Rock Encyclopedia

Keyboards! Harmonies! Pro Guitar! Two epic Queen packs make their way to Rock Band 3 next week

Harmonix and MTV Games  announced that two packs of songs from legendary rock band Queen, featuring both songs new to the Rock Band platform as well as harmonies, keys and Pro Guitar/Bass upgrades to previously released songs, will be available Dec. 7 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3  and Wii.

Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 800 artists and more than 2,000* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band’s gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. To date, more than 75 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch Nov. 20, 2007. (more…)

Launch Event to Raise Funds and Awareness for The Call of Duty Endowment

Metallica has partnered with Activision Publishing, Inc. to headline the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event on November 4 at Santa Monica Airport’s Hangar 8.  The event will feature a performance by the GRAMMY-Award winning band, honor the six branches of the Armed Forces and raise $1 million for The Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit, public benefit corporation founded by Activision Blizzard that helps soldiers with the transition to civilian life and help them establish jobs and careers. Call of Duty: Black Ops will release worldwide on November 9.

“We are honored to have Metallica partner with us to pay tribute to the brave servicemen and women who have risked their lives at war only to return home to find their biggest challenge is searching for a job,” stated Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.  ”Today, the unemployment rate for veterans is 21% higher than the rate for all Americans, with veterans’ unemployment topping 500,000.  We believe that the business community can and should do more.  Through The Call of Duty Endowment, we are committed to raising millions of dollars for job assistance and training programs for veterans and raising public awareness for this serious issue.”

Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, Metallica have become one of the most influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, having sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and playing to tens of millions of fans the world over.  They have scored several multi-platinum albums, including 1983′s Kill ‘Em All (3x), 1984′s Ride the Lightning (5x), 1986′s Master of Puppets (6x), 1988′s …And Justice For All (8x), 1991′s Metallica (also known as “The Black Album” – 15x), 1996′s Load (5x), 1997′s ReLoad (3x), and 2003′s St. Anger (2x).  Their latest album, Death Magnetic, was certified platinum just six weeks after it debuted atop the Billboard Top 200 Album chart in October 2008.  The band released a groundbreaking Guitar Hero edition of Death Magnetic, which was the largest selling download album on the platform at the time.  They also released Guitar Hero: Metallica in 2009 with Activision.  Metallica have also garnered numerous awards and accolades, including nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum last year.

To kick off downloadable content for Rock Band 3, the legendary band, The Doors, will be the first of several high profile artists featured in the Rock Band Music Store.  A three-pack of The Doors’ songs is available for free to fans that purchase Rock Band 3 and play online during the first week of launch (Oct. 26-Nov. 1).

The free pack, which is available only through the Rock Band 3 in-game Music Store, includes “Light My Fire,” “Riders on the Storm” and “Touch Me,” and incorporate five-button guitar and bass, Drums, Pro Drums and Keys, Pro Keys and harmonies, where applicable, as well as a free expansion that will add Pro Guitar and Pro Bass parts.

As previously announced, The Doors also released an additional nine-pack of songs today, available for purchase and download in the Rock Band Music Store(2).  And soon, Rock Band 3 players can expect new downloadable tracks from legendary artists, including Billy Joel, John Lennon and Bon Jovi!

To coincide with the launch of Rock Band 3, RockBand.com has been completely redesigned by the team that brought you the Webby Award-winning The Beatles™: Rock Band™ website. The new site goes live today and, among other additions, now features the ability for fans to share their Rock Band 3 experiences with others through the click of a button. When players link their RockBand.com accounts to their Rock Band 3 profiles, all their gameplay goals and achievements will be published to a personalized “My Gameplay” page on RockBand.com. Players can then share their exploits with friends over Facebook, Twitter, email and more. When players use RockBand.com to create setlists and battles, these can also be shared with friends via Facebook, Twitter, other social networks and email. Additionally, the 700-plus goals available in Rock Band 3 have been integrated into players’ RockBand.com personal profile, so they can track goals, as well as career progress, via the web. (more…)