant, with nice up and down movement. There is also a decent amount of variety on vocals, including some nice long clean lines.

A variety of players in Kanata

2010-10-13T23:38:00.008-04:00

Last week we had a great time at Raikan's new place in Kanata. It will be a great place for our sessions for the time being. Chrissy helped us out at the beginning of the session on vocals. Trapper even helped at the end on bass when a sick and tired Phoenix had to bow out. The extra help will come in handy when RB3 comes out (ex: harmonies, keyboard).

We gained 13M points after completing 22 songs (1382M to 1395M).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 22 songs: 5 stars (11), 4 stars (10), 3 stars (1, for "I Shot the Sheriff")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (12), followed by Raikan (6), Phoenix (2) and Trapper (1)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (11), followed by Phoenix and Chrissy (4 each) and Raikan and Trapper (1 each)
- Bongoo had the only FC of the night (1)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Jeepster" and I Shot the Sheriff"
- Phoenix didn't bring his real pedal and KD-8 combo, so we limited ourselves to the easier drum songs
- We also didn't have a mic stand, so Bongoo used the unfinished ceiling beam as a mic support for voxtar
- The PS3 freezes after the 1st song is played, perhaps due to Phoenix's excessive bass pedal hits at the loading screen?

Off to Kanata we go

2010-10-08T16:34:00.004-04:00

This week we're heading off to Kanata (west of Ottawa) for our 1st session at Raikan's new place. We'll continue to catch up on September's DLC, as well as the new DLC from this week and last week (R.E.M., Anthrax, etc...).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Cali Girl", by Ballyhoo!:

This happy RBN song surprised me as it has a great reggae rock feel. Its beat is pretty unique, with some neat quick hits in the reggae section and a fun faster section. The bass chart is not too difficult but it has an awesome groove. The guitar and vocals are also fairly simple, but the song sounds so great that it hardly matters.

2. "Indians", by Anthrax:

I'm not a big fan of Anthrax's rap metal (ex: "I'm the Man"), but they more than make up for it with some great sounding thrash metal classics like "Indians" (also check out "Among the Living" and a neat live version of the GH2 classic "Madhouse"). The drum chart has 1 tough fast beat, but you can omit the extra notes to survive. The guitar and bass charts are always fun due to the amazing variety of heavy riffs, especially in the 2nd half. The vocals are not too difficult, but they have a decent amount of variety and a great theme.

1. "Long Train Runnin'", by The Doobie Brothers:

This classic song from a talented band is my favorite of last week due its great sound and fun charts. I love the groovy bassline and the series of complex fun chords on guitar. The drum chart is fairly easy except for a few tricky fills at the end, but it has a nice flow. The vocals were also fun due to the "Without looooove" sections. You can also check out their other song "Listen to the Music" for some more guitar fun.

Honorable mention. "Now Demolition", by Evile:

Last week also had some interesting moments, including the neat buildups and epic bassline of "Closer to the Edge", the awesome guitar and drum charts of the chaotic "First We Feast, Then We Felony", the fun heavy groove metal riffs of "Hail Destroyer", but overall my special mention goes to the long awaited return of Evile to Rock Band. This song is much slower than 2008's "Thrasher", but with such great riffs and an impressive soundscape with a tinge of black metal, it is a joy to play and hear. The drum chart is always interesting. I especially liked the quick double hits after the guitar solo. The guitar and bass charts are always interesting due to the variety of heavy riffs. It is also one of the rare RBN metal songs with almost no talkies.

The arrival of Emma

2010-10-02T22:47:00.014-04:00

This week we canceled the session due to the recent arrival of Bongoo's daughter Emma. She joins 22-month-old Jonathan in his growing family.

Raikan was also preparing to move west of Ottawa this week (Kanata). We'll have our session there next week.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Is This Love", by Bob Marley & The Wailers:

The late great reggae sensation Bob Marley added some nice variety to Rock Band last week (although the genre should be "Reggae" instead of "Other"). There were many great songs, but my overall favorite was "Is This Love". It is a nice laid back song with good instrumentation, including some fun quad hits on drums, a pretty groovy bass line, plus some good diversity on guitar. It is also fun to sing due to the variety of lyrical phrases. Hoepfully the harmonies will be charted in Rock Band 3.

2. "Step Up (I'm On It)", by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster:

This rockin' RBN song has a neat country guitar sound and great energy. Its beat is fairly simple but it has a good flow. The bassline is repetitive but the main line is so fun that it doesn't matter. The guitar chart was the funnest of the week due to its great mix of singles and chords. I really liked the hammer-on additions in the last chorus on guitar and bass.

1. "Riot Act", by Exodus:

This intense thrash metal song from pioneers Exodus was a treat to play. It is heaven for anyone who likes diverse alternating "bass pedal\pad hit" patterns. The bass chart is awesome and quite dynamic, although I wouldn't have put it as tier 7 (only one tricky section with unique strumming). The song is really tough on Expert guitar, so I had to play it on Hard difficulty. It is surprisingly fun on Hard guitar due to its non-stop hammer-on and chord sections. I really liked the 2nd guitar solo and the riff after the solos. I have to say that there is an awful lot of cowbell in the intro... I wonder if the real singer would approve. ;)

Honorable mention. "I Shot the Sheriff", by Bob Marley & The Wailers:

There were many memorable Bob Marley moments this week, including the guitar charts of "Jamming" and "Could You Be Loved", the drum chart of "One Love/People Get Ready", plus the vocals of "Satisfy My Soul", but my 2nd overall favorite was "I Shot the Sheriff". It is a really unique song with a groovy bass (3 great repeating lines), a fun beat (neat double hits), plus some challenging vocals.

"Move"-ing on

2010-10-02T22:43:00.006-04:00

This was the 2nd week in a row that we started and ended our session with a bit of 4-player Disc Golf and Bocce, courtesy of the new Playstation Move and "Sports Champions". I am quite impressed with the new technology as it is very accurate.

This also marked our last session at Phoenix's place for a while, as we'll be moving on to Raikan's new abode next week. We played 15 songs, slowly catching up on our backlog of DLC (the whole month of September). It was an interesting mix of genres (urban, country, metal, etc...).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 17 songs: Gold stars (3), 5 stars (10), 4 stars (2)
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (8), followed by Bongoo (6) and Bongoo (4)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (13), followed by Raikan (4) and Phoenix (3)
- Bongoo had the only FCs of the night (2)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "Days Go By"
- We get a triple "Worst Performer" at 99% for Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot"
- We also get a double "Top Performer" and double "Worst Performer" for "Fancy"
- Bongoo gets a double FC on voxtar for "Beautiful" (vocals + guitar)
- We manage to survive until the 96% mark in the 8-minute long "Bleed", only for Phoenix to fail... It's a tough song, so surviving that long on Expert was impressive
- Talk about a crazy drum chart on Expert for "Packet Flier". It must be one of the toughest ones to FC, let alone pass, due to its insane speed...
- We get an odd "Song data unvailable" error after trying to play "Nirvana", by Juliana Hatfield. I noticed that the tier info was unavailable for that song. Hopefully re-downloading it will fix the error

Last session at Phoenix's for now

2010-09-23T19:33:00.008-04:00

This week will be our last session at Phoenix's house for the time being as Raikan is moving west of Ottawa and won't have transportation. We'll likely have our sessions at his place for the next little while.

Our goal will be to continue to catch up on September's DLC.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Writing on the Walls", by Underoath:

This song is from a 2006 album, right in the middle of the other 2 Underoath songs previously released for Rock Band (2004 was emo, 2008 was metal). This song seemed like a good mix of the two genres, blending quiet melodic segments with pretty heavy sections very well. I liked the drum chart due to its variety and good pad action, plus its fills with varying speeds. There were a few challenging sections but it never felt impossible. Always assume the song is not over until it's over (played the last section with my hands in the middle of the drum sticks...). The bass chart is not too exciting, but the guitar one has enough variety to stay interesting (ex: a few hammer-on sections are fun).

2. "The Final Episode (Let's Change the Channel)", by Asking Alexandria:

This song has awesome riffs and also has a great blend and heaviness and melody. I liked the techno add-in at the end (not typical in metal, but can add some flair when mixed in correctly). The drum chart is pretty diverse and has lots of bass pedal, while the bass one has a dymanic 1st half. The guitar chart has some fast strumming in the 1st half and is quite fun during the techno part.

1. "Holy Diver", by Dio:

This is a classic epic metal song from the late Ronnie James Dio, which you'll remember from Guitar Hero 80s. It has a great driving rhythm with lots of variety, including some fun fills and quick hits. The neat galloping riffs on guitar and bass are a treat to play. The guitar solo seemed tougher than the one in Guitar Hero 80s.

Honorable mention. "Nightlife Commando", by Bang Camaro:

This week had a lot of other great moments, including the fun solos in "Swallow the Razor", the groovy bassline of "This Charming Man", the tough triple chords of "Irish Blood, English Heart", the fun driving beat of "Stand Up and Shout" and the unique tribal beat and vocals in the intro of "Africa", but I have to give my special nod to Bang Camaro's "Nightlife Commando", another bombastic rock song from this charismatic group. It has a good simple drum chart with a neat roll in the middle. The acoustic guitar in the intro sounds neat and is fun to play. The bass is fairly simple, but the guitar chart has a neat chugging riff and some melodic solos. You kind of wonder why they need so many singers to just repeat the title of the song, but I guess that's what gives this group that special something...

Party time

2010-09-23T01:57:00.010-04:00

Last week we finally managed to have a session and started catching up on some DLC. We played 17 songs, going up 17M points in the process (1350M to 1367M).

One interesting event was the knock on the door mid-session. We assumed it was Phoenix's next-door neighbour, who would usually ask us to turn down the volume past 11:00 PM. What we had forgotten was that this was a once-in-a-blue-moon Friday night session, so it turned out to be one of Phoenix's female neighbours from down the hall inviting us to a party (he had only met her once a year prior). Phoenix is recently single, so he was happy to find out that almost all attendees were female. After the mini-party, we came back to our session and wondered, what the hell just happened? I guess you never know what can happen when you're rockin' to this great game... ;)

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 17 songs: Gold stars (4), 5 stars (11), 4 stars (1), 3 stars (1, for "Buster Voodoo")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (10), followed by Raikan (8) and Phoenix (4)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (12), followed by Phoenix (6) and Raikan (3)
- Raikan and Bongoo had 1 FC each
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "The Price" and "Asylum"
- We get 999K for "Seasons"...

4 weeks of DLC

2010-09-17T01:14:00.007-04:00

We didn't have a chance to play last week due to Raikan's new work hours, but we'll be back this week for a special Friday session. We'll start catching up on 4 weeks of DLC (Disturbed, Country, Snoop Dogg and Dio weeks).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Valkyries", by Amberian Dawn:

This is another fun symphonic power metal song. It is not as heavy as previous Amberian Dawn RBN releases, but is still worth checking out. The constant pedal beat is fun but can get tiring. The guitar and bass charts have tough variable strumming, with some sections that are constant and fast. The guitar solo is short and challenging. The keyboard part in the intro would be fun to play in RB3, but it is unlikely that current RBN tracks have that charted. The vocals were not too difficult, but as usual the female singer has a good operatic voice.

2. "Wake Up", by Me Talk Pretty:

This neat sounding group is like a "rock" version of Lacuna Coil with soaring vocals and heavy riffs. The drum chart is really fun due to a unique flowing beat. It has an odd pattern due to the bass pedal and lots of pad action, but it feels great when you get it. There is nice variety in the groovy bass chart, with slow and fast parts, plus occasional chords. There are simple chord changes on guitar but they are still fun. The singer has a good range.

1. "Bleed", by Meshuggah:

This song will make your ears bleed, but in a good way... :) The volume for RBN songs is louder than regular DLC, so after playing the Snoop Dogg tracks on drums, it was kind of a rude awakening to play this song, especially with my right speaker being fairly close to my drums. This 8 min. song has an awesome chugging technical death metal feel, with non-stop heavy riffs with complex time signatures except for one short interlude near the end. The drum chart is really tough but has at least 4 really fun patterns with loads of bass pedal. There is crazy strumming on Expert guitar and bass, so I had to play it on Hard difficulty. The guitar chart on Hard has some interesting sections that mix singles and chords.

Honorable mention. "We Are the One", by Anti-Flag:

Last week had a few interesting songs from Snoop Dogg (more so the Re-Records than the Mixes due to the better instrumentation, ex: guitar, flute), but the song that deserves special mention is the neat sounding RBN punk song, "We Are the One". It has a fast beat with 2-3 patterns so it can be challenging to keep up. What makes it stand out is a really awesome dynamic bass chart. On guitar there is also a great variety of chord patterns, plus the "Whao, Whao, Whao-ao" section is fun to sing.

Disturbed, Country and... Snoop?

2010-09-09T02:27:00.016-04:00

Last week we couldn't play due to conflicting schedules, so we're finally back this week for a triple dose of new DLC! I think this will be one of the most diverse session we've ever had (Disturbed, Country and Snoop Dogg)! If they ever released more SpongeBob SquarePants songs, followed by more Cannibal Corpse the following week, then it would beat this combination... :)

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Women", by Jamey Johnson:

This cheekily funny song ("they're all craaaaaazy"...) is my 2nd favorite of the 4th Country pack, mainly due to its really fun hammer-on sections in the guitar solos. The twangy guitar chart also has some quick singles and chords throughout the song, plus a somewhat odd outro. The bass is constant and simple. As for the drum chart, there is enough variation for it to stay interesting.

2. "What Was I Thinkin'", by Dierks Bentley:

Dierks Bentley had one of my favorite tracks of the 1st country pack with "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", so I'm wasn't too surprised that he ended up having my favorite of the 4th. As usual for this artist, the song has great rhythm and energy. The drum chart includes 3-4 fun beats, including a neat one with the green pad. The song has a very dynamic guitar chart with a great mix of chords and singles, plus a fun solo. The groovy bass chart also has lots of movement. On top of all this, the semi-raunchy story will keep you entertained.

1. "Seven", by Sunny Day Real Estate:

This RBN song tops my list due to its really amazing drum chart. It has 3-4 fast beats with constant movement and variation, but it is never impossible. There is a great section with stop/start sequences, plus another fun one with "double pad/bass pedal" alternating. The bass chart has a tough pattern at the beginning, but it then gets easier. The fast and fun chord patterns on guitar can sometimes be challenging. If only all emo songs were as enjoyable to play as this one...

Honorable mention. "Do Not Disturb (Tell Me How Bad)", by Let's Get It:

There were lots of other higlights last week, including some great hammer-ons and taps on guitar in "Bang Camaro" (also features an army of cowbell vocalists...), the always impressive riffs and solos of Five Finger Death Punch in "Hard to See", the awesome unique flowing beat at the very end of "Days Go By", the challenging patterns and variety on guitar in "Would You Go With Me", the quick double notes on guitar and bass on "It Happens", plus the impressive range on vocals in "Hell on the Heart" and "Fancy", but I have to reserve my special mention for the neat sounding pop-rock RBN song by Let's Get It. The main reason is due to its challenging and fun vocals that are all over the place. It also includes a tough rolling beat on Expert and a good diversity of beats. The guitar and bass charts are simple but the rhythm changes keep them interesting.

Country is back!

2010-09-02T12:49:00.006-04:00

This week we'll catch up on last week's DLC (Disturbed, etc...), plus play the new Country pack. That's right, country is back with a vengeance with an all-new 9-pack (called pack #4, although #2 and #3 were released as one "Track Pack" last summer). The country songs in RB are usually a lot of fun on guitar and sometimes have complex vocals, so they will be fun to sightread on voxtar.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Bury Me Alive", by We Are The Fallen:

This gothic metal band with ex-members of Evanescence is quite melodic. Their singer has a deeper voice than Amy Lee and has a good range. I liked the orchestration in the background near the end, but the outro is overly long. The drum chart has a nice steady beat with a good amount of variety, especially in the buildup and the outro. The guitar and bass charts are fairly simple, but the song is fun to listen to so it's not really an issue. I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm hoping we eventually get some Tarja-era Nightwish (ex: "Ghost Love Score"). I think of this every time I hear this genre in RB.

2. "The Great Plains", by Scale the Summit:

This song is an awesome prog instrumental from some very talented musicians. It has a neat flowing beat with great variety and a nice use of triplets. The guitar and bass charts are also quite diverse. I especially like the hammer-ons throughout on guitar (especially in the 2nd solo). The song is not overly difficult but it is always fun and interesting. We definitely need more from this genre, and the RBN is a great platform for it. I hope the Guitar Hero 2 instrumental classic "Gemini" is eventually added.

1. "The Animal", by Disturbed:

This song is my favorite of the week due to its really amazing drum chart. It has a great flow with 3-4 rolling patterns. It doesn't have a crazy constant pedal section like the other 2 new Disturbed songs. The song itself has a neat groove and some nice melodies with a good vocal range. There is a great bass section after the interesting but slightly off-tune guitar solo. As usual for Disturbed, the song has some triple chords on guitar, but it is fairly easy. I wonder why these new songs are classified as metal instead of nu-metal (all previous Disturbed songs), even though they are very similar to their older material. Nu-metal has a negative connotation as a genre due to its commercialization and simplification of metal in the late 90s and early 2000s so that might be the reason.

Honorable mention. "Buster Voodoo", by Rodrigo y Gabriela:

This is another great instrumental RBN song, this time omitting drums as well. The Spanish-style guitar strumming is quite a challenge, alternating between sections with 3, 4, 8 notes, etc... I like how they charted the rhythm guitar as the bass (reminds me of Guitar Hero 2 co-op). The song is quite unique and it has some really tough guitar solos.

Hong Kong Cinema

2010-09-02T12:29:00.008-04:00

Last week we didn't play RB as Raikan was sick. Instead, I shared one of my favorite Hong Kong movies with Phoenix.

As you can imagine from this blog and the website I created (RockBandStats.com), I tend to get pretty involved in my hobbies. My passion between 1996 and 2001 was Hong Kong cinema. I owned hundreds of DVDs and even went as far as writing a movie script.

Like most people who got into Hong Kong cinema, it started with Jackie Chan movies. My collection grew to include classics from John Woo, Jet Li, Stephen Chow, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Wong Kar-wai, Anthony Wong, etc...

Last week we watched an original version (Cantonese + English subtitles) of what I consider to be Jackie Chan's greatest achievement, "Drunken Master 2" (released here as "The Legend of Drunken Master"). The final 20-minute multi-part fight sequence is one of the most impressive in movie history. The period between "Drunken Master 1" (1978) and "Drunken Master 2" (1994) is to me the pinnacle of Jackie Chan's career.

In future weeks, we'll likely watch what I consider to be Jet Li's best ("Fist of Legend") and Tony Jaa's best ("Ong Bak", a Thailand modern action classic). We'll also see the John Woo movie with the best action scenes ("Hard Boiled", although "The Killer" is a better overall movie). I might even share my favorite Stephen Chow comedies ("God of Cookery" and "Love on Delivery").

New Disturbed

2010-08-26T00:53:00.015-04:00

This week we'll play the new DLC, as well as play our worst songs by star. This includes 3 songs from the new Disturbed album. I've played them on solo drums and I know that Phoenix will wish he already bought a dual bass pedal for his KD-8 (at least for 2 of the songs)...

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "Sins of My Youth", by Neon Trees:

This pop-rock song has a good sound, but what makes it stand is its awesome drum chart. It has 2-3 fairly simple but fun beats, then a great "Maps"-like section closer to the end. The bass chart has enough movement to stay interesting. There is also a fun triple chord pattern on guitar.

2. "Blow at High Dough", by The Tragically Hip:

As Canadians, it's hard not to love playing this "The Hip" classic from 1989. The band has a great rockin' sound with a steady beat that is simple but fun. The repeating bass pattern has some good movement and gives the song a good backbone. The lead guitar is pretty simple but it is always interesting due to its variety.

1. "Unfurling A Darkened Gospel", by Job for a Cowboy:

This death metal band has an awesome heavy sound, alternating between fast and slow sections. The song is crazy on Expert drums (failed right away), but it is great on Hard drums due to its variety of patterns. The guitar and bass chart are also very fun due to the neat hammer-on sections. It is my favorite song of the week because it has great charts for all instruments and it is always changing and interesting.

Honorable mention. "Mandelbrot Set", by Jonathan Coulton:

This week had some good moments like the simple but great sound of "The Black Keys", the fun "Science Genius Girl"-like beat at the end of "Let The Games Begin", and the amazingly dynamic hammer-on sections of "Hook, Line, and Sinner", I have to give another nod to the great Jonathan Coulton. While "Mandelbrot Set" is not as obviously funny as some other Coulton songs due to its subtle math humour (except for the hilarious "badass f'n fractal"), it is worth mentioning due to its awesome drum chart. It has 3-4 fun beats, the best part being the complex but doable fills with some great pad action. The bass chart is simple but it has a great guitar chart with a variety of chord patterns.

All songs played

2010-08-26T00:51:00.009-04:00

Last week we managed to catch up by playing all 32 unplayed songs. That will allow us to concentrate only on new DLC this week, as well as our worst songs by star (ex: we have 5 3-star songs). We added 26M points to our total (1324M to 1350M).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 32 songs: Gold stars (5), 5 stars (19), 4 stars (7), 3 stars (1, for "Crushed Beyond Dust")
- Raikan and Bongoo were the "Top Performers" for the most songs (14 each), followed by Phoenix (8)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (17), followed by Raikan (6) and Phoenix (5)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (4), followed by Raikan (1)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Blow at High Dough", "Bulletproof", "I Got Mine", "The Crying Machine (Live)"
- Bongoo got double "Top Performer" for "Is There a Ghost" (FCs for guitar and vocals), while Raikan and Phoenix tie for "Worst Performer" (both at 99%). Apart from a few full band FCs, this might be the 1st time we have 4 people to mention for top and worst
- Phoenix showed great skills on drums, allowing us to pass "Crushed Beyond Dust" and "Hook, Line, and Sinner" on Expert (even getting 4 stars for the latter)
- Raikan managed to get "Worst Performer" and "Band Savior" on the same song ("Hook, Line, and Sinner")...

Rammstein confirmed + RBN metal

2010-08-19T01:25:00.032-04:00

This week we'll catch up again as we have 21 songs remaining from previous weeks, plus the 11 new ones from this week (2 new bands with 3 songs each, plus the 5 RBN). This includes another Jonathan Coulton song ("Mandelbrot Set") and the first one by Canadian rockers "The Tragically Hip" ("Blow at High Dough").

It's almost certainly a coincidence, but a few days after my Rammstein wishlist post, it was confirmed that "Du Hast" will be in RB3! :) Thanks Harmonix! Hopefully we'll eventually get some DLC as well.

I was looking at the genres for the 90 RBN songs released so far on the PS3:
32 - Metal
26 - Rock
10 - Indie Rock
7 - Alternative
4 - Novelty
3 - Punk
2 - Pop-Rock
2 - Prog
1 - New Wave
1 - Nu-Metal
1 - Other
1 - Urban

I find it awesome that metal tops the list. Most of the time it is songs that are selling well that are ported over to the PS3 so it proves that there was untapped demand for it. A whole range of metal subgenres would never have been represented if not for the RBN (ex: blackened thrash and technical melodic death, the 2 genres for songs that are 1st in my top 3 for the last 2 weeks).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on guitar, bass and drums):

3. "Tree Village", by Dance Gavin Dance:

Once again the top 3 is all from the RBN. The normal DLC had some fun old school Ministry classics like "Jesus Built My Hotrod" (ding-a-long-ling-long...), but the variety and quality of RBN offerings makes them stand out. First off we have a "metal" song that is amazingly mellow and melodic for a complex and heavy song (Wikipedia says the band is "post-hardcore"). I loved the part with the heavier vocals and the clean vocal one that followed. There are 2 or 3 really unique and fun beats, but if you're on Expert watch out for a really difficult rolling beat. It's even tough to hold a streak on Hard drums during the first roll and intense last section. The guitar chart is also fun due its variety. There are some tough sections with lots of movement and complex strumming (ex: 4 notes when you expect 3).

2. "Icarus' Song", by Furly:

Apparently this was a day 1 RBN song on the 360 that was composed entirely for the RBN. This really shows in the high quality of the charts, but the song itself has a great sound and is very melodic. The singer has a good range and the keyboard fits in nicely. The highlight by far is the variety of the drum chart, which is always changing with 3-4 interesting beats. The best section is the awesome fast beat with lots of pad action near the end. The bass chart is pretty simple, but the guitar one has enough chord changes to stay interesting.

1. "We Are The Nightmare", by Arsis:

Be afraid, be very afraid... When the RBN release info for this song mentioned that playing "Visions" on drums would be a warmup for this song, they weren't kidding. This is the 1st song in 1400+ RB songs I've played where I couldn't even 5 star on Hard difficulty. It pretty much exists on its own as a "tier 8" drum song. It made for an interesting first play on Expert: Odd the intro isn't charted, this doesn't sound too difficult, hmm the drum in the background has an awful lot of bass pedal, it'll probably start soon... WTF wall of notes, fail! :) Arsis is a technical melodic death metal band, and you can guess from my warning where the "technical" aspect comes from. The song's great variety of complex riffs have a well-balanced mix of melody and heaviness. It was really fun to FC on Medium drums (even the Medium chart has a few tricky parts...). The blast beats near the end sound insane so I can just imagine what they look like on the Expert chart. The bass chart was quite fun but it is actually overtiered (should be a 5 or 6).

Honorable mention. "Descend Into the Eternal Pits of Possession", by The Project Hate MCMXCIX:

I could easily have picked "The Crying Machine (Live)" by Steve Vai due to its awesome bass line during the main riff and its interesting violin solos, but I can't help to give a special mention to this epic track due to its value for money. The song is roughly 10 minutes long and costs only $1. This is in contrast to the occasional average length song at $3 (ex: "Blow at High Dough"). If you play this melodic death metal song on Expert drums, watch out for a crazy fast beat 3 minutes into the song (at least it's not at the 9 minute mark...). The song has lots of interesting sections, alternatively sounding like "Lacuna Coil" (female singer sections) and "Bolt Thrower" (male voice chorus). It likely would have made my top 3 if the charts and\or audio didn't have a disjointed and muddy feel, for example during the intro and before the 1st off-tune piano section. This is another song where I wondered why a section wasn't charted (drums during 2nd off-tune piano part). The guitar was fun during the "Bolt Thrower"-like sections (at least on Hard; Expert has some really intense strumming).

Kevin Bacon tastes odd

2010-08-19T01:20:00.006-04:00

Last week we managed to catch up a bit and played 13 songs out of the 34 on our to-play list (unplayed + 3-star), gaining about 12M points.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 13 songs: Gold stars (3), 5 stars (5), 4 stars (5)
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (6), followed by Bongoo (4) and Phoenix (3)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (8), followed by Phoenix (2) and Raikan (1)
- There were no FCs
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "Yerbatero"
- Bongoo got "Top Performer" (vocals) and "Worst Performer (guitar) on the highly unusual "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon" by "iwrestledabearonce"

Catching up

2010-08-10T23:32:00.024-04:00

This week we'll have a shortened session, but we'll still try to catch up on some unplayed DLC. We have the 26 songs we planned to play last week, plus the 8 new ones from this week (3 old school Ministry songs + 5 RBN).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on guitar, bass and drums):

3. "Sturm & Drang", by KMFDM:

I didn't expect industrial metal pioneers KMFDM to be back so soon, as they recently had a RBN song released to the PS3 ("Juke Joint Jezebel"). It's nice to see that are now part of the bands with "offical" Harmonix released DLC. This newer song has great flow and a neat drum beat. I liked the part in the quieter section that has a rolling beat with missing notes. The highlight of the song is the bassline as it is quite dynamic. It might seem like a marathon song on bass due to the constant movement and strumming, but for the main riff it is much easier if you hold your index down and tap the rest of the notes. For guitar, I liked the synth section after the solo. Now if only they could release a Rammstein DLC pack (see last post)...

2. "Saturday Morning", by Eels:

I knew nothing of this group so this rockin' song was a nice surprise. It has a great sound and lots of energy. The beat sounds simple but the drum chart has amazing variety. It would be a great song to practice different pad patterns while doing constant pedal (ex: like some common "The Who" beats but slower). The guitar chart is quite simple, but it has enough variation to stay interesting, especially in the last solo.

1. "Crushed Beyond Dust", by Skeletonwitch:

Unfortunately we missed this group at Heavy MTL last month while walking towards the festival grounds (we missed only 2 of the 28 festival bands from the 2 main stages). What makes them unique is that they play a really unique genre called blackened thrash metal. You can often associate black metal with death metal (ex: Behemoth) or symphonic metal (ex: Dimmu Borgir), but I've rarely heard it incorporated into thrash metal. This band blends these styles really well (ex: section in middle of song). What is also neat is that the singer's voice blends really well with the music. The drums on Hard difficulty were lots of fun due to the nice flow (too crazy on Expert). The bass chart was also really fun due to the variety of non-stop riffs. If you play guitar, prepare for some crazy fast strumming on Expert, plus a really insane chord pattern at the end.

Honorable mention. "Elements", by Texas in July:

Last week's charts had lots of great moments, including the fun double hit patterns on drums in the 2nd half of "Heads or Tails? Real or Not", the fast pattern that happens twice on guitar in the 1st half of "Bulletproof", the rolling beat at the end of "The Perfect Crime #2", the surprising chords on bass in "I Only Want You", the interesting sounds of "Rapture" and the fun bass pedal pattern during "Jesus Freak", but the guitar chart of "Elements" takes the cake for being one of the most dynamic ever. It is really hard to keep up with its frenetic pace, but it is really fun to try. The bass chart was also fun due its variety. As for the song itself, I'd say it is above average for metalcore, but the neat charting more than makes up for it.

Rammstein night

2010-08-10T23:31:00.011-04:00

Last week we didn't play Rock Band because Raikan was unavailable. Phoenix and I took the opportunity to watch some amazing Rammstein concerts (1998: Live Aus Berlin DVD, 2005 from France: Völkerball DVD).

They have the best live show in the business, with amazing pyro effects, interesting stage theatrics (especially between the singer and keyboardist) and great atmosphere. I can attest to that as I've seen them live every time they've come to Canada:
- 1999: Metropolis - Montréal
- 2001: Metropolis - Montréal
- 2010: Plaines d'Abraham - Québec

I've managed to get to the front for each concert and really feel the heat from the flames. The highlight was definitely the show in Québec as it was outdoors with a crowd of more than 100,000 people. The open sky allowed for an even greater variety of effects (see "Rammstein Québec" videos on Youtube). It's the craziest concert I've ever seen for many reasons (size of crowd, fight for survival at the front, raw energy from the band, variety of pyro and fireworks, etc...).

If you want to see their concert for this tour in full, search for "fuckingdevotee 2010-05-22" on Youtube (link here). It was 1 of 3 nights in Berlin in May, with all 18 songs filmed in HD by a fan. The band might eventually release a DVD from one of those nights. Here is the setlist if you want to see it in order:

- Rammlied
- Bückstabü
- Waidmanns Heil
- Keine Lust
- Weisses Fleisch
- Feuer Frei
- Wiener Blut
- Frühling in Paris
- Ich tu Dir weh
- Du Riechst So Gut
- Benzin
- Links 234
- Du Hast
- Pussy
————————ENCORE
- Sonne
- Haifisch
- Ich Will
————————ENCORE
- Engel

In Québec it was the same order of songs, but without "Weisses Fleisch" and "Engel". They played after it was dark outside so the effects were even more prominent than at the beginning of the Berlin show on Youtube. Some of the pyro and fireworks were also a bit more elaborate (ex: "Pyro line over crowd and explosion on stage during "Du Hast", intense flames at the end of "Sonne", etc...).

It is high time that this truly unique band comes to Rock Band (they have 1 song in "Guitar Hero 5" and 1 in the upcoming "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock"). I'm surprised this hasen't happened already considering the recent support for industrial metal in Rock Band (ex: Ministry, KMFDM).

There are so many good songs to choose from, but if I had to limit it to a 12-pack, it would be:
- Ich Will
- Du Hast (EDIT: already in RB3, so I'll put "Tier" instead)
- Sehnsucht
- Du Riechst So Gut
- Mein Herz brennt
- Sonne
- Mutter
- Engel
- Morgenstern
- Ich tu dir weh
- Benzin
- Reise, Reise

13 different bands!

2010-08-05T02:01:00.032-04:00

This week will be awesome for diversity as the new DLC includes 13 different bands (8 singles + 5 RBN)! We'll also be playing the 9 DLC we didn't have time to complete last week, plus we'll play the 4 songs where we got 3 stars at the last session. This will keep our "4 stars +" record intact for the entire Rock Band catalog on the PS3.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on all solo instruments):

3. "River of Tuoni", by Amberian Dawn:

Finnish symphonic power metal standouts Amberian Dawn are back with another great track. Their previous RBN release "He Sleeps in a Grove" was one of the best in recent memory and this one also sounds great. Their singer has a really good operatic voice that meshes well with the music, especially in the chorus and the buildup to it. I liked the guitar riffs throughout the song, the guitar solo, plus the neat sound they create in the intro. The guitar chart is very dynamic and includes some tough trills. Watch out for some crazy bass pedal on drums! It is songs like this that make me want to buy a dual pedal right now (will need it for Pro drums in RB3). I hope this genre gets some more releases in the future. I would especially like some Tarja-era Nightwish (ex: the epic "Ghost Love Score").

2. "La Camisa Negra", by Juanes:

This Columbian rocker creates an amazingly catchy sound in many tracks (ex: "A Dios le Pido", "Mala Gente"), but none more so than in "La Camisa Negra". The melodic Latin disco sound in this song is highly infectious. In most of his songs the Spanish guitar riffs and solos are a refreshing change to the usual fare. Some of his tracks also layer in a lot of instruments to create a neat wall of sound effect (ex: I love the addition of the accordion in "Fíjate Bien"). I was happy to learn this morning that he will have a song in RB3. What would be amazing for Latin songs in Rock Band would be "Canción del Mariachi (Morena de Mi Corazón)" by Los Lobos (intro song from the movie "Desperado"). It is very melodic and has some some impressive guitar playing.

1. "Nightmare", by Avenged Sevenfold:

Seeing Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy play with Avenged Sevenfold for the 1st time was one of the highlights of the Heavy MTL festival (sadly, their drummer "The Rev" passed away late last year so Mike is filling in temporarily). I can also say that playing some Mike Portnoy in a song from Avenged Sevenfold's latest CD is also quite a treat. The short fills in the intro are a challenge because they are blazingly fast, plus it has a few really fun and rapid alternating "bass pedal\double pad" sections. In the same sections, the guitar and bass charts have some awesome fast single note sequences. Overall it's a great song due to its many interesting transitions and impressive sound. As usual for this band, it is very melodic and technical. If you get their other DLC, watch out for the mother of all trills at the end of "Seize the Day"!

Honorable mention. "Goth Girls", by MC Frontalot:

Nerdcore pioneer MC Frontalot's "Goth Girls" is a great example of what makes this artist unique. It has impeccable sound production and a great theme. I quite enjoyed the lyrics of his previous track "Origin of Species" due to it parodying of intelligent design and creationism, and this one is also quite entertaining. It has a dark sound with a groovy bassline and a fun unique beat. If you're a fan of unique sounding guitar charts, you'll have a treat with this song. You'll be playing some guitar, piano, violin, accordion and some bells, all on the same track! :)

Honorable mention #2. "Tastes Like Kevin Bacon", by "iwrestledabearonce":

I'll make an exception this week and have a 2nd honorable mention, if only for the zanyness of the band name and song name. But you'd be mistaken if you thought the crazyness didn't extend from the lingual to the aural realm. Avant-garde metal is probably one of the most chaotic subgenres of music ever invented. Pretty much anything goes (ex: Montrealers "Unexpect" are said to include elements of black metal, death metal, thrash metal, progressive metal, melodic heavy metal, classical music, dark cabaret, opera, medieval music, jazz, funk, electro, ambient, noise, gypsy music and circus music...). That can sometimes be a disaster, but you'll occasionally get some moments of brilliance. I'm a bit on the fence on this particular track by "iwrestledabearonce", but it does grow on me on each listen, which is generally the mark of good music (like a fine wine that ages well). Be prepared for an onslaught of sounds, from brutal death metal, to dance metal, to avant-garde Disney deathcore! :) From a player's perspective, watch out for a tough up and down chord section on bass in the middle of the song. I was very surprised to hit the pattern correctly once (no lost multiplier).

RB3 practice session

2010-08-05T01:53:00.013-04:00

Last week was almost a Rock Band 3 practice session as Phoenix used his Roland electronic drum kit to get a feel for playing with more inputs. Apart from some lag issues that I assume won't be an issue in RB3, it was a good way to practice for the transition to Pro instruments this Fall.

For Rock Band 3 we'll be doing some 3-part harmonies, so Raikan had his turn practicing doing 2 instruments at once (Vocals + Bass = Voxass?). Normally Bongoo does some sightread voxtar for the new DLC (Vocals + Guitar). Perhaps Phoenix can give it a try soon while drumming (Voxrum?).

The session was also special due to a surprise visit by Phoenix's high school friends. Sylvie also showed up and she played 2 songs on Bass. We had time to play 15 of the 24 new DLC of the last 2 weeks, gaining 9M points (1303M to 1312M) in the process. This will help us continue our climb of the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We had a lower average points per song than usual due to the RB3 practice but it was worth it for the experience gained.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 15 songs: 5 stars (6), 4 stars (5), 3 stars (4, for "Gotas de Agua Dulce", "Mala Gente", "New Dark Ages" and "Nightmare (Avenged Sevenfold)")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (13), followed by Sylvie (2) and Pheonix (1)
- Raikan was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (9), followed by Phoenix (6)
- Bongoo had the only FC of the night
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Approach the Podium", "La Camisa Negra", "How We Roll", "Goth Girls" and "Indigo Friends"
- It was awesome to play the accordion twice in 1 session on guitar ("Fíjate Bien" and "Goth Girls"). What were the odds of having 2 accordion DLC in 1 week?
- We kept failing during the "Nightmare (Avenged Sevenfold)" intro, only to realize after 6 tries that we had accidentally removed the overdrive before the set! :)

Variety week + Heavy MTL recap

2010-07-27T15:36:00.030-04:00

This week we're back for a double dose of DLC, including the amazing variety of new songs from the last 2 weeks (Juanes, Avenged Sevenfold, The Stooges, Bad Religion, plus all the great RBN tracks).

Phoenix and I are back from an amazing time at Heavy MTL 2010. The festival was back in force after its 2009 sabbatical with a great line-up of 34 bands. Dates are already announced for 2011 (July 23rd and 24th), so it was a definite commercial success (40,000+ fans).

Highlights include the amazing stage theatrics of Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper, the 1st post-The Rev show with Mike Portnoy for Avenged Sevenfold, the technical wizardry of Megadeth, the chaos of Slayer, the high-flying stunt of Airbourne, the contagious enthusiasm of Anvil, plus the impressive crowd interaction of Five Finger Death Punch (see video).

We were also witness to a live rendition of 2 classic metal albums, as Megadeth played "Rust in Peace" (2010 RB DLC) and Slayer played "Seasons in the Abyss" in full. I was always impressed with Dave Lombardo's drumming on "Seasons" and it was great to see him live. As for Megadeth, their amazing new guitarist Chris Broderick played each difficult solo note for note to perfection.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on drums, guitar and bass):

3. "50,000 Unstoppable Watts", by Clutch: This week was once again very impressive for RBN releases on the PS3 (top 3 all RBN). This rockin' song with a "Rage Against the Machine"-like chorus has some good riffs and some fun guitar and bass charts. The drum chart is also great as it has an awesome flowin' drum beat with frequent triplets. The sound quality of this 2009 song is much improved over their 2004 RBN song ("The Mob Goes Wild").

2. "Approach the Podium", by Winds of Plague: This group had lots of energy at Heavy MTL, opening with their great song "Chest and Horns". It was refreshing to see a metalcore band that mixes in other metal genres, in this case one of my favorite (symphonic black). "Approach the Podium" has some great riffs in the 1st half, plus some neat keyboard sections in the 2nd half. The sound is quite epic at times, with a great black metal feel at the end that sounds a bit like "Dimmu Borgir". Dimmu should definitely be in Rock Band one day, especially tracks like "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" and "Blessings upon the Throne of Tyranny". The amazing drumming of Nicholas Barker and the well-integrated keyboard sections would be lots of fun with Pro instruments in Rock Band 3.

1. "Indigo Friends", by Reverend Horton Heat: This song marks the return of psychobilly virtuoso group "Reverend Horton Heat" to music games. They had a really fun and difficult song in Guitar Hero 2 called "Psychobilly Freakout". "Indigo Friends" has a really unique jazz swing beat with lots of variety. The double pad hits and fast strumming are tough to hit at first, but when you get the hang of it it's amazingly fun. As for their GH2 song, "Reverend Horton Heat"'s music is chaotically beautiful, the riffs and solos coming in a flurry from all directions. As an added bonus the song has a neat walking bass during the guitar solos, a good "stay away from drugs" message, plus a surprise Big Rock Ending in a RBN song (I didn't know it was allowed)!

Honorable mention. "New Dark Ages", by Bad Religion: If the RBN tracks aren't your cup of tea, the regular DLC also had some interesting offerings. "The Stooges" are a classic rock band with a neat distorted sound ("No Fun" is the best of the pack). There is also a couple of songs by punk pioneers "Bad Religion". If you've played their songs before (ex: "Sorrow"), you know you can expect some fast paced drumming with lots of pedal, plus some complex strumming patterns. These 2 songs were no exception, with my favorite being "New Dark Ages". It has amazingly fun fills and a beat so fast it's hard to keep up with the deluge of alternating bass pedal patterns. The song sounds great, with many interesting vocal sections. It is probably one of the funnest recent songs on guitar and bass if you like intense strum patterns.

Break week + Heavy MTL

2010-07-21T23:17:00.017-04:00

This week we'll be taking a break due to conflicting schedules, but we'll be back for another double DLC week next week ("The Stooges" and "Bad Religion" + "Juanes" and "Avenged Sevenfold" weeks).

The Heavy MTL metal festival in Montréal this weekend will be a treat, with 34 bands playing on Saturday and Sunday. The festival bands that have Rock Band songs are Rob Halford (22 songs, including Judas Priest), Megadeth (18), Alice Cooper (6), Rob Zombie (6, including White Zombie), Avenged Sevenfold (4), Testament (4), Anvil (3), Norma Jean (3), Five Finger Death Punch (2), In This Moment (2), 3 Inches of Blood (1), Airbourne (1), Despised Icon (1), Korn (1), Lamb of God (1), Mastodon (1), Skeletonwitch (1), Slayer (1) and Winds of Plague (1). That is 19 of 34 bands!

One interesting thing to note is that Harmonix released the RBN track by "Winds of Plague" on the PS3 this week, just in time for the festival (they are playing Sunday)! That is perfect timing, thanks! :) Perhaps someone read some of my previous posts?

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on sightread voxtar and solo drums):

3. "The Girl at the Video Game Store", by Parry Gripp: This was an especially strong week once again for RBN songs, with no regular DLC making this list ("Future Perfect Tense" came close with its neat intro and outro). This comedic song by singer-songwriter Parry Gripp is short and sweet. It has fun lyrics, plus a great drum chart due to the variety of fills.

2. "Trippolette", by Andrew Buch: This awesome instrumental prog song is also very short. It has a fun drum beat that is quite varied, plus a very challenging guitar solo. Apparently this was a secret song in Guitar Hero 1, but you needed a cheat device like a GameShark to unlock it.

1. "Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over", by The Devil Wears Prada: This song is interesting by default because of its quirky title, but it is my favorite of the week due to the variety of metal sounds. It is always refreshing as it goes from blackened death to brutal death to groove to metalcore to industrial... I also like the sliding bass note near the end.

Honorable mention. "Top Back", by Alias Unknown: This song deserves a special mention as it is one of the only urban or hip hop song in Rock Band (after the ones by MC Frontalot). I really like the growing diversity of genres that the RBN brings. Hopefully this trend will continue. The song sounds great, although it can be slightly repetitive. The main beat is fun and it has a few slightly more difficult sections.

Castlevania music

2010-07-21T22:44:00.016-04:00

Last week we followed the current trend and played 2 weeks of new DLC ("CCR" and "The Vines" weeks). We gained 22M points (1281M to 1303M), which will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

One interesting music section was the intro and outro of new DLC "Future Perfect Tense" by "Sweet Billy Pilgrim". It sounded a bit like some old school Castlevania music. But I have to say that the best Castlevania-like music sequence I've ever heard has to be in "Fatal Tragedy" by Dream Theater (starting at the 4:12 mark). The same theme is repeated slower later on the amazing "Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes from a Memory" album. That album would be really fun as the 1st RB3 full album DLC! We saw Dream Theater play "Home" in Ottawa a few weeks ago and it was epic. I can just imagine what some of the solos would look like on Pro instruments... :)

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 28 songs: Gold stars (7), 5 stars (17), 4 stars (4, for "Trippolette", "1348", "Henchmen Ride" and "So Says I")
- Phoenix and Raikan tied for the most songs as "Top Performer" (14 each), followed by Bongoo (12)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (26), followed by Phoenix (3) and Raikan (2)
- Raikan had the most FCs (4), followed by Phoenix and Bongoo (1 each)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "Run Through the Jungle"
- The toughest song for Bongoo to sightread voxtar was "Henchmen Ride"
- Phoenix does an amazing job playing "Henchmen Ride" on Expert drums, allowing us to get 4 stars

The Vines + CCR

2010-07-12T22:13:00.011-04:00

This week we'll have another double DLC session, combining the "Creedence Clearwater Revival" and "The Vines" DLC weeks (28 new songs: CCR 12-pack, Vines 5-pack, 1 single, 10 RBN singles).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on solo drums):

3. "1348", by Umphrey's McGee: This RBN song has one of the most unique drum charts I've seen in a long time. You never know what to expect, but each beat is fun in its own way. They categorize themselves as being a "progressive rock jam band", or doing some "progressive improvisation". It would be an amazing band to see live.

2. "Henchmen Ride", by Testament: This an another awesome song by the Bay area thrash pioneers. It has some very heavy riffs and a really tough drum chart. I had to play it on Hard drums, but it still was one of the funnest charts I've played in a while. There are at least 3 really fun beats. For some odd reason I had half the overdrive at the end but couldn't activate it. I've seen this problem in a few RBN songs, with the last energy section being too close to the end.

1. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", by Creedence Clearwater Revival: The CCR 12-pack is highly recommended as it has an amazing variety of classic Southern Rock songs (ex: "Bad Moon Rising", "Up Around the Bend", "Fortunate Son (Original Version)", etc...), plus a surprisingly challenging drum song ("Travelin' Band"). I chose this Motown cover as my favorite because it is truly epic, being more than three times the length of the average CCR song. There is a nice variety of drum beats and fills. I love the jam feel with the lengthy guitar solos.

Honorable mention. "Battles and Brotherhood", by 3 Inches of Blood: This Canadian band has some great old school metal riffs and good energy. The drum chart was lots of fun, especially the faster part at the end, but I think it should have been classified as tier 6 instead of 7. We'll be seeing them at Heavy MTL this summer. Hopefully "Winds of Plague" and "Skeletonwitch" (other Heavy MTL bands) will soon have their RBN songs released on the PS3.

Extreme heat break

2010-07-12T16:32:00.003-04:00

Our RB session was cancelled last week due to the extreme heat. We'll be back this week for a double dose of new DLC.

Phoenix and I braved the weather and watched the great documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" in anticipation of the Heavy MTL festival in late July. It is quite the inspiring human story, I highly recommend it. Being a career musician can definitely be a challenge...

CCR 12-pack + Anvil documentary

2010-07-08T08:43:00.011-04:00

This week we'll play the new "Creedence Clearwater Revival" 12-pack, plus the new RBN songs on the PS3.

A few weeks ago I mentioned some RBN bands playing at Heavy MTL this summer that have some songs not yet released on the PS3. It turns out my release wishes came true as "3 Inches of Blood" and "Testament" are part of this week's PS3 RBN batch. Thanks Harmonix! The only remaining Heavy MTL bands that still have older RBN songs not released on the PS3 are "Winds of Plague" and "Skeletonwitch". These would be ideal for the next 2 weeks! :)

Anvil is another band that will be at Heavy MTL so we'll take the opportunity to watch their excellent documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" before tonight's session (8.1 on IMDB).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on sightread voxtar and solo drums):

3. "Burn It to the Ground", by Nickelback: There was lots of great Canadian content last week on the PS3 with Nickelback, Silverstein and Bif Naked. The Nickelback songs were lots of fun overall but they all typically follow a certain pattern. "Burn It to the Ground" was a nice surprise with some awesome riffs, a tough solo, and some very dynamic guitar and bass charts. The song is catchy and energetic and has a good variety of beats. I liked the ending on drums. Another fun drum song from Nickelback last week was "Figured You Out".

2. "Battle Royale", by The Word Alive: This is another RBN metal song that is all over the place, but as I stated in previous weeks, that can sometimes be a good thing. It is quite heavy at times and even has a tinge of electronica. The drums chart has a neat pattern with fast double bass hits, plus lots of pedal throughout. I think it should have been categorized as a tier 6 drum song instead of tier 7.

1. "Undone", by All That Remains: This is the 6th song by All That Remains in RB and once again they do not disappoint. It has awesome Gothenburg metal-like riffs, plus the usual highly technical and melodic solo. I also really liked the heavy riff after the solo. Jason Costa is a beast of a drummer, this song being another with lots of bass pedal.

Honorable mention. "American Dream", by Silverstein: This song has a great flow on drums, with a few really fun patterns. The singer can sometimes be a bit annoying, but overall it is a very energetic and catchy song with a few heavier sections.

Epic wah-wah bass moments!

2010-07-08T08:42:00.013-04:00

This week we had some epic wah-wah bass moments that either had us shaking in our boots (or socks), or made us stop playing as we laughed hysterically.

Of particular note was "Last Night on Earth", where during the overdrive it really felt like a 2nd earthquake had hit Ottawa (we had a 5.0 one recently). We did turn on "Bass Boost" in the options recently, but I'm sure it still would have felt pretty intense without it.

The craziest wah-wah bass moment definitely goes to "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus, where even the non-overdrive intro had a bass sound that was hilariously over the top. We hardly ever restart unless we miss the first unison bonus, but the sound that came out of those speakers during the overdrive was the cause of our first ever laughter-induced restart... :)

DMan couldn't make it to the session after all, so we had our usual line-up with Bongoo on voxtar, Phoenix on drums and Raikan on bass. We actually managed to finish all the remaining Green Day songs on top of the 2 weeks of new DLC, so it was an especially long but productive session. It helped that it was Canada Day the next day.

We gained 37M points (1244M to 1281M), which would technically move us up to 9th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards the next time it is updated.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 45 songs: Gold stars (6), 5 stars (34), 4 stars (4, for "Burn It to the Ground", "Battle Royale", "Before the Lobotomy" and "Jumper '09"), 3 stars (1, for "Undone")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (27), followed by Phoenix (11) and Bongoo (7)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (39), followed by Phoenix (2) and Raikan (1)
- Raikan had the most FCs (2), followed by Bongoo (1)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "See You Again", "Last Night on Earth", "21st Century Breakdown", "American Eulogy" and "Sick"
- We all get 99% on "Restless Heart Syndrome", but Phoenix gets the edge as "Top Performer", giving Raikan his first and only "Worst Performer" song of the night

Double DLC week + the Reject is back!

2010-06-30T00:25:00.010-04:00

This week we'll have another double dose of new DLC (Nickelback and Miley Cyrus weeks). We might also get a special visit by DMan, his first appearance with the Macas since our special New Year session.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on solo drums):

3. "Jumper '09", by Third Eye Blind: This was an exceptional week for RBN songs on the PS3. Any of the 5 songs could easily have been my favorite of the week. This is a lesser known song for this group, but it is arguably the best of the 3 released so far on the RBN. The drum chart is great, with a challenging rolling beat, plus a few other fun beats.

2. "HTML Rulez D00d", by The Devil Wears Prada: This metalcore song with a peculiar name is very heavy and melodic at times, making it always interesting. It can sometimes be a bit disjointed on drums, but it has an amazing variety of beats and tempo changes.

1. "Creepy Doll", by Jonathan Coulton: Gool ol' Coulton is back once again on the RBN with a very unique song. The story is interesting and the mood changes quite often. The drum chart is fun with some occasional fast hits. I would put this one in my top 3 Jonathan Coulton songs in RB with "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Re: Your Brains". Looking forward to getting his other RBN songs "Shop Vac" and "Mandelbrot Set" in the future (only on the 360 so far).

Honorable mention. "7 Things", by Miley Cyrus: I didn't know what to expect from the new Miley Cyrus DLC, but I was happily surprised by how fun some of the songs were. This particular song was the funnest on drums by far. It has 2 great beats: 1 unique rolling beat + 1 really fun faster beat.

New highest scoring song ("Jesus of Suburbia")

2010-06-29T23:58:00.008-04:00

Last week we played more than half the remaining "Green Day: Rock Band" songs in RB2. Chrissy helped us out on Hard vocals, thanks!

Bongoo played only 1 instrument for the 1st time in a while (usually doing voxtar). It felt weird, like it wasn't enough of a challenge... In RB3 up to 3 of us will be playing 2 instruments at once due to the harmonies.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 20 songs: 5 stars (18), 4 stars (2)
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (20), followed by Raikan (2)
- Chrissy was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (18), followed by Phoenix (4) and Raikan (2)
- Bongoo had the only FCs of the night (5)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Jesus of Suburbia" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
- We get 999,658 points for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", oh so close...
- We get our 1st triple "Worst Performer" for "When I Come Around" (3 of us had 98%)
- We finally have a new highest scoring song, with "Jesus of Suburbia" surpassing "Down with the Sickness" (2.6M vs. 2.4M)

Voxass Green Day

2010-06-20T23:49:00.022-04:00

This week our session is earlier in the week than usual, so because there is no new DLC yet we'll concentrate on finishing most of the "Green Day: Rock Band" songs in RB2. Playing so many new songs will allow us to continue our climb of the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Bongoo is a bit sick, so Raikan will have to assume voxass duties (vocals + bass), or is it voxbass? ;)

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (after playing them on voxtar with the band and on solo drums):

3. "Ikea", by Jonathan Coulton: Another week, another great Coulton RBN song on the PS3 (we're getting "Creepy Doll" this week). I didn't have a chance to read all the lyrics because I didn't play it on solo vocals yet, but the song sounded very good and had the usual subtle humour. The drum chart had a few fun fills.

2. "The Attitude Song", by Steve Vai: This rockin' song from another RBN regular was lots of fun due to it constantly changing. I really love the galloping main riff. Watch out for a crazy section on drums near the end.

1. "No More Tears", by Ozzy Osbourne: This metal pioneer doesn't disappoint in his RB debut, with some great new songs like "Let Me Hear You Scream" (catchy song with difficult guitar and bass) and "Diggin' Me Down" (love the Spanish guitar intro), plus some old classics like "Crazy Babies" (neat double bass pattern). But it is in his other classic song "No More Tears" that he shines the brightest. The song has great atmosphere, in part due to a great keyboard section that I hope is already charted for RB3. It also has a very lyrical guitar solo, a great bass intro, plus some very heavy riffs.

Honorable mention. "Day of Mourning", by Despised Icon: This deathcore band from Québec also has some very heavy riffs and some nice tempo changes. The breakdown section was very fun. The beginning of the song is one of the hardest Expert drum sections in the game. We'll be seeing them at Heavy MTL this summer. Hopefully the RBN tracks by other Heavy MTL bands "3 Inches of Blood", "Winds of Plague" and "Testament" will come out soon on the PS3.

Top and Worst Performer on same song

2010-06-20T23:28:00.009-04:00

Last week we played all the latest DLC, plus a few "Green Day: Rock Band" songs. We gained 12M points, slowly moving up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 16 songs: Gold stars (2), 5 stars (8), 4 stars (5), 3 stars (1, for "Let Me Hear You Scream")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (10), followed by Phoenix (6) and Bongoo (1)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (10), followed by Phoenix (4) and Raikan (2)
- Raikan had the only FC of the night
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Let Me Hear You Scream", "Soul Sucker", "Diggin' Me Down" and "(Good Riddance) Time of Your Life"
- The toughest song for Bongoo to sightread voxtar was "Let Me Hear You Scream" due to the difficult guitar chart
- We finish "Day of Mourning" with exactly 1M points (+ a few points)
- Raikan gets "Top Performer", "Worst Performer", "FC" and a "#1 all-console band score" for his 42K performance on solo vocal song "Song of the Century"! :)

Ozzy + Green Day? Why not!

2010-06-16T08:08:00.018-04:00

This week we'll start off by playing the new DLC, including the Ozzy Osbourne pack, plus the amazing group of returning RBN artists (Flight of the Conchords, Jonathan Coulton, Steve Vai, Third Eye Blind). We'll then start playing the new Green Day songs in RB2. This will allow us to move closer to 10th in the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Hole in the Earth", by Deftones: The Deftones DLC has some very atmospheric music with always changing vocals. As I mentioned last week, this made it really difficult to sightread on voxtar in last week's session. Out of the 3 Deftones songs, this one had the funnest drum chart. It is very dynamic, with 3-4 interesting patterns. "Cherry Waves" would be a close second, with its neat rolling beat.

2. "Mechanical Love", by In This Moment: This song comes from the band's more mainstream album, but it doesn't disappoint. It has good energy and a nice balance of hard/soft dynamics. The chorus sounds great, plus the drums are varied and fun due to the slow/fast beat changes. The guitar is fairly simple, but there is a fun part with singles near the end. This is another group that some of us will see at Heavy MTL this summer. Hopefully we can soon get the RBN tracks by 3 Inches of Blood, Testament and Winds of Plague, other bands at Heavy MTL.

1. "Collapsing", by Demon Hunter: This song is pretty heavy at times for a somewhat "pop-ish" metal band. There is an interestingly odd rhythm on drums, guitar and bass after the start section, with a tough double bass pattern. It definitely has the funnest drum chart of the week, with a really awesome part before the chorus.

Honorable mention. "The Mob Goes Wild", by Clutch: This is a rockin' song with a nice groovy beat from a pretty unique band. The main drum beat is fun to play, plus there are a few interesting fills. The guitar chart has quite a bit of movement.

Time to go Pro!

2010-06-12T13:53:00.022-04:00

Yesterday's Rock Band 3 Press Release was a monumental event in rhythm game history. It will be remembered as one of the most important announcements ever, after the unveiling of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band". Harmonix proves once again that they are the master innovators of this genre.

The most exciting part of the press release is the addition of Pro modes for all instruments except vocals. It pretty much gives us the ability to learn some real instruments (ex: 3 independent cymbals on drums, 6 strings + all fret positions on guitar). After getting comfortable playing Expert on all instruments over the last 3 years, it is truly a chance to rediscover rhythm games all over again. It will be lots of fun to slowly master each difficulty level like I did back in Guitar Hero for guitar and Rock Band for drums (Pro Easy -> Pro Medium -> Pro Hard -> Pro Expert).

If this wasn't enough, Harmonix is also adding a 2-octave keyboard, with a Pro mode that features all 25 keys! This adds an exciting new dimension to the gameplay, bringing the total # of simultaneous players to an amazing 7! Pro mode is seamlessly integrated into all the game modes, so we don't have to all make the transition at the same time, but I can see us eventually being an all-Pro band.

OK, enough salivating about the future... :) This week, after getting up-to-date on the new DLC, we played some "Green Day: Rock Band". Phoenix bought a 2nd mic stand so we were able to try the harmonies, which are lots of fun like in "The Beatles: Rock Band". We'll definitely get a 3rd mic stand before Rock Band 3 comes out so that Phoenix can join in as well.

We gained 18M points from the 20 songs we played in RB2, enough to move us up to 11th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards. After we finish the Green Day songs in RB2, we'll improve on our old scores to increase our average points per song (currently 988K).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 20 songs: Gold stars (1), 5 stars (13), 4 stars (6, for "The Great Southern Trendkill", "Suicide Note Pt. II" and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)", "Cherry Waves", "Collapsing" and "The Mob Goes Wild")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (11), followed by Bongoo (7) and Phoenix (6)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (17), followed by Phoenix (3) and Raikan (1)
- Raikan had the only FC of the night
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "The Great Southern Trendkill", "War Nerve", "13 Steps to Nowhere", "Collapsing" and "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"
- The toughest songs for Bongoo to sightread voxtar were the "Deftones" ones due to the constantly changing vocals
- It looked like we were doomed when we failed during the crazy solo section of "Suicide Note Pt. II", only to be saved at the very last second as Phil yelled "Descending down"... :)

The Day to be Green

2010-06-10T01:13:00.027-04:00

"Green Day: Rock Band" was released this week so we'll give it a spin. This will be a 1 night only deal, as we'll concentrate on playing the exported Green Day songs in Rock Band 2 in future weeks.

We'll also play the Pantera DLC that we didn't have a chance to try, plus this week's new DLC (Deftones, RBN, etc...). This will allow us to continue moving up the "All Songs" Leaderboards, most likely passing "Ride Sally Ride" for 11th place.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Get the Hell Out of Here", by Steve Vai: Last week the PS3's RBN offerings were great as usual, with 2nd RBN tracks by 4 bands. Steve Vai follows up on his slower and melodic "For the Love of God (Live)" with this faster rockin' tune. His guitar virtuosity is once again on display during the very technical solo. The drum beat is quite varied and fun. There are also some great bass sections.

2. "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)", by Flight of the Conchords: This comedy duo is amazing as always. Their 2nd RBN song is very funny and has a neat groovy vibe on drums and bass. The frequent flourishes on guitar are also fun to play. Hopefully more of their comedy classics will come out on the RBN (ex: "The Humans Are Dead", "Issues (Think About It)" and "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros").

1. "Forever In Your Hands", by All That Remains: This song has one of the funnest guitar charts that I've seen in a while. The main riffs with singles and chords are very dynamic. It also has a very melodic and technical solo as usual. The drum chart is also great, with lots of movement and bass pedal. Watch out for a section with lots of consecutive bass pedals 2/3rds in. This band seems to always find the right balance between melody and heaviness.

Honorable mention. "Trouble Comes Running", by Spoon: Some of Spoon's other songs are a bit bland, so discovering their more energetic side was a nice surprise. The drum chart is great, with constant pedal, lots of pad action and some fun fills. Watch out for the triple hits after the song ends. As for the guitar chart, it had a some fun chord changes.

Pantera will have to wait

2010-06-05T12:25:00.005-04:00

Our goal this week was to play 2 weeks of new DLC, but due to the length of the downloading, we managed to play only 15 of 25 new songs. That will leave the Pantera album for next week, along with the new DLC (Deftones, etc...), plus our first play of "Green Day: Rock Band".

We thought we had gained enough points (15M) to pass "Ride Sally Ride" for 11th in the "All Songs" Leaderboards, but they also played this past week. Our average points per song decreased to 990K. Once we finish the upcoming deluge of new DLC, we'll work on moving that up by increasing on our worst songs by rank, stars, or spread to #1.

Bongoo once again assumed voxtar duties, with Sylvie being on hiatus.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 15 songs: Gold stars (4), 5 stars (8), 4 stars (3, for "Forever In Your Hands", "The Complexity of Light" and "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)")
- Phoenix was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (9), followed by Raikan (6) and Bongoo (2)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Phoenix (1)
- Raikan had the most FCs (2), followed by Bongoo (1)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "Juke Joint Jezebel"
- The toughest song for Bongoo to voxtar was definitely "The Complexity of Light" (constant complex high-pitched vocals plus dynamic guitar)

Double DLC Week: Pantera and Spoon

2010-06-01T00:31:00.022-04:00

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.

Break Week

2010-05-31T00:17:00.001-04:00

Last week was one of the rare weeks where we didn't have a session (everyone busy or sick). We'll be back this week for a double dose of new DLC!

New this week: Pantera + a keyboard?

2010-05-26T00:43:00.029-04:00

Having some Pantera songs join the Rock Band catalog would certainly have been the most interesting news of the week if it wasn't for a surprise in the "Green Day: Rock Band" demo. Apparently it shows a Rock Band 3 image with the traditional instrument logos, plus a new keyboard logo!

I wonder what percentage of songs will have keyboard support and if the existing DLC with some keyboard elements will get new charts. It will certainly be lots of fun to try a new instrument for this type of game, the first in the Rock Band franchise since the drums and mic 3 years ago. Due to the vocal harmonies also being included in Rock Band 3, we'll potentially need to grow to a 7-member band! :)

As for Pantera, I'm really happy to finally see them in Rock Band. I saw them live after they released their 2nd and 3rd groove metal albums ("Vulgar Display of Power" and "Far Beyond Driven") and they were one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Unfortunately we are getting in my opinion the worst of their 5 post-"hair metal" albums, but we'll take what we can can get...

Hopefully that means we'll eventually get their best songs as additional full album DLC or as part of a compilation. If it's a compilation, I would love if it included some of these tracks (3 favorites from each of their first 3 groove metal albums): "Cowboys From Hell", "Cemetary Gates", "The Sleep", "Mouth for War", "Walk", "This Love", "5 Minutes Alone", "I'm Broken" and "Planet Caravan". Dimebag Darrell, we certainly miss you!

This week we'll also be passing "Ride Sally Ride" for 11th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "A Girl Like You", by The Smithereens: Last week we played this after finishing the new Greateful Dead songs (which are complex as usual), so playing this song was an interesting change of pace. Rarely has such simple music sounded so good. The vocals are quite catchy, the bass chart is pretty simple but always fun, the drum chart has a few interesting off-beat red fills. It also includes a neat guitar solo that has varying strum speeds.

2. "Beat It on Down the Line", by The Grateful Dead: This is an awesome energetic 60s rock song. The drum chart has some really tough fills but the main beat is constant and fun. The guitar and bass charts are very dynamic due to the constant note changes. I liked the single fast notes with the occasional triple note slides on guitar. The vocals had a pretty good range. It was neat to sing a more traditional rock & roll song. Overall this 3rd Grateful Dead pack was well worth the money (other highlights include the great bass groove of "Scarlet Begonias", the fun swingin' country of "Cumberland Blues" and the dynamic guitar and crazy drum pattern changes of "U.S. Blues" ("Truckin'" on steroids...). If you're a guitar or bass player, you owe it to yourself to get these songs!

1. "He Sleeps in a Grove", by Amberian Dawn: Wow, this song is from an amazing "Nightwish"-type Finnish band (symphonic power metal). It's one of my favorite new DLC in a long time. The singer has a great operatic voice with a good range and the riffs are very epic and complex. There were 3 or 4 very interesting drum patterns with a few tough fills. The bass pattern was great, with a very challenging part during the guitar solo. The guitar chart is one of the best I've seen lately, with a few great single note riffs and a pretty complex solo. Hopefully we'll get some other great Scandanivian metal one day (ex: "Opeth", "Dimmu Borgir", "Amon Amarth", "Kalmah", "Dark Tranquility", etc...). In my opinion, "Nightwish" and "Dimmu Borgir" are the best bands to combine metal with a real orchestra (ex: "Ghost Love Score (Nightwish) and "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse ("Dimmu Borgir")), but Amberian Dawn could also produce a great one someday.

Honorable mention. "Talk About", by Dear and the Headlights: This song deserves a mention due to its awesome drum chart. It includes a neat swingin' beat with double hits, plus a very interesting roll type beat later on. The song itself is quite catchy but it is a bit odd. The bass chart has a lot of stop/start moments, but what is there is fun. The guitar chart is quite varied but fairly simple. The vocals were always fun, especially the "la-di-da-di-da" part. Hooray for RBN diversity! :)

Amberian Dawn rules!

2010-05-23T18:49:00.005-04:00

This week we had a shortened session due to Phoenix having a back injury and being on medication. He played bass, while Raikan moved to drums and Bongoo did voxtar (Sylvie was away again). We only played the new DLC, plus we tried to improve on our 2 worst songs by rank.

We are now only about 12M points behind 11th place "Ride Sally Ride" in the "All Songs" Leaderboards). Our average score per song decreased by 3K to 991K, but we'll make that up and more next week when we improve on our worst songs.

The new songs were fun overall, but "He Sleeps in a Grove" by Amberian Dawn was easily the best of the week. It's refreshing to finally have some symphonic metal in Rock Band. I'll have more info about this song in my top 3 DLC of the week in the next post.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 15 songs: Gold stars (2), 5 stars (7), 4 stars (6)
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (9), followed by Bongoo (5) and Phoenix (2)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (12), followed by Phoenix (3) and Raikan (1)
- There were no FCs this week
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "Bat Country"
- It was quite a challenge for Bongoo to sightread the faster Grateful Dead songs on voxtar

An old promise made true

2010-05-19T00:19:00.020-04:00

It was announced 2 and a half years ago that there would be 18 Grateful Dead songs released as DLC. The last 6-pack was finally released this week. We'll be playing these, as well as the new DLC and RBN singles.

We're about 22M points behind "Ride Sally Ride" in the "All Songs" Leaderboards, so we'll make good progress catching up this week. We'll also improve on our average points per song (currently at 994K) by playing our worst songs by rank, stars and spread to #1.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (once again less detailed as I only had time to play them on voxtar with the band, plus on solo drums):

3. "Steeler (Live)", by Judas Priest: While "Rapid Fire (Live)" was also fast and fun to play, "Steeler (Live)" was my favorite Judas Priest song due to its great "Painkiller"-like beats and riffs. Watch out for a crazy amount of bass pedal, making it difficult to keep a streak near the end.

2. "I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?", by A Day To Remember: This song has great energy, being quite heavy for a punk song. I love the tempo change near the end. The drum chart was great, with lots of pedal and some tough fills. The indie rock song "Tongue Twister Typo" also had a couple of interesting drum patterns, but I give this one a slight edge overall.

1. "Mordecai", by Between the Buried and Me: The 1st half of this song is insane on all instruments except on vocals due to its chaotic and ultra fast riffs. It then shifts dramatically to a slower melodic groove for the 2nd half. I love bands that can hit such musical contrasts at will and pull it off (ex: Opeth). Although I prefer when the heavy sections are a bit more melodic, this song delivers due to its originality. I had to play drums on Hard difficulty due to the crazy intro. Another section sounded like it would be extremely difficult on Expert a bit more than halfway through the song.

Honorable mention. "Breaking the Law (Live)", by Judas Priest: Normally I don't like Live versions as much, but last week's pack was an example of a great Live release. This is quite evident for this early metal classic, which is enhanced by a great performance by Rob Halford (good energy and crowd interaction). The drum beat is pretty constant, but there are also a few interesting fills with varying note speeds.

A new contender in the top 10

2010-05-16T16:11:00.009-04:00

This week we got bumped to 12th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards) due to the emergence of a new top 10 band, ".Pheonix Rising.". Sylvie was away, so Bongoo assumed the voxtar duties once again.

After playing the new DLC and our worst ranked songs by star, we are now only 22M points away from 11th place "Ride Sally Ride". All our scores are now 4.1 stars and up. We also increased our average score per song to 994K, ever so close to our goal of 1M points.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 26 songs: Gold stars (4), 5 stars (19), 4 stars (3, for "Rapid Fire (Live)", "Stick Stickly" and "Mordecai")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Phoenix (13) and Bongoo (8)
- Bongoo was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (26), followed by Raikan (5) and Phoenix (2)
- There were no FCs this week
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "The Rage (Live)", "Burn It Down" and "Thrasher"
- Bongoo tied himself for "Worst Performer" during "I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?"... (voxtar)
- We got a quadruple 99% on "Origin of Species"! :)

Classic Judas Priest Week

2010-05-12T00:12:00.012-04:00

This week we'll play one of the early Judas Priest album ("British Steel", re-released as a live version for its 30th anniversary), plus the 5 regular RBN songs. We'll also improve our worst songs by rank, stars and spread. This will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We are 50M points behind 10th place "Ride Sally Ride", plud 9K away from having an average score per song of 1M.

Considering we will see Halford this summer at Heavy MTL 2010, it's nice to see a classic Judas Priest album come out for Rock Band (Rob Halford is Judas Priest's singer).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (less detailed this time as I only had time to play them on guitar with the band, plus on solo drums):

3. "Dearest (I'm So Sorry)", by Picture Me Broken: This is a good rockin' hard/soft metal song with lots of variety. The drum chart was quite interesting throughout, including a fun fill at the end. I liked the heavy breakdown, with its melodic keyboard section.

2. "World Go 'Round", by No Doubt: Most of the 9 missing songs from the "Tragic Kingdom" album we got last week were a lot of fun to play, especially the last 5. This particular song had a great reggae feel and had imho the funnest drum chart of the bunch. The band's drummer is really good so that is saying a lot. I liked the variety of drum patterns, for example the alternating number of rolls in one of the main beats, plus the fast left-right-left-right beat about two thirds in the song.

1. "Bodies", by Drowning Pool: This song is fairly simple, but it delivers in spades! It has a nice flow and lots of energy. The drum chart was lots of fun to play. Anyone who's watched ECW before will recognize this song as one of the main themes.

Honorable mention. "Tragic Kingdom", by No Doubt: Although I enjoyed many other No Doubt songs last week (ex: the reggae feel of "Sixteen", the funk of "You Can Do It", the interesting drum patterns of "End It on This"), the last song of the album deserves a special mention due to its uniqueness. The variety of instruments in the background makes the song always interesting. I particularly liked the buildup near the end, with the drum beat accelerating nicely and changing patterns quite often.

Worst Performer: PS3

2010-05-10T23:31:00.010-04:00

Last week we decided to start tracking the worst performers for each song (see Highlights section below, or should it be Lowlights?). It means the person who got the lowest percentage for any particular song. Tracking this info gives us extra motivation to perform well, but it does put Raikan at a disadvantage as it can be tough to match pitch for songs he's never heard before.

We actually decided that the real worst performer for the night was the PS3, as it froze after our 6th song in the first 8-song set. Was the PS3 shocked that Sylvie got her 1st song as worst performer, even though she's on bass? ;) Those 6 songs are now still marked as unplayed in the Stars sort in-game. Fortunately the scores are automatically sent to Harmonix's servers after playing each song, so we have all 1167 songs marked as played at RockBandStats.com (see the "All Songs" Leaderboards).

After playing the 2 weeks of new DLC (24 songs), we gained 25M points, for a total of 1,156M points. This leaves us 50M points behind 10th place "Ride Sally Ride". Our new average points per song is 991K (up 1K from the previous week).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (8), 5 stars (14), 4 stars (2, for "End It on This" and "You Can Do It")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (17), followed by Sylvie (6), Raikan (3) and Phoenix (2)
- Raikan was the "Worst Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Phoenix (6), Sylvie (4) and Bongoo (3)
- Bongoo had the only FCs of the night (3)
- Sylvie's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" and "The Climb"
- We got a weird bug once again during a RBN song where the percentage for the solo stayed on the screen even after it was finished

Double DLC Week, it's Business Time!

2010-05-06T00:21:00.031-04:00

Due to the PSN updates changing to Tuesdays, we'll have a special double DLC session this week (8 songs from last Thursday + 16 from Tuesday).

We are currently 65M points behind 10th place "Ride Sally Ride" in the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We are also approaching the coveted 1M points per song mark (10K behind). We'll need a 30M point increase to move our average up by 5K.

After finishing the new DLC we can improve some of our old scores. For example, we can play the last 3 songs where we don't have 4 stars.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (all from the RBN!):

3. "Business Time", by Flight of the Conchords: What a wonderful comedy duo! If you have a chance, check out this song and other songs from their amazing HBO special concert. Their HBO show is also a treat, with memorable performances by the "clueless boss" and the "super fan". This song is quite fun to play in Rock Band, although some of the lyrics in the game's version aren't as funny (ex: what happened to the hilarious "team building exercice" bit..., the curry joke is funny but the other versions are better). The guitar chart is pretty challenging with the fast changing chords.

2. "Burn it Down", by Five Finger Death Punch: This energetic metal song has some awesome riffs and a fun drum chart throughout, especially during the solo and at the end. There are a few very difficult fills. The bass chart is quite fun with all the hammer-ons, but it gets tougher at the end. As for the guitar, the hammer-ons are also fun, but watch out for a tough solo and some crazy fast up and down riffs that are streak killers. Phoenix, Sylvie and I will have a chance to see this group at Heavy MTL this summer (metal festival in Montreal with 25 bands over 2 days). Hopefully the RBN songs from other Heavy MTL bands will be released soon (Testament, Winds of Plague, 3 Inches of Blood, In This Moment)! :)

1. "Push Push (Lady Lightning)", by Bang Camaro: This Guitar Hero 2 classic is finally available for Rock Band! I liked the "Big Rock Ending"-like section on drums at the end. Was it kept "normal" so that it matches the original guitar chart? I found the bass chart quite fun in the chorus and in the breakdown. Like the original, what makes this song particularly great to play is a guitar chart with amazing variety.

Honorable mention. "Stick Stickly", by Attack Attack!: Wow, this metalcore song deserves a mention due to its amazing diversity of styles and tempos. I really liked the numerous heavy sections, although the "techno-pop" section at the end left me a bit baffled as it was totally unexpected. After playing the song on other instruments, I came to accept even that transition, making this song quite a fun blend of musical styles. As for the charts, the guitar and bass ones were pretty challenging during the heavy parts (ex: alternating 3,4,5 strum sections). As for the drum chart, it had a few fun patterns.

Voxtar-ing the first batch of RBN songs

2010-04-29T23:19:00.014-04:00

Last week we played the 11 new DLC, including the first batch of RBN songs. We also played some of our worst songs by rank, stars and spread to #1. Sylvie was away once again so Bongoo played some voxtar and Raikan moved to bass.

We gained 14M points (1,117M to 1,131M), helping us move up in the "All Songs" Leaderboards. A new PS3 band has taken the 9th position ("Straight J.U.I.C.E."), so we'll have to catch up to "Ride Sally Ride" to gain back 10th (65M points away). Our new average points per song is 990K (3K higher than last week).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 25 songs: Gold stars (3), 5 stars (18), 4 stars (2), 3 stars (2, for "Guns of Summer" and "The Broken")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (13, including a few "double top performer" on voxtar), followed by Phoenix (12) and Raikan (4)
- There were no FCs this week
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moment was during "For the Love of God (Live)"
- Our largest point increases were 748K for "New Way Home" and 679K for "Truckin'"

The RBN has arrived to the PS3!

2010-04-28T00:05:00.027-04:00

Our Rock Band nights will now have more new content as the PS3 will get a weekly dose of Rock Band Network songs (5 per week for now). The first batch of RBN songs had some nice variety, beating the 6 regular DLC in my top 3 list (see below).

Next week will bring about more change as the PS3 download day moves permanently to Tuesdays. We'll have one session with double the new DLC and RBN songs. It also means that starting next week, I'll most likely be playing the new songs for the first time with the band. I will be able to add some comments from the other band members in my top 3s.

This week we'll continue our climb towards 9th in the "All Songs" Leaderboards by playing the new songs, plus our worst songs by rank or by spread to #1. We are 13K points away from 1M points in terms of average score per song. Hopefully we can reach that goal in 2 sessions max. We'll need a 19M point increase this week to be halfway to 1M, and a 16M point increase to move up by 5K (same as last 2 sessions).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "For the Love of God (Live)", by Steve Vai: It's great to see solo guitar virtuoso Steve Vai join others like Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteem in the RB catalog. This outstanding instrumental song has some great lyrical lines and a very difficult section in the solo. I found it odd that I couldn't activate the drum overdrive near the end, perhaps it's because the outro is treated like a "virtual" big rock ending.

2. "Even Rats", by The Slip: I'm glad to see the addition of this GH1 classic as it is a truly unique song with some nice melodic lines on vocals and guitar. Watch out for some tough sections on drums at the beginning and at the end. The bass chart was quite fun and varied in the 2nd half of the song. The "Whao Whao" part on vocals is awesome and adds to the ethereal dreamy feel of the song.

1. "Drunken Lullabies (Live)", by Flogging Molly: Wow! What an amazing Celtic party/drinking song, The super fast and lively beat makes this one of the funnest workout songs on drums. The guitarist will also feel like he's run a marathon, but the variety in the strum patterns makes it always interesting. The bass sound is a bit odd, but who will notice when it's such an awesome song.

Honorable mention. "Here We Are Juggernaut", by Coheed and Cambria: While the regular DLC had some neat moments like the accordion of "Peek-a-Boo" and the drums and vocals of "Sun Hits the Sky", Coheed and Cambria took the crown for the complexity of the songs. "Here We Are Juggernaut" is my favorite of the 3-pack as it is fun on all instruments. If you want a really challenging song, go for "Guns of Summer" instead, but I enjoyed "Here We Are Juggernaut" more. There are lots of unique drum patterns with a constant bass pedal, plus a pretty groovy bass chart.

Same increases as previous week (12M total, 5K average)

2010-04-25T18:55:00.017-04:00

Last week Sylvie was back so we played with the original line-up. After trying out the 6 new DLC, we played our worst songs by rank. Half of these were songs where we needed to drop to Hard difficulty on guitar, drums and bass to get our optimal score.

We gained 12M points by playing 25 songs (3 8-song sets + "YYZ"), slowly creeping up on 9th place "Ride Sally Ride" in the "All Songs" Leaderboards. Our new average points per song is 987K (up another 5K). The funny thing is these were the same increases as the previous week! With a lot more songs this week (11 instead of 6), we'll likely be getting much more than a 12M point increase.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 25 songs: Gold stars (6), 5 stars (19)
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (12), followed by Sylvie (8) and then Phoenix and Raikan (3 each)
- Raikan, Sylvie and Bongoo each had 1 FC
- Sylvie's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)", "Detroit Rock City" and "Ride the Lightning"
- One of our highest score increases was for "Ride the Lightning" (570K)
- We got 1 #1 score for the new DLC ("Sky Is Over")

A break for the vacuum tube mic stand

2010-04-20T22:53:00.020-04:00

This week we'll continue to climb the top 10 of the "All Songs" Leaderboards by playing last week's new DLC, plus our worst songs by rank, %-ile, star rating or spread to #1. Sylvie will be back this week so we can put away the vacuum tube mic stand for now (see previous post)... :)

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "All Star", by Smash Mouth: This was a smash hit (no pun intended) in the late 90s. It played so much on the radio back then that I expected it to be slightly annoying to play in Rock Band. Surprisingly this wasn't the case, as it has an awesome drum beat that has a nice flow. The guitar is simple but still fun, especially in the chorus.

2. "Blood on My Hands", by The Used: This group's 2 other DLC this week were pretty average. Apart from the guitar chart on "Born to Quit", they weren't anything to write home about. This song redeems this group in my mind, with its high energy and great drum chart. There are 2 or 3 unique drum patterns that are somewhat repetitive but always fun. The bass chart chart is also fun as it has some neat movement. Whoever sings should watch out for the last "There's blood" at the end.

1. "Empty Walls", by Serj Tankian: This amazing singer is so unique that it's always great to get more DLC from him, whether it's from his previous band "System of a Down" (currently on hiatus), or as a solo artist. As is common with his bands, there are lots of tempo and mood changes. The low pitch verses were a challenge to hit at first. The fast shifting singing in the pre-chorus section is one of the neatest patterns on vocals that I've seen in a while, and it flows nicely into the chorus. The pre-chorus also has a really unique drum pattern that looks too difficult to hit, but when you get it it's an awesome feeling. The guitar and bass charts are fairly simple but are still fun to play.

Honorable mention. "Sky Is Over", by Serj Tankian: This is another neat song from the Aremenian-born singer. As is becoming apparent in most songs by this artist, there is a faster shifting vocal part that is lots of fun (also fun on bass, less so on guitar). It is a nice lyrical song that has an interesting drum chart with a constant pedal. The piano throughout the song sounds great. It would be fun to play if there ever was a keyboard add-on to these games.

3 Macas and a... vacuum?

2010-04-19T01:33:00.018-04:00

Last week was our first week with 3 players as Sylvie will be away for a few weeks. Being a multi-instrumentalist (see "All Solo" Leadeboards), Bongoo proposed filling in by doing some voxtar (vocals + guitar), while Raikan moved back to bass.

The only problem was that we didn't have a mic stand. Phoenix had the brilliant idea of building one using, of all things, a vacuum and a tube! :) The tube was positioned on top of the vacuum handle and was cut to the perfect length to allow a mic inside at singing height.

This brilliant feat of engineering completed, we were able to start our night. The challenge for voxtar was to match pitch with what could be heard and remembered while mostly looking at the guitar chart. Everything went really well as we obtained many Gold stars and had a few 700K+ point increases. Bongoo consistently got between 90-99% on both vocals and guitar.

We played 24 songs with this new line-up, playing our worst ranked songs and the previous week's new DLC. This allowed us to gain 12M points (1,093M to 1,105M), moving us up the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We improved on almost all songs we were not in the top 200, plus our average score moved up 5K to 982K.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (5), 5 stars (10), 4 stars (7), 3 stars (2, for "B.Y.O.B." and "Waking the Demon")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (18), followed by Phoenix (9) and Bongoo (3)
- Raikan had the only FCs of the night (3)
- Raikan's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Monster (Skillet)" and "Ride the Lightning"
- Even with a voxtar player, we got Gold stars for half the new DLC, including more than 1M points for "Monster (Skillet)" and a #1 rank for "Stand in the Rain"

Starting our climb of the top 10

2010-04-13T22:54:00.015-04:00

This week we'll start our climb of the top 10 of the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We need more than 100M points to move up one position, but we'll get there eventually.

Last week there was only 6 new DLC (all Christian bands just after Easter), so we'll have lots of time to play our worst ranked songs. This will help move up our average score closer to 1M points (currently 977K).

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Feel Good Drag", by Anberlin: This is pretty rockin' song with some interesting mood changes. There is lots of variety in the drum chart, with some tough double bass hits. The guitar and bass were lots of fun during the verses. The singer can sometimes be a bit annoying during the chorus, but the song is very good regardless.

2. "Stand in the Rain", by Superchick: This song has some great melodic moments on vocals and some neat orchestral sounds, but it can still be quite intense. I liked the Terminator-theme-like section on drums (DA-DA-DUM-DA-DUM, omit the last DUM for the other instruments). The rolls were a bit annoying due to the speed changes. The guitar chart was fun due to its varied patterns.

1. "Monster", by Skillet: Believe it or not there are now 3 songs with this title in the game (the others are from "The Automatic" and "Lady Gaga"). There are quite a few titles that are common to 2 songs, but this is the 1st title that has 3. The song has great energy, and although it is fairly simple, it is lots of fun on all instruments. It is classified as "Rock", but I find it has a more "Nu-Metal" feel than "Fire It Up", another song from last week.

Honorable mention. "Live Life Loud", by Hawk Nelson: This Blink-182-esque song deserves a mention due to a pretty challenging drum track, definitely the toughest of the week due to its tricky rolls. The fast triplets are quite fun to play. The guitar chart is somewhat bland but the drum chart more than makes up for it.

The Macas are in the Hall of Fame!

2010-04-10T23:44:00.008-04:00

This week we finally made it into the Hall of Fame (top 10 for "All Songs")! :) Going up further will take time as 9th place is more than 100M points ahead, but we'll get there eventually.

We gained 12M points for the night from 24 songs. For the last 8 songs Sylvie was replaced by her cousin Blanche. Thanks again for helping out!

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (2), 5 stars (20), 4 stars (2 for "Wait Until Tomorrow" and "Ain't No Telling")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (10), followed by Bongoo (8), Phoenix (7), and Sylvie (5)
- Raikan had the only FCs of the night (2)
- Sylvie's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "One Rainy Wish" and "Little Miss Lover"
- Phoenix did great during "If 6 Was 9", which has a very tough ending on drums
- Our score increases for older songs were quite varied, ranging from 3K to 980K

Hendrix G0 Round

2010-04-06T23:58:00.014-04:00

This week we'll play last week's Jimi Hendrix DLC (1 album + 1 single), plus our worst songs by rank. This will move us past "Mary G0 Round" for 10th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "One Rainy Wish", by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: I got to say that there certainly is a love/hate feeling towards the late drummer Mitch Mitchell when playing these songs. I can appreciate all the complex beats that he comes up with, but sometimes he throws in some crazy fills and added hits that are almost impossible to replicate. This pretty laid back song is no exception, with its variety of awesome beats with double hits, plus its usual chaotic ending. It was quite a bit of fun to sing as well.

2. "Bold as Love", by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: This song has a nice chill feel and some neat vocals. It definitely has the best fills of the album, for example another unique drum pattern with double hits. The end of the song is great on bass, and overall it is pretty crazy on guitar (arguably more fun on Hard than Expert).

1. "Little Miss Lover", by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: This groovy song has by far the best bass chart of the week due to the constant movement It also has an interesting guitar chart due to the variety of patterns. The drum chart isn't overly difficult but it is also quite fun to play.

Honorable mention. "Little Wing", by The Jimi Hendrix Experience: This is a slower soulful song that contains some awesome fills. It seems the drummer just can't help but throw in some complicated patterns here and there. There were also some fun parts on guitar and vocals.

75% Gold stars and close to the top 10

2010-04-03T19:06:00.014-04:00

This was a great week as we played 32 songs with the optimal line-up, getting 24 Gold stars and gaining 23M points. We now have have a total of 1,081M points, just 7M away from 10th place "Mary G0 Round" in the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Our average points per song is now 977K (up more than 10K). After joining the top 10, our next goal will be to move this average past 1M points. This won't be too difficult as we often gain more than 500K points per song when playing old songs (originally played with less than 4 players and/or not with the optimal line-up).

Another goal will be to have all of our songs ranked below a certain rank. This week all the older songs played were some where we weren't in the top 270. In a few weeks all the songs will be in the top 200, and in a few months every song will be in the top 100 except for some in the "Original 84".

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 32 songs: Gold stars (24), 5 stars (6), 4 stars (2, for "The Hungry Wolf" and "Toxicity")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Sylvie (10), Raikan (8), and Phoenix (7)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (7), followed by Sylvie (4), Raikan (3), and Phoenix (1)
- Sylvie's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", "El Scorcho", "Maps", "Message in a Bottle" and "The Kill"
- Phoenix manages to hit the PS button in the middle of a song...
- We finally get the point increase on "I.V." that we were looking for, getting Gold on the last vocal phrase (only small point increases until this week). Phoenix did a great job with the fast bass drum hits
- We barely survive "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" because of its crazy ending on drums
- Raikan has the hiccups during "Peace of Mind" (even activating overdrive accidentally), but we still manage to gain 400K points... :)

Continuing our climb with a variety of genres

2010-03-31T02:18:00.017-04:00

This week we'll continue our routine of playing last week's new DLC, plus our worst songs by rank. The new songs have some great diversity in terms of genres (punk, indie rock, metal, country and pop-rock).

We'll play between 24 and 32 songs, allowing us to continue our climb of the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We're about 32M points behind 10th place "Mary G0 Round", so we'll try to gain at least 16M to pass them next week.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "All-American Girl", by Carrie Underwood: It's nice to have a fun country song as a single for a change, as they usually come in packs. This adds some variety to the game. As usual for country songs, the guitar chart is quite fun due to lots of movement. The song has a nice flow and it is fairly easy on most instruments except for vocals, which has some neat pitch variation between the chorus and the verses. Drummers, watch out for the slowdown at the end.

2. "Am I Crazy", by Little Fish: Wow, what a great song, definitely the best from this band this week, plus it is free! :) The drum chart is awesome, with a variety of fun patterns. The guitar is pretty easy, even if it contains triple chords. It's neat to see a bit more French content in the game (3 or 4 lines in this song).

1. "Los Angeles", by X: This song brings back a bit of Guitar Hero 80s nostalgia. It is short and sweet, fast, and full of early 80s punk energy. It can be a bit tricky on guitar and bass due to a few fast strumming sections. The "Get out" counterpoint from the female vocalist is great.

Honorable mention. "The Hungry Wolf", by X: This is another neat sounding song by X, with some fast rolls on drums, some tough strumming sections on bass, and some fun vocals. It is not as difficult as "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", but it is a better song overall.

A nice 18M point increase

2010-03-27T20:03:00.017-04:00

This week we only played with the optimal line-up, apart from the Lady Gaga songs where Sylvie sang and Raikan played Bass. After playing last week's new DLC, we played our worst ranked songs (all songs with ranks higher than 325).

We gained 18M points for the evening (1,040M to 1,058M), helping us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards. At this rate we'll be passing "Mary G0 Round" for 10th place in about 2 weeks.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (13), 5 stars (10), 4 stars (1, for "Waking the Demon")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Sylvie (9), Raikan (6), and Phoenix (3)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (4), followed by Raikan (3), Sylvie (2), and Phoenix (1)
- The funniest wah-wah bass moments this week were during "Just Dance", "Control" and "Red Barchetta"
- It was neat to get another 2M point song for "The Who Super Bowl S-Mashup", but the song is so long that it was almost inevitable

Starting our journey towards 10th all-console

2010-03-23T22:02:00.010-04:00

This week we will definitely be passing "Heart." for 11th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards because they are only 2M points ahead. We will start to gain ground on "Mary GO Round" for 10th place and a spot in the RockBandStats.com Hall of Fame! :)

We will be playing last week's new DLC, including all the new Lady Gaga songs. While they were enjoyable overall due to their catchy downtempo vibe, fairly challenging vocals, interesting techno sounds on guitar and bass, plus pretty funny "na-na-na-na" South Park spoof, the rest of the week's DLC make up the entirety of my top 3+ list.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Control", by Mute Math: This song was pretty odd in the first two thirds, but what do you expect from the band that brought us the amazing mindwarp that is the "Typical" video. Making up for it are some great chrouses ("Beautiful Surrender...") and a neat-sounding buildup on all instruments near the end. The bass is interesting at times but the guitar chart is quite simple. The rolls on drums are very difficult but they are a lot of fun to try to master. I really liked the drum chart during the buildup at the end.

2. "It's Not My Time", by 3 Doors Down: The acoustic guitar intro sounded a little bit like the beginning of a Metallica song, but then it quickly morphs into a straightforward clean sounding rock song. What stands out in this song are the variety of fun and challenging drum fills, especially near the end, plus some vocals with nice pitch variation.

1. "The Who Super Bowl S-mashup", by The Who: This is an absolutely epic 5-song superset by a classic band! Relive the greatness that was The Who's performance at this year's Super Bowl (finally out for the PS3). I loved some of the challenging moments on bass in the 2nd half of the song. The end of "Baba O'Riley" was the toughest part on drums, but the funnest had to be the section at the end of "Who Are You".

Honorable mention. "Oh Yeah", by The Subways: This band deserves a mention because of their great drum charts. "Rock & Roll Queen" had some fun fills, followed by a neat "Maps"-like section. "Oh Yeah" edged it slightly in my opinion due to its unique rhythm and its stream of successive double hits. It is quite tough on Expert, but I had a great time trying to FC it on Hard.

Phoenix Down

2010-03-19T22:18:00.008-04:00

This week Phoenix was down and couldn't play drums due to a back injury, and although he started playing Final Fantasy XIII recently, we didn't have a "Phoenix Down" to revive him... ;)

Raikan's girlfriend Chrissy filled in for Phoenix for most of the night on medium bass. Thanks for helping out! We all played different instruments this time around, with Raikan on drums, Sylvie on guitar, and Bongoo on vocals.

We nonetheless managed to increase our total score by 8M points, coming just 2M short of out goal of beating "Heart." for 11th place in the All-Songs Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- No stars breakdown this week as we didn't play many songs all on Expert difficulty
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (20), followed by Bongoo (16), and then Phoenix and Raikan (3 each)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (16), followed by Raikan (1)
- We saw a weird glitch for the 1st time. After restarting a song while the drums and bass were in fail mode, the icon color for those 2 instruments was red instead of the usual white. It stayed that way for the whole song
- Bongoo played drums for "I.V." and one drum stick went flying through the air at the end of a fill. He got some style points for catching it in mid air and continuing to play as if nothing happened... :)

"Heart." killer

2010-03-16T10:03:00.014-04:00

While "Heartkiller" by HIM was released a little while ago, it's still close enough to have this fitting title, as we'll be passing the PS3 band "Heart." in the All-Songs Leaderboards this week.

RockBandStats.com is temporarily down for a server upgrade, but we were 10M points behind "Heart." for 11th place after last week's point increase. We'll easily gain that by playing last week's 9 new DLC and our worst songs by rank.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "All of This", by Shaimus: A blast from the distant past, as this Guitar Hero 1 classic finally comes to Rock Band! The highlight of the song is the killer guitar solo, but it's happy tone makes it neat to hear and play on all instruments. The drum chart is simple but always changing.

2. "Hounds of Love", by The Futureheads: This song is quite catchy, as you'll be singing the "Oh oh oh" parts even if you're not on vocals. The bass chart is pretty simple, but the drums and vocals more than make up for it with some challenging and fun beats and phrases. There are also a few tricky hammer-on chords on guitar.

1. "Walk Away", by James Gang: This band just doesn't know how to make a boring drum beat... While not quite as good as the drum chart for "Funk #49", it's free-flowing sections throughout are a treat to play, especially during the "Seems to me" choruses. The bass chart is also a lot of fun.

Honorable mention. "The Hockey Theme", by Neil Peart: Rush drummer extraordinaire Neil Peart brings our "2nd national anthem" to Rock Band in brilliant fashion. Watch out if you're on Expert drums though, as it is quite tricky (should have been higher than tier 5). This is the 2nd song of the week with only 3 instruments ("Fell in Love with a Girl" by The White Stripes is the 1st song with no bass chart...).

Moving past the "ROCK BAND 3 kids"

2010-03-12T20:18:00.011-05:00

This week we gained 23M points (1,009B t0 1,032B), allowing us to move past the "ROCK BAND 3 kids" for 12th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards. Our next target is another PS3 band, "Heart.", which is 10M points ahead.

We played 33 songs, including last week's new DLC (Disturbed pack + singles), plus our worst songs by rank. We improved on every song we were not in the top 365, often improving our old score by 800K or more. All songs were played with the optimal line-up, except for the last 8-song set. Phoenix had an amazing performance on drums (see highlights), so he got a much needed break in the end by moving to vocals.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 33 songs: Gold stars (18), 5 stars (13), 4 stars (2, for "Downfall" and "I.V.")
- Sylvie was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (19), followed by Bongoo (16), and then Phoenix and Raikan (3 each)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (4), followed by Sylvie (2) and Raikan (1)
- We get 2M points for a song for the first time in a while ("Panic Switch")
- Phoenix did a great job playing "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Mr. Brightside" back to back without missing a beat. Even better was his masterful performance during "Aesthetics of Hate", which allowed us to get a Gold star for a very tough song
- Sylvie's funniest wah-wah bass moments were during "Ride the Lightning" and "Celebrity Skin"
- We needed to hit the Big Rock Ending for "Kickstart My Heart" to get 1M points, but the drum pattern to hit was amazingly difficult...
- After about 1 and a half years playing RB2, we see a new image in the loading screen!? It had something to do with a tour with "Vanity Calamity"

Rock Band 3 announced!

2010-03-09T22:12:00.012-05:00

If you haven't heard already, Rock Band 3 has been officially announced for release in 2010! We'll be eagerly anticipating what the master innovators at Harmonix have in store for us.

How fitting then that this week we'll be trying to move up past the "ROCK BAND 3 kids", who are 20M points aheard of us in 12th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

I now have RockBandStats.com sortings for "Rank", "Score", "Stars", "%-ile" and "Spread" bookmarked in my iPhone, so we'll be able to quickly select and play our worst songs for any of these categories.

In other news this week, Harmonix has realeased their Leaderboards API! That means that future RockBandStats.com updates will be much faster. I will be moving back to retrieving the full range of scores in the next update (top 100,000 for every song, including all RBN songs). Enjoy! :)

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Third Floor Story", by The Mother Hips: A very unique and groovy tune, it almost feels like a different band compared to their old RB1 song and DLC. It is particularly fun on bass.

2. "Panic Switch", by Silversun Pickups: This week was amazing for drummers, due in no small part to the two new DLC from this unique band. "Sort of" was quite a challenge on drums, especially during the guitar solo, but overall I preferred "Panic Switch". The patterns on guitar and drums are fast but they are always fun.

1. "Voices", by Disturbed: It was tough to pick a favorite from this trio of older Disturbed songs, but I picked "Voices" due to its great bass chart. If you play it on guitar, watch out for some tough chord changes at the end. "The Game" also had a really neat sounding bass section at the end. Overall, I really liked the drum charts for all of the new Disturbed DLC. There was a lot of interesting bass pedal patterns in all 3 songs.

Honorable mention. "Downfall", by Trust Company: This Nu-Metal song deserves a mention for its unique and fast drum patterns. The Harmonix drum charters have been on a roll lately (no pun intended)... I guess this made it an even split between Indie Rock and Nu-Metal DLC last week (although "The Mother Hips" is classified as Rock, they sound quite "Indie Rock"-ish).

Next goal: 1 trillion points

2010-03-05T00:33:00.007-05:00

Hmm, unless DLC becomes free and super abundant, that will never happen... :)

We finally managed to reach 1 billion points this week. Fittingly, the song that got us over the edge was "Just for Tonight", by "One Night Only" (now ranked 1st for it). We played about 24 songs, gaining 15M points in the process, finishing with a total of 1.009 billion. That puts us in 13th place ahead of "dead 2 rightss" in the "All Songs" Leaderboards. Our next target are the "ROCK BAND 3 kids" (15M points ahead of us).

Sylvie was sick this week so after playing most of the new DLC, her cousin Blanche took over on Bass. She did a great job, even being the "Top Performer" at one point. Thanks for filling in! :)

For most of the night, we used our RockBandStats.com output on my iPhone to select our worst songs by rank. We improved on each song where we weren't yet in the top 1,000.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (5), 5 stars (15), 4 stars (4)
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (10), followed by Phoenix (8), Sylvie (7), Raikan (2) and Blanche (1)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (4), followed by Sylvie (1)
- The mystery about the missing "Green Day 01" scores was solved, as we realized we had forgotten to download them last summer... oops! :)

Joining an exclusive club

2010-03-03T00:36:00.016-05:00

We are currently in 14th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards, just behind the 13 bands that are part of a very special club: the bands with 1 billion points! With just 6 million points to go, we'll be joining them after playing last week's new DLC.

Yesterday's RockBandStats.com update was the first since the in-game and RockBand.com Leaderboards were fixed. All our scores now appear, so after playing the new DLC, we'll be playing our worst songs by rank or by score. It's impossible to sort by rank or by score in the game, but I now have an iPhone so it will be easy to load up our stats on RockBandStats.com before selecting songs.

One weird thing I noticed is that we are not ranked for the "Green Day 01" songs even though we played them last summer. We'll have to play them again to see if it makes a difference.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Walking on the Moon", by The Police: This is a laid back reggae-infused song, with the highlight being the variety in the drum chart. Songs by this classic band have a tendency to get a bit a repetitive near the end, and this one is no exception (don't worry Sting, we are still "keeping up"...). Neverthless, it has a unique feel so it is worth checking out.

2. "Just for Tonight", by One Night Only: This neat-sounding British pop-rock song is fairly easy but it is quite fun on all instruments. There is one tougher fast-strumming section on guitar to look out for. I didn't expect it but it was a nice surprise. The drum chart is quite interesting too, with an intense solo followed by a really unique and fun drum pattern.

1. "Heartkiller", by HIM: This Finnish alternative rock group has some very good songs. This one was my favorite due to its great hooks and diversity. The drum chart has a number of neat double-hit patterns so you'll never get bored.

Honorable mention. "Ode to Solitude", by HIM: I liked the many heavy riffs in this song, but overall it lacked a bit of cohesion (what does it want to be?). It's a fairly good song on all instruments, but I remember the bass chart being quite enjoyable. This wasn't a metal song, but I hope we eventually get more Finnish metal in the future (more "Children of Bodom", "Kalmah", "Amorphis", "Finntroll", "Korpiklaani", "Nightwish" from the Tarja era, etc...)

1 week away...

2010-02-26T23:50:00.016-05:00

This week our total points moved up from 979M to 994M, which will help us climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We're getting so close to the magic number... :)

We played 28 songs in total, including last week's new DLC, plus all songs with scores below 500K up to letter 'J'.

The good news for us on the PS3 is that the in-game and RockBand.com Leaderboards have finally started updating again after 2 months of being down. That means that the next RockBandStats.com update will have lots of new PS3 scores this coming Monday.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 28 songs: Gold stars (9), 5 stars (16), 4 stars (3, for "Stray Cat Strut", "Let Forever Be" and "Cherry Bomb")
- Sylvie was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (19), followed by Bongoo (17) and Phoenix (3)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (8), followed by Sylvie (5) and Phoenix (1)
- Phoenix does a great job keeping a steady beat throughout "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic". The drum charts for "The Police" are always interesting, but sometimes their songs feel like they will never end
- Sylvie's funniest wah-wah bass moments this week were during "Hey Baby", "Girls on Film" and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
- There was a weird glitch at the end of "Cherry Bomb" where Raikan couldn't activate his vocal section during the big rock ending
- We got the closest ever to our 500K cutoff when we finished with 499,979 points for "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"...

Soul Man meets Jazz Cat

2010-02-24T01:12:00.016-05:00

You know it was a DLC week with lots of variety when there was 6 songs classified as "Other", plus the appearance of a new genre ("Jazz"). Why would a single song get a new genre while the 5-song pack from Soul legend Otis Redding doesn't... It must have something to do with the genre categorization of the upcoming Rock Band Network.

Rounding up the "Other" songs is a trippy one by "The Chemical Brothers". It would be neat if other "Big Beat" electronica acts from the 90s get some DLC, for example "The Crystal Method" and "The Prodigy".

After playing the new DLC from last week, we'll also continue playing songs with scores below 500K (starting with letter 'D') in order to move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Love Man", by Otis Redding: Most of the songs by this legendary Soul musician are a treat to sing, especially "I've Got Dreams to Remember", but "Love Man" edges out the others due to its higher energy and its better drum chart.

2. "Stray Cat Strut", by Brian Setzer: It's a fun and groovy jazz tune that has a unique feel on all instruments. I really like the neat-sounding guitar solo. As with "Let Forever Be" by "The Chemical Brothers", the Bass chart is undertiered (should be at least 4 or 5 instead of 3). It helps to keep the green button down and just tap the rest of the notes.

1. "Weightless", by All Time Low: I don't usually enjoy "commercial"-sounding Pop-Rock songs like this one, but it kind of grows on you as the song progresses plus the drum chart is amazing. It has 4 unique beats that are all a lot of fun to play. The guitar chart is quite fun as well.

Honorable mention. "Fascination", by Alphabeat: By far the best guitar chart of the week due to its constant movement and unique patterns. That's one more Band Hero song now part of the ever-growing Rock Band collection.

Charlene FBFC + Raikan domination

2010-02-20T10:02:00.006-05:00

While it may not seem that impressive, it is worth noting that we finally got our "Charlene" full band FC (full combo). :) Raikan managed to hit the "My mind is kissing you" phrase, plus nobody else made a stupid mistake. That makes it our 6th "maxed out" song (after "Thank You Boys", "Cups and Cakes", "Doll", "No Hassle Night" and "Saucy Jack") We are currently improving every score below 500K (at letter 'D').

We also had lots of fun playing the "Rust in Peace" album by Megadeth. The only song where we didn't get above 500K on our first try with everyone on Expert was "Take No Prisoners". Phoenix and Sylvie hit a very important unison bonus at the beginning to save Bongoo (crazy fast guitar riff 20 sec. in). Raikan dominated in terms of "Top Performer", doing a great job impersonating Dave Mustaine.

Our total points moved up from 967M to 979M, which will help us climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards. At this rate we'll be in the billion point club in 2 weeks.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (6), 5 stars (8), 4 stars (9), 3 stars (1, for "Take No Prisoners")
- Raikan was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (9), followed by Bongoo (7), Sylvie (6) and Phoenix (3)
- Raikan had the most FCs (4), followed by Sylvie and Phoenix (2 each), and Bongoo (1)
- We miss our 500K goal for "Cherry Bomb" by 120 points...

Metal Mania

2010-02-16T17:45:00.012-05:00

This week we'll play Megadeth's classic album "Rust in Peace", which was released last week. It is perfect timing as we'll be seeing Megadeth as part of the 2010 edition of the Heavy MTL festival this summer. It will have Megadeth, Slayer and Testament on Saturday July 24th, plus the Mayhem Festival bands on Sunday July 25th.

While waiting for the download, it will be a perfect opportunity to watch the excellent metal documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" (8.1 on IMDB), by Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn. It is great look at the history of the genre and its appeal as a subculture.

Once we're done playing the Megadeth album, we'll continue playing songs with scores below 500K (starting with letter 'C') in order to move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (no "The Who" medley on PS3 yet):

3. "Tornado of Souls", by Megadeth: This song has a non-stop flurry of interesting and challenging guitar riffs plus some fun drum beats. It doesn't let go for 1 second. Watch out for a killer section in the guitar solo.

2. "Lucretia", by Megadeth: A really fun diversion from the traditional thrash metal song. It includes some really neat hammer-on sections for guitar and bass, plus a pretty funky drum chart.

1. "Hanger 18", by Megadeth: A truly epic metal song which was a highlight of Guitar Hero 2. It is quite melodic and heavy, building up to an insane flurry of guitar solos from virtuosos Marty Friedman and Dave Mustaine. I really like the bass and drum charts, especially the beat during solo 2B.

Honorable mention. "Poison Was the Cure", by Megadeth: This song is fast and really short, but it has one of the best drum charts of the week due to its variety of patterns.

Starting with the end

2010-02-12T22:27:00.008-05:00

This week we started by playing a few 3-player songs while Phoenix was fixing his computer. We started with "The End" by Pearl Jam (only song with no drums), before moving on to some crazy guitar songs by virtuosos Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani.

We ended up playing about 24 songs with the full band, finishing all songs with scores below 400K, and then playing songs below 500K up to letter 'C'. We were just shy of 500K for "Charlene (I'm Right Behind You)" (need full band FC with a good path), so we restarted it quite a few times. It's not difficult, but there was always someone missing in at least one spot. We'll start with that song next week. If we succeed, "Charlene" will become our 6th maxed out song.

Our total points moved up from 958M to 967M, which will help us climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards. Next week we'll play Megadeth's classic album "Rust in Peace"! :)

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs (not counting the songs played with 3 players): Gold stars (11), 5 stars (9), 4 stars (1), 3 stars (3, for "Timmy & the Lords of the Underworld", "Bad Omen" and "Black Magic")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (12), followed by Sylvie (11), Raikan (5) and Phoenix (4)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (6), followed by Sylvie (3) and Phoenix (1)
- Sylvie's wah-wah bass was quite funny during "Calling Dr. Love"
- Raikan does a sneeze activation during "All Going Out Together"... :)

New DLC break

2010-02-09T23:18:00.006-05:00

This week we won't play any new DLC as the only pack released last week was the rest of the previously exclusive Country Track Pack songs. We'll concentrate on improving some scores, starting with songs with scores below 400K at letter 'T'. This will help us climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (songs played last summer so tough to remember chart details):

3. "On the Road Again", by Willie Nelson: A classic song from one of the most well-known country music pioneers. A little bland on drums, but you're bound to have fun singing along.

2. "Swing", by Trace Adkins: A fun song to hear and play due to the subject matter and how the story takes a turn.

1. "Suds in the Bucket", by Sara Evans: A great mix of old and new country, it has a fun guitar\violin solo near the end, plus some neat-sounding vocal sections.

Honorable mention. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy", by Kenny Chesney: This song deserves a mention due to us twisting the words to say "She Thinks the Trapper's Sexy", which got us a few laughs... :)

Hassle Night

2010-02-05T20:24:00.009-05:00

"No Hassle Night" turned out to be a hassle tonight as it took quite a few tries to pass the crazy drum intro... :) Phoenix eventually passed it by treating the red notes as a fast roll. We can add that song to the list of "maxed out" songs (now totalling 5, including "Saucy Jack" which we also played tonight, plus "Thank You Boys", "Cups and Cakes" and "Doll").

After playing the classic song "Godzilla", we ended up playing another 23 with the optimal line-up. These were all songs where our score was below 400K (titles from letters G to T). Next week there is no new DLC so we'll finish the "below 400K" songs and then start the "below 500K" ones.

After the main set, we played another 8 songs with the Trapper on Bass and some instrument swaps. We still managed to increase 3 of those songs past 400K. It was neat that the Trapper still assumed his duties as Pathmaster while playing Bass.

Our career score is now up 12M to 958M. If only the PS3 leaderboards could finally update (broken since the last patch), we could see our new total at the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs (not counting the last 8): Gold stars (10), 5 stars (10), 4 stars (4, for "Parasite (Live)", "Life is Beautiful", "Sick, Sick, Sick" and "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Sylvie (11), Raikan (8), Trapper (2) and Phoenix (1)
- Sylvie had the most FCs (7), followed by Raikan and Bongoo (3 each)
- Sylvie uses the "Wah-Wah" effect on Bass and it gets pretty funny during songs like "Sick, Sick, Sick"
- The crazy long Big Rock Ending of "Iron Maiden (Live)" is a workout as it goes to more than 100K points... and then we miss it! :) It's pretty tough on drums...

"Go go Godzilla", and other fine tunes

2010-02-03T01:19:00.006-05:00

This week we'll play Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla", the only new DLC track released last week. The other songs were part of the previously released Metal Track Pack, which we've already played.

That means that we'll have more time to increase scores below a certain threshold. We'll start by playing songs with scores below 400K after "Green Grass and High Tides" (where we stopped last week). This will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (includes the previously exclusive Metal Track Pack songs I played last September):

3. "Bulls on Parade", by Rage Against the Machine: Not the most difficult of songs, but it's definitely a rockin' track from an amazing group. Brings back a bit of Guitar Hero 3 nostalgia.

2. "Levitate", by I Mother Earth: This song is quite complex on all instruments and comes from a great Canadian alternative rock band (now defunct). What makes this song extra special is the nice flow of the drum chart.

1. "Godzilla", by Blue Öyster Cult: An amazing song to play on guitar with its great vibe and numerous challenging solos. It's nice to play this old classic again, as it was part of the original Guitar Hero. This time it sounds even better as it is a master track.

Honorable mention. "Killed by Death '08", by Motörhead: This classic metal group always brings some high-energy chops and this re-recording is no exception. While the song drags on near the end, it has a few interesting guitar solos.

Closer to 1 billion points

2010-01-29T19:34:00.015-05:00

We once again played 24 songs this week, including the 9 new DLC tracks from last week. We gained 17M points (929M to 946M points), so it looks like we'll finally join the 1 billion point club in February. You can see the current list of billion point bands at the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

There were some interesting ties for "Top Performer", including a full band FC of "Doll", a 4-way tie at 99% for "Jammin' Me (Live)", plus a triple FC for "The Waiting (Live)".

We finished all songs below 400K up to letter 'G' (last song played was "Green Grass and High Tides"). There are now two more DLC tracks that are maxed out (won't get above 400K), "Cups and Cakes" and "Doll" (joining "Thank You Boys" from last week).

"Godzilla" is the only new DLC track for our next 2 sessions as Harmonix is releasing all previously exclusive Track Pack songs as DLC (from the Metal and Country packs which we already played). That means that'll be improving on a lot of old scores, perhaps improving all scores below 500K.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (13), 5 stars (11)
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (14), followed by Phoenix and Sylvie (10 each) and Raikan (3)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (8), followed by Sylvie (4), Phoenix (3) and Raikan (1)
- Our first music video was for "Down with the Sickness", and even after playing "Green Grass and High Tides", it's still our song with the most points (2.44M)
- After seeing some hilarious Youtube videos of the PC mini-game "Sumotori Dreams", we download it on our break... check it out, it's worth it! :)

Fun Phoenix drum charts for Phoenix

2010-01-27T00:04:00.007-05:00

This week we'll play last week's new DLC (9 songs), plus improve on our worst songs by score (except the ones like "Thank You Boys" where we're already maxed). This will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Nightwatchman (Live)", by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: The 2nd Tom Petty Live DLC 6-pack has some pretty good songs (ex: "Century City", "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)"), but overall I prefer the 1st 6-pack we got 2 months ago. Out of the new songs "Nightwatchman" stands out for having a really fun guitar chart, easily the best guitar chart this week.

2. "Lisztomania", by Phoenix: The drum charts for this band are quite interesting and unique. While the band's sound won't be to everyone's liking, if you want to have a decent challenge and add some variety to your collection, don't hesitate to pick these up. The vocals on this track are quite difficult as there are sections with lots of pitch changes and no breaks.

1. "1901", by Phoenix: Easily the best DLC this week. The song has a driving funky rhythm and is fun on all instruments. It's interesting that this band comes from the same region of France as electronica pioneers Daft Punk. Another outstanding drum chart, worthy of the name Phoenix... :)

Honorable mention. "Blue Jeans", by Silvertide: This is a somewhat "commercial" rock song (not usually a good thing), but the great charts on all instruments (especially on drums) make it stand out vs. the other Tom Petty songs.

14-song Gold streak

2010-01-22T19:26:00.007-05:00

This week we played 24 songs, including last week's DLC plus every song with a score below 300K. Our total score is now 929M, up from 907M, helping us climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

The pathmaster (Trapper) had some neat paths for us right from the start (improvised, but effective), leading to a 14-song Gold star streak, including all 5 new Alice in Chains songs. It was "Saucy Jack"'s tricky drum chart that finally broke the streak. All in all, we ended up getting 21 of 24 Gold stars for the night. Sylvie and Phoenix both had great sessions: her numerous FCs and his endurance on a few tough drum songs allowed us to squeeze a few more Gold stars.

To finish every song with a score below 300K, we also played 2 of the game's instrumentals, plus one song with some at Medium or Hard difficulty ("They're Red Hot"). These are not counted in the stats for the 24 songs. The only song where we could not get more than 300K is "Thank You Boys" by Jane's Addiction. This groovy jazz tune is really short, plus it doesn't help that it only has one vocal phrase.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (21), 5 stars (3, for "Saucy Jack", "Shhh..." and "ABC")
- Sylvie was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (16), followed by Bongoo (11), Raikan (5) and Phoenix (4)
- Sylvie had the most FCs (9), followed by Bongoo (5) and Raikan (4)
- The Trapper also acted as roadie when Phoenix dropped his drum sticks, just in time for us to hit the next unison bonus... :)

No bones about it

2010-01-19T22:59:00.012-05:00

This week we'll play last week's Alice in Chains DLC pack (the only DLC released), plus improve on some really bad scores (only 2 left below 200K, then we'll do under 300K, etc...). This will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

I find it odd that "Them Bones", my favourite Alice in Chains song, was not part of their 2nd DLC 5-pack. It was in Harmonix's Guitar Hero 2 after all... Perhaps it means that we'll see a 3rd Alice in Chains 5-pack down the road, also including 2 tracks from their latest CD.

Unfortunately the official PS3 Leaderboards (in-game and at RockBand.com) are still not updating, but I'm confident that once they're back up, what we've played during the downtime will eventually appear.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Your Decision", by Alice in Chains: The guitar chart and the song starts out pretty mellow, but it ends up being a fun guitar song. This is another track from their latest CD.

2. "Last of My Kind", by Alice in Chains: This song, which is also from their last CD, has some pretty heavy riffs and reminds me a bit of the old Alice in Chains. The vocals in the section just before the chorus sounds a bit like the chorus of "Dragula" by Rob Zombie.

1. "We Die Young", by Alice in Chains: The opener for one of the best Alice in Chains albums. Heavy, intense, plus short and sweet, it is a great DLC track. It has some challenging chord changes on guitar, but is always a blast to play. Alas, Layne Staley did indeed die much too young...

Honorable mention. "Heaven Beside You", by Alice in Chains: A groovy, laid back kind of song that is pretty fun on guitar. Now please bring on "Them Bones"! :)

Pixies + Mötley Crüe marathon

2010-01-15T00:03:00.016-05:00

This week we played last week's DLC, plus almost all the remaining songs below 200K (now only 2 left: "There Goes My Gun" and "Time For Change"), for a total of 24 songs. Our total went up from 885M to 907M, helping us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

It seemed like every 2nd song we played near the end were from the Pixies or Mötley Crüe. Someone had fun playing their two albums on solo drums when Rock Band 2 came out...

We started paying more attention to paths (like the good old days of on-disk songs), timing our activations with Raikan on vocals. Thanks again to the Trapper for resuming his role as the Pathmaster as he helped us get many Gold stars.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (14), 5 stars (9), 4 stars (1, for "Summertime Blues (Live at Leeds))"
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (19), followed by Sylvie (14), Phoenix (4), and then Raikan (2) (for a total of 39, so many ties this week...)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (7), followed by Sylvie (5), and then Raikan (1)
- Bongoo had to restart "Highway to Hell (Live)" quite a few times before finally hitting both energy sections to move past the crazy trill section in the opening solo
- We have one of our only 4-way ties for "Top Performer" as we all get 99% on "La La Love You" (none with the "Top Performer" label)! :)

To update or not to update, that is the question

2010-01-12T22:57:00.009-05:00

This week we'll play last week's new DLC plus a lot of songs with bad scores (previously played on solo drums). This will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Unfortunately the official PS3 Leaderboards (in-game and at RockBand.com) have stopped updating since the release of last week's patch. We'll play anyway, hoping that our scores will eventually appear. At worst we'll just replay the songs at a later date.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Adam's Song", by Blink-182: It seems like Travis Barker, Blink-182's drummer, can't do anything that is not fast and/or complex... :) It's probably one of the toughest Tier 4 drum songs in terms of keeping a good note streak. The song is much easier on the other instruments, and overall is a lot of fun to play and hear.

2. "Band on the Run (Live)", by Paul McCartney: Finally a Beatles member has a song in the main Rock Band platform! This is a great sounding 3-part song with interesting transitions. It almost feels like 3 individual songs but the lyrics bind it together nicely.

1. "First Date", by Blink-182: An amazing song to play on drums. There are at least three pretty difficult patterns, but they're all unique and flow very well. The standout chart of the week.

Honorable mention. "Rock 'n' Roll High School", by The Ramones: Like most other Ramones songs, this song is short, has some neat fast-changing chords on guitar, and a drum chart that will kill your right arm... :)

New sorting by stars is helpful

2010-01-07T10:41:00.012-05:00

A new patch was released for RB2 on the PS3, adding among other things the ability to sort songs by stars. We were originally going to pick the worst songs by score (ex: starting with below 100K), but being able to scroll down from 3 stars allowed us to save some valuable time. Thanks Harmonix! :)

I did notice today that there are a lot of songs where we have below 200K that we didn't see in the star-sorted list yesterday. That is probably because the star rating is based on the instrument and difficulty combination when it was originally played. Therefore some well played songs on solo drums will be at the bottom of the star-sorted band list. It looks like we'll have to continue using our RockBandStats.com score output and/or scrolling down the whole list to find the low score songs, at least until Harmonix adds a "Sort by Score" option.

We ended up playing about 36 songs, mostly ones where we had 3 or 4 stars and a score below 300K. In the next few weeks, we'll probably concentrate on moving up all our scores to 5 stars, starting with songs with the lowest score (playing on Hard sometimes if we have to). Our total score went up from 866M to 885M, helping us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 36 songs: Gold stars (9), 5 stars (13), 4 stars (9), 3 stars (5, for "They're Red Hot", "Thrasher", "Wake Up Dead", "B.Y.O.B." and "Run to the Hills (Original Version)")
- Near the end Trapper resumes his role as the Pathmaster, leading to many Gold stars, thanks!
- Sylvie's friend Brendan helps us out on Bass for a few songs, thanks!
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (16), followed by Phoenix (11), Sylvie (10), Raikan (8), and then Brendan (1)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (5), followed by Sylvie and Raikan (2 each), and then Phoenix and Brendan (1 each)
- We play "They're Red Hot" many times in order to move it up past a certain score threshold (100K, then 200K, etc...), but we'll have to play on Hard to gain more points
- Some of the songs in the 3-star and 4-star categories are very difficult on Drums, and Pheonix manages to survive an 8-set that starts with "Run to the Hills (Original Version)", "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate", "Clouds Over California" and "Ever Fallen in Love"! :)

Time to improve some scores

2010-01-06T00:16:00.007-05:00

Tonight there is no new DLC to play as last week saw the release of some songs we already have from the Country Track Pack. That means that we'll concentrate on playing our worst ranked songs. A lot of these bad band scores were obtained while playing solo drums, so that will mean some big point increases. This will help us move up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (played last summer so excuse the brevity):

3. "I Told You So", by Keith Urban: A pretty good sounding song with a galloping feel.

2. "The Gambler", by Kenny Rogers: A classic song, you can't miss by getting this one.

1. "Good Time", by Alan Jackson: This song is indeed a great time all around, but especially on guitar (or is it violin)?

Honorable mention. "She's Country", by Jason Aldean: Not too difficult, but it has a good "country" feel, with a few heavier riffs.

Finishing all the songs with DMan

2009-12-31T16:14:00.015-05:00

Last night we had a very special guest, as Maca "Hall of Famer" DMan made a surprise appearance. With only 46 songs left to enter a score for (out of 1021), we decided to finish the year in style by completing every song in the game. We also played a special request from DMan ("Conventional Lover") and our worst ranked song.

The 1021st song we played was Wolfmother's "Pilgrim", and the past year's journey to play all the songs was indeed a very interesting musical pilgrimage. From SpongeBob SquarePants to Cannibal Corpse, we played almost every music style imaginable. 2010 will be even more interesting with the release of the Rock Band Network, provided the PS3 gets a decent selection of tracks.

From now on we'll always start our sessions by playing the new DLC, followed by the worst ranked songs. That way we'll continue to climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We have a ton of songs that were played with 1 to 3 instruments, so there is a lot to catch up on.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 48 songs: Gold stars (11), 5 stars (35), 4 stars (2, for "World Turning" and "Woman")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (28), followed by Sylvie (13), DMan (12), and then Pheonix (6)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (9), followed by DMan (6), and then Sylvie (2)
- We barely survive "White Unicorn", which has an intense drum section near the end
- Sylvive complains that she doesn't have much to do on bass during "Club Foot", and then it suddenly becomes very intense with some rapid-fire notes (as Trapper says, "careful what you wish for")
- We end the year and DMan's special visit with a late night trip to Perkins, which has now become one of the band's regular joints (with "Pub Italia")
- Happy New Year to all! :)

More holiday fun

2009-12-30T00:33:00.004-05:00

Tonight we'll have another holiday Rock Band 2 session, once again without Raikan. We'll probably play 32 unranked songs, moving us up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Build a Bridge", by Limp Bizkit: You might not recognize Limp Bizkit when playing this song, as they are more thoughtful and mellow than usual. A good track that is lots of fun on guitar.

2. "A Lot Like Me", by The Offspring: Not as difficult as some other Offspring songs, but the triple chord changes made me think I was back playing Guitar Hero 80's... :) It's a great sounding song from their last album, especially the chorus starting with "And the rain comes...".

1. "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To", by Weezer: This song is groovy. It has a great rhythm, being a bit tricky but always fun on all instruments. The lyrics are great, progressing nicely throughout the song (gotta love the "Slayer" reference).

Honorable mention. "Ocean Avenue", by Yellowcard: I love the drum chart on this one. Keeping a note streak during some of those fast rolls is a great feeling. A fun song overall from a pretty good band I had not heard before.

Happy Holidays from the Macas!

2009-12-24T17:07:00.008-05:00

Last night we had a lot of fun, playing 24 songs with a new line-up, including 2 weeks of new DLC. We didn't get many gold stars (just one), but it didn't matter as it was all in holiday fun. We wish everyone some Happy Holidays! Stay safe and be merry!

We gained 15M points (new total of 824M), helping us climb the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (1), 5 stars (10), 4 stars (9), 3 stars (4)
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (18), followed by Phoenix (6), and then Sylvie (1)
- Bongoo had the single FC of the night
- Phoenix drops his drum sticks during a song, continues to play with his hands, and recovers them nicely during a drum fill section
- Bongoo more than doubles his previous Q*bert record while the new DLC was downloading, getting more than 100,000 points
- Phoenix does a great job translating the "Take Me to the River" vocals to French in real-time while drumming :)

A pre-Christmas jam with some Rochefort 10

2009-12-23T01:22:00.012-05:00

Tonight we'll have a special pre-Christmas session, with the Trapper replacing Raikan as he is traveling home for the Holidays. Sylvie will move to vocals and the Trapper will play bass. I've finally received the special order of the best beer in the world, Rochefort 10, so we'll be enjoying that as well. :)

We'll likely play between 24 and 32 unranked songs, including two weeks of new DLC (this week's DLC was early on the PS3), moving us up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "¡Viva la Gloria!", by Green Day: If you haven't heard already, "Green Day: Rock Band" will be the next game released by Harmonix. This would not have been my first choice for a band-based game, but the fact that the songs will be exportable is great news (their early songs should be a blast to play). Hopefully all future band-based games will have that feature. Now last week saw the release of the 2nd 3-pack from Green Day's latest album. To be honest the songs from that album have been fairly bland to hear and play, but "¡Viva la Gloria!" stands out from the group for its interesting transitions. The vocal intro is accompanied by some neat orchestrations, and if the drummer has fallen asleep, he's in for a rude awakening, especially at the end. :)

2. "This is War", by 30 Seconds To Mars: It's about time that we get more songs from this group. Their last DLC was released almost 2 years ago ("The Kill" and "Attack"), and it had some very interesting charts (especially on drums). What stands out for me from this group is their ability to create great build-ups (see the end of "The Kill" for example). These build-ups are also present in their 2 new songs, but an interesting addition is the great crowd sing-alongs, making the tracks even more epic.

1. "Kings and Queens", by 30 Seconds To Mars: A great song with some very tough drum sections. I particularly like the variety of the guitar chart. The build-up at the end is very powerful, having a kind of ethereal quality. In my opinion, the songs from this group are much more interesting and complex than most songs by the week's feature group, Green Day.

Honorable mention. "Gives You Hell", by The All-American Rejects: When I first heard this song at the 2008 VGAs, I found it pretty annoying. But playing it in Rock Band is surprisingly fun, especially the somewhat unique drum chart and the section at the end on guitar.

Back to playing 32 songs

2009-12-17T10:37:00.008-05:00

Last night was lots of fun. We started earlier than usual, which allowed us to play 32 songs for the first time in a while. If we contine at this pace, we'll have played all the songs pretty soon.

We downloaded last week's DLC at the start of the session, giving time during the download for Bongoo's traditional Q*bert session. After lots of hair-rising moves and untimely deaths at the hands of red balls, coiled serpents and crazy-sounding purple aliens, it was time to start rockin'.

Our first 8-song set included last week's DLC, starting with Bongoo's top 3 (see last post). We'll do that every week from now on. After that we randomly picked some unranked DLC, which naturally included lots of now classic Lego Rock Band songs.

We gained 31M points (close to our goal of getting an average of at least 1M per song), our total going up from 778M to 809M points, which will help us in our climb of the "All Songs" Leaderboards. We're now getting closer to 16th place "Sè+ùà Àssàù+ Sòfà", a band with one of the oddest names in the Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 32 songs: Gold stars (13), 5 stars (14), 4 stars (5, for "Sulfur", "Duality", "One Vision", "Aces High (Live)" and "You're Gonna Hear from Me")
- Sylvie had a great night as she was the "Top Performer" for almost every song (22), followed by Bongoo (8), Phoenix (7), and then Raikan (5)
- Sylvie had the most FCs (8), followed by Phoenix (4), and then Bongoo (3)
- Phoenix did an amazing job on drums on "Two Princes" and "Aces High (Live)"

The Sounds of Slipknot

2009-12-16T02:00:00.014-05:00

Last week there was a very interesting clash of genres released as DLC. Perhaps even more of a contrast than the "Disturbed/Jimmy Buffett" week we had in early June 2008, we got great tracks from both Simon & Garfunkel and Slipknot! :) Add to that a pretty good free song and it becomes a classic DLC week.

Tonight we'll likely play between 24 and 32 unranked songs, moving us up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "Psychosocial", by Slipknot: I remember going to see Machine Head" in 1999 in Montréal. They were the 2nd band of 3, with "Coal Chamber" headlining (didn't care much for them). What I had not anticipated was the amazing raw energy of the opening band, Slipknot. They were fairly unknown then, but they easily stole the show that night with their aggressive style, heavy riffs, pounding rhythm, and unique visual style. There were rumors that they didn't want to be included in rhythm games, their last song coming way back in GH3. I'm glad they changed their mind, as tracks like "Psychosocial" are a blast to play. They may have become more mainstream as years went by, but this song in parts is as heavy as they've ever been. I love the main guitar riff, plus the chorus sounds great.

2. "Sulfur", by Slipknot: Amazing song on all instruments. On bass its constant movement makes it one of the funnest songs in a long time. It has some crazy drum sections, especially at the beginning, but if you survive, you'll be treated with some amazingly fun beats in the second half of the song. If you've followed these posts, you'll notice that I like complex drum beats that are fast but not impossible (think "Funk #49" and "Science Genius Girl"), and this one delivers in spades. Let's hope for some more Slipnot in the future ("Wait and Bleed" would be great).

1. "The Sounds of Silence", by Simon & Garfunkel: A classic song, made even more popular by its inclusion in the movie "The Graduate". This would have been awesome with the harmonies feature. This song is fairly simple and easy on all instruments, but it's such a great-sounding song on vocals that it becomes great to hear and play.

Honorable mention. "Dreaming of Love", by Lights Resolve: I usually play songs on bass first, so on first listen I thought it would be a very easy song on guitar and drums. While not overly complex, I was happily suprised to discover that it does have some interesting beats and chord changes. Part of the chorus reminded me a bit of Coldplay in terms of singing style. Keep those free tracks coming! :)

A little snow won't stop the Macas...

2009-12-10T01:47:00.009-05:00

Today was the first big snowstorm of the season, and it caused havok on the roads. It took me 2 hours to get home from work, plus I had more than an hour of shoveling to do. Although our session started late because of this, we still managed to squeeze in a session with 18 unranked DLC.

The "All Songs" Leaderboards will be refreshed on Friday or Saturday, and I can see from the new totals that tonight's increase from 759M to 778M would technically move us up to 17th place past "Cobra Kai Dojo" and "Cøølsville Killers".

I can also confirm that "Mary G0 Round" will move up to 9th place, becoming the 10th band to join the billion point club. Congrats!

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 18 songs: Gold stars (10), 5 stars (7), 4 stars (1, for "Under My Wheels (Live)")
- Bongoo was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (8), followed by Sylvie (7), Raikan (4), and then Phoenix (2)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (3), followed by Sylvie and Raikan (2 each), and then Phoenix (1)
- It was neat that we gold-starred more than half the songs tonight, plus we got more than 1M points per song on average. It helps that we played all songs with our optimal line-up.

Smells Like Maca Spirit!

2009-12-08T23:13:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow we'll continue our DLC journey, including playing some great new DLC like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. This song was announced ages ago, so it's nice to finally have it as part of the game.

We'll probably play between 24 and 32 songs, moving us up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "You're Gonna Hear It From Me", by Night Ranger: This 80's stadium rock band was unknown to me until their DLC 3-pack was released. Their songs are great on all instruments, but what stands out are their amazing guitar solos. This song has the easiest solo out of the three songs, but that also makes it the funnest.

2. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", by Night Ranger: This is their best song in my opinion. It has some crazy hard guitar solos, but the highlight is a surprisingly fun drum chart. The beats are unique, varied, and pretty fast but never impossible (always a good combination).

1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", by Nirvana: The anthem of a generation, what a classic song! I started high school in 1991 (yeah, I'm old...), so I can't count the number of times I jumped around to that song. It's great on all instruments, but I particularly like playing it on drums.

Honorable mention. "New Fang", by Them Crooked Vultures: If it wasn't for a somewhat bland guitar chart, it probably would have made my top 3. The song's unique rhythm makes it fun on drums and bass. You can really tell that it's a blend of members of Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. Watch out for that ending on drums! I had to keep a steady beat, omitting the extra notes, otherwise I might have failed.

Back in the RB2 groove

2009-12-03T01:30:00.005-05:00

Tonight we got back into our normal routine of playing some unranked DLC in RB2. We played 24 songs and gained about 27M points.

Out of the approximately 1000 songs released so far for the RB platform, we have 95 that are still unranked in RB2. If we assume that there are about 8 new DLC per week, we will have a score for each song in 4-6 weeks. At that point we'll play some of our lowest scored songs, including some whose score was obtained by playing with only 1 instrument.

With our total score increasing to 759M this week, this moves us past "Cobra Kai Dojo" for 18th place in the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 24 songs: Gold stars (11), 5 stars (11), 4 stars (2, for "666" and "School")
- Sylvie was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (13), followed by Bongoo (12), Phoenix (3), and then Raikan (1)
- Bongoo had the most FCs (2), followed by Sylvie and Raikan (1 each)
- Phoenix did a great job on "Fire" from Jimi Hendrix, a pretty tricky drum song

A DLC explosion

2009-12-01T23:09:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow we go back to playing Rock Band 2 for the first time in a month. We have a ton of DLC to catch up on (6 weeks), including all the exported Lego Rock Band songs. We will likely play between 24 and 32 songs, which will move us up the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week:

3. "American Girl", by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: As for most songs from this group, this song has some great guitar solos, but this one takes the cake in terms of complexity. I was quite impressed with the quality of these Live selections. Usually I prefer studio tracks, but when they are of this quality, it can actually enhance the experience. It helps that the "Live Anthology" spans their whole career, increasing the number of quality recordings and performances.

2. "Mary Jane's Last Dance", by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: A well-written tune that has a great vibe, especially the feel of the sections with the harmonica. The song is not overly complex, but it certainly is fun to play and hear.

1. "Refugee", by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: The song has a steady beat and is fun on all instruments, plus it has a pretty catchy chorus. If I remember correctly, some of the Tom Petty songs have crowd singalongs, and this one is no exception. Whether it's the real crowd or if it was added to the recording, what matters is that it sounds great.

Honorable mention. "Here Comes My Girl", by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: No relation to the Pixies song as far as I know. It deserves a mention for the neat buildups leading up to the choruses. If the rumors about RB3 having a keyboard are true, those choruses will be fun to play. Like some other songs from this pack, it is pretty simple, but it has a great feel.

A blocking good time!

2009-11-26T09:42:00.010-05:00

We did it! By finishing Lego Rock Band, we now have a legion of alien fans, ready to do our bidding! :)

While it might have taken us longer than expected (4 sessions instead of 2 or 3), it was definitely worthwhile for its offbeat humor and unique characters.

All the special challenges were a lot of fun, including the last one with the asteroid. If we had to choose our favorite though, it would have to be the Ghostbusters sequence with its surprise apparition. Creating interesting roadies and other staff was rewarded by seeing them in the story sequences (ex: our "emo" roadie got a lot of screen time, he must have needed attention...).

Next week it's time to start catching up on six weeks of DLC, plus we'll revisit the great songs from Lego Rock Band by using the Export feature. We'll eventually join the billion point club (see the "All Songs" Leaderboards).

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 19 songs: Gold stars (8), 5 stars (11)
- Sylvie was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (13), followed by Bongoo (12), and then Phoenix (9)
- Sylvie had the most FCs (9), followed by Phoenix (8), and then Bongoo (6)
- To make sure we finished this week, we had a steady rotation of "Charlene" and "Doll" for "Make your own" setlists. Raikan was almost always just 1 vocal phrase away from us getting full band FCs on both songs.

The final block

2009-11-25T00:39:00.010-05:00

Tonight we will finish Lego Rock Band, and then go back to playing some RB2 DLC in order to keep climbing the "All Songs" Leaderboards.

Here is my top 3 DLC from last week (Note: "New Fang" wasn't considered because it hasn't been released on PS3 yet):

3. "Medicate", by AFI: A driving song which is fun on all instruments. It has a good breakdown in the middle, something that seems pretty common for AFI.

2. "Walk Like an Egyptian", by The Bangles: Very catchy tune that is certain to be a crowd favorite. The drums are trickier than I would have expected, which is a good thing.

1. "The Leaving Song, Pt. II", by AFI: In my opinion the best song of the week due to its great riffs and constant energy. The breakdown once again is well done, having a bit of a "Tool" vibe.

Honorable mention. "Beautiful Thieves", by AFI: The song has its ups and downs, for example having somewhat bland verses. But the song deserves a special mention here due to its great uplifiting choruses.

Elated aliens and troll bashing

2009-11-19T01:38:00.011-05:00

Tonight we continued our Lego Rock Band journey, trying to unlock more venues to play some of the unique special challenges. With only a handful of venues to go, I can now say with certainty that we'll finish the game next week.

Once again the story sequences and special challenges were quite entertaining. We saw the ice melting scene, the Lord of the Rings style battle (example message: "Awesome troll bashing"), plus the alien saucer powering (example message: "The aliens are elated"). We had just unlocked the moon when we decided to call it a night.

One part of the story that left us a bit puzzled: If the aliens were so eager to make us sign a contract, how come they decided to play next instead of telling us to?

Highlights:
- Stars breakdown for the 18 songs: Gold stars (7), 5 stars (7), 4 stars (4)
- Sylvie was the "Top Performer" for the most songs (9), followed by Phoenix and Bongoo (5 each), and then Raikan (2)
- Phoenix had the most FCs (4), followed by Sylvie and Bongoo (3 each), and then Raikan (2)
- We continued our strategy of playing short songs for "Make your own" sets to progress faster through the game (ex: "Charlene" or "Crackity Jones", plus we added "Doll" this week)
- It was a nice touch to see the Roadies we created last week appear in the story sequences! :)