Posts Tagged ‘Bang Camaro’

The Rock Band Network is an invaluable source of new music but, perhaps because of the quantity of songs or the unfamiliar nature of the artists, it can be a little hard to find the type of music you want. As a tester and charter for the Rock Band Network, I get a lot of exposure to songs coming through the pipeline and there are definitely songs that deserve more recognition. This feature will help you discover new favourites, find a new challenge, and support the independent Rock Band scene. Each week I’ll highlight one new Xbox 360 song, one new PS3 song, and even a song released awhile back – all of them worthy of a listen!

Xbox 360: Lee-Leet – So High

Releases on Xbox this week aren’t as numerous as previous offerings but there’s by no means a drop in the quality up for grabs. Polish singer Lee-Leet makes her debut on the Rock Band Network with her song So High, a brilliant song to highlight in relation to our other recommendations this week. Whereas Leche de Tigre and Bang Camaro are songs with especially prominent focus on guitar or drums, Lee-Leet’s core strength lies in the vocals and keyboards.

Reaching near-operatic heights, Lee-Leet’s voice is the first and most immediate challenge to take on – while they aren’t exactly belted out, the ethereal vocals have a huge range for singers to attempt. In a way they are reminiscent of operatic power metal singers, albeit without the solos and double kicks. The production of the song – echoing vocals and lush piano – gives it a quietly gothic atmosphere that’s both warm and distancing.

Keyboard players will have a challenge and a half with the keys chart on offer here – it starts simple enough, with a few chords and sporadic single notes here and there, however after the intro preamble be prepared; the keys chart runs up and down the note highway constantly, threatening entangled fingers and ruined note streaks. Although not as prominent in terms of difficulty, bass and guitar still have a part to play amidst all the classical piano goodness; one of the best features of Rock Band is the ability to both hear and fully understand parts that are usually buried low in the mix. Therefore, while not the most complicated or solo-heavy guitar part available to play on Rock Band, it’s still nice to discern where the guitar actually features in So High. The same goes for the bass chart – it is more complicated than you might initially hear on first listen, moving from high to low notes throughout with a surprising amount of variety.

Drums round out the charts, comprising of a few different beats repeated a few times throughout. There’s a standard rock beat, a less regimented hi-hat and kick pattern and some devious tom fills that could be easily missed. Near the middle of the song one particular fill stretches over a few bars and is a whole lot of fun to play. In such a mellow song it’s nice to hear a drum beat that isn’t just acting like a background metronome – instead there’s variety and a powerful sound, improving both the song itself as well as the chart.

Lee-Leet might not be everybody’s cup of tea but it definitely deserves attention, especially among those looking for more female-fronted songs to buy. It’s an impressive debut on the Rock Band Network and here’s hoping there’s more to come!

Sounds like: Symphonic metal without the metal
Perfect for: Vocalists, keys

PS3: Leche de Tigre – Desconocido

Summer is almost upon us and what better way to liven up those Rock Band nights than with a slinky Latin number from Leche de Tigre! Imagine the intricacy of Rodrigo y Gabriela but accompanied by a full band (although their latest release does exactly this!) and you’ve got Leche de Tigre. There might not be any vocals to sing but the remaining instruments more than make up for that, thanks to the sheer technical variety present in the charts.

A fast and tricky acoustic guitar riff opens the song, immediately requesting guitarists to put alt-strumming talents to use. Accompanied by drums that are closer to bongos than your standard kit, the drum chart is a little different to most in its unique, infectious rhythm. The complexity of parts of the drum chart can almost make it seem like drum solo after drum solo at times, but the standard beat that makes up the rest of the track allows newcomers a foothold to keep rhythm. Certain moments – most noticeably the end of the song –feature the drums matching the rhythm of the guitar and bass, something rarely seen to such a degree in most Rock Band releases, which comes into its own with other players as plastic clicks sound out in unison. Drummers will need to be ready to roll around the kit – toms feature prominently in almost all of the fills, while some kickpedal sections are there to keep the beat while your arms do something entirely different. It’s not too difficult, but the Latin flavor to the drums offers up some new chart patterns rarely seen in Rock Band.

Returning to guitar, once the fast chord part has passed you’ll be presented with a chart that is doable but tricky to master, thanks to numerous hammer-ons and pull-offs. A run of ascending hammer-ons near the middle of the song will likely cause a notestreak upset or two but, for the most part, the guitar part is just the right side of fiddly to be both fun and a pain to FC. It never hits the arthritis-inducing madness of Rodrigo y Gabriela’s tracks, but it’s definitely on the way. Bass follows suit – aside from the mirrored riff at the beginning the bass maintains steady (but funky) rhythm while throwing in a few extended sustains and neat flourishes.

Keys round out the track, with the cello instrument charted to the keyboard. It always feels rather satisfying when you play string instruments on a keyboard. Perhaps it’s the extended sustains which feel rewarding when hit (or that produce a shameful gap in the audio if missed) that make them so fundamental to the mix. Needless to say, the keyboard part is a mix of long sustains and rising hits that isn’t difficult yet that feels every bit as necessary to the song.

Desconocido is an outstanding and thoroughly one-of-a-kind track that will add variety and a little international flavor to any Rock Band library. It’s only $.99 and you can really see the work that’s gone into the song. Anyone interested in the band should also check out the rest of the album Lactophilia.

Sounds like: Rodrigo y Gabriela + full band
Perfect for: Guitarists, drummers looking for something different

Throwback: Bang Camaro – Push Push (Lady Lightning)

Another blast from the Guitar Hero past, Bang Camaro requires no introduction to any fan of Harmonix. Although a rather obvious choice for recommendation, Push Push (Lady Lightning) is just so good that a reminder is probably in order for anyone missing out on the awesome riffs to be found within. Originally debuting in Guitar Hero II, the song has been expertly recharted for use in Rock Band, omitting the use of a Big Rock Ending in favor of a ridiculously tricky but relentlessly enjoyable fully transcribed outro.

From the iconic opening riff to the breakdown (complete with chunky bass high in the mix) there’s always one moment in the song where each band member has a turn in the spotlight. Guitarists have a chart complete with amazing solos (watch out for the ascending triplets halfway through!) as well as a solo-heavy outro. The bassline wouldn’t seem out of line in a Rocky movie and the bridge of the song really puts the bass to the forefront while it’s no slouch during the rest of the track. Drummers have a chart that gets progressively more challenging further into the song – highlights include the breakdown (making a constant hi-hat and kick combo sound badass rather than a drag) and the utterly bonkerz.net ending that brings to mind some of Keith Moon’s wilder moments. Grab a couple (or thirty) friends to do the trademark Bang Camaro vocals and you’ve got a song that’s sure to prove a hit during any Rock Band session.

Be sure to check out any of the numerous other Bang Camaro tracks available both through the Rock Band Network and standard downloadable channels. More Bang Camaro looks to be on the way but there’s plenty to choose from for the time being.

Sounds like: The best montage song never used in a movie
Perfect for: Full band, guitarists, drummers

Big thanks to RBA reader RickC, who let us know about a full song playthrough video of Rock Band fan favorite, and Harmonix band, Bang Camaro’s self titled track. It gives you a better view of what’s going on, how the gameplay works, and more without having various publicists talking over it and cutting away to other elements.

[Video from TotalPlaystation.com]

Looks like we’ll be starting the new year with a bang! A Johnny Cash 8-pack coming our way AND a FREE pack of the nine Harmonix band songs from Rock Band 2!

Johnny Cash

• Cry, Cry, Cry
• Don’t Take Your Guns to Town
• Five Feet High and Rising
• Folsom Prison Blues
• I Got Stripes
• I Walk the Line *
• Tennessee Flat Top Box *
• The Ballad of Ira Hayes

* Denotes Pro-Guitar/Bass chart availability for an additional $.99

The Johnny Cash pack is available for $13.49 (1,080 MSP). Immediately below is a preview of the pack from RockBand.com. Full samples of the songs is included further below, as usual.

Rock Band 2 FREE Pack (Xbox 360 and PS3 only)

• Abnormality – Visions
• Anarchy Club – Get Clean
• Bang Camaro – Night Lies
• Breaking Wheel – Shoulder to the Plow
• Libyans – Welcome to the Neighborhood
• The Main Drag – A Jagged Gorgeous Winter
• Speck – Conventional Lover
• The Sterns – Supreme Girl
• That Handsome Devil – Rob the Prez-O-Dent

Note: The Rock Band 2 songs in this FREE pack do NOT include RB3 features such as harmonies, keyboards, or pro-guitar/bass. They are only available as a pack, as well, not as singles. [Via HMXPope]

UPDATE: Over on the RockBand.com forums, HMXHenry attempted to explain the situation behind the some of the complaints that people are having over the FREE pack.

On the lack of availability of the Rock Band 2 Harmonix band pack on the Wii:

Free DLC, as with paid DLC, isn’t something that we’re able to set without 1st party consent. We submitted this HMX pack to all 3 consoles and for whatever reason only MS and Sony agreed to offer the free pack so that’s why it’s only going to be available on the 360 and PS3. It’s obviously in our best interest to make these songs available to everyone that wants them (and there’s no reason why we wouldn’t want Wii owners to have a chance to play these songs) but unfortunately it’s not a process that we have complete control over.

On the lack of Rock Band 3 upgrades (harmonies, keyboards, Pro-Guitar/Bass) to the Rock Band 2 Harmonix band pack:

I’m sure that going back and re authoring those songs, most of them from scratch, would have prevented them from being released as free and that’s not in the spirit of what we were trying to do with these songs. These songs were held over from the RB2 export for a variety of licensing reasons, as well as in the interest of keeping the already huge export file size manageable.

On the lack of the Rock Band 2 Harmonix band pack being released as singles as well:

As for why these songs are only available as a pack and not as singles, I don’t know the answer off hand. We’ll check in with the Audio team, but many people are out of the office during the holiday week (me included, posting from home!) and we may not have an answer until the DLC comes out next week. I’ll follow up when we know more.

[Official announcement]

• Bang Camaro – Blood Red Rock
• Bang Camaro – Revolution
• Breathe Carolina – Hello Fascination
• Death Angel – Dethroned
• Emperor – Curse You All Men! (Live)
• Evergreen Terrace – Sending Signals
• Family Force 5 – Radiator
• Graveyard BBQ – Cheat on the Church
• In This Moment – The Gun Show
• Lead the Dead – Rip’er
• Otep – Smash the Control Machine
• Rodrigo y Gabriela – Hanuman
• Sleater-Kinney – Rollercoaster
• Sunny Day Real Estate – In Circles
• Texas in July – Uncivilized
• Warbringer – Living in a Whirlwind
• Warpath – Life Unworthy of Life
• We the Kings – Spin

[Official announcement]

• Bang Camaro – “Blood Red Rock”
• Bang Camaro – “Revolution”
• Breathe Carolina – “Hello Fascination”
• Death Angel – “Dethroned”
• Evergreen Terrance – “Sending Signals”
• In This Moment – “The Gun Show”
• Graveyard BBQ – “Cheat on the Church”
• Lead the Dead – “Rip’er”
• Texas in July – “Uncivilized”
• Warpath – “Life Unworthy of Life”

[Official announcement]

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all songs are $1.99.

• Aiden – Scavengers of the Damned
• Bang Camaro – Blood Red Rock *
• Death Angel – Dethroned
• iwrestledabearonce – You Ain’t No Family
• KMFDM – A Drug Against War

* Denotes $.99 track

[Official announcement]