Guitar Hiroshima: Metallica

So, I own every Guitar Hero game now. $5 is my sweetspot, and goddamn, did I find a sweet spot to get these games. i'm so sorry
These means I will be posting my impressions on every game in release order at a reasonable pace. Here is the list:
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Guitar Hero Metallica
Guitar Hero: Skipped Numbers are Edgy
Band Hero
Guitar Hero Van Halen
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock


Band-centric games started with 2008's Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The game was pretty much Guitar Hero III: Legends of Aerosmith as opposed to an entirely new game. The idea was to lure non-Aerosmith fans in with some other big artists, such as THE BLACK CROWES, CHEAP TRICK, THE KINKS, and MOTT THE HOPPLE.
The main problems of the game were that it lacked any sense of Aerosmith's career progression, and the difficulty was laughable. Also, Brad Whitford didn't get a guitar battle. BALL DROPPED
The venues were, of course, based on Aerosmith's career, but you play Uncle Salty and Draw the Line at the high school, WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AS THOSE SONGS WEREN'T WRITTEN YET
THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE
I get it. They wanted a difficulty progression like the other games. Easy songs first, hard songs last. BUT THEY DROPPED THE BALL THERE TOO
The ONLY difficult song in the game is Train Kept A-Rollin', which wasn't even an original Aerosmith song. Why couldn't they use Eat the Rich and Shut Up and Dance to actually have a difficult final tier? Why couldn't the final guitar battle be against the superior Aerosmith guitarist, Brad Whitford? Why is Steven Tyler not the person with the biggest mouth in the game? How is that even possible?


So, did Neversoft realise all this with Metallica's game? Difficulty certainly won't be an issue. And, hey, what could really go wrong? Metallica were the most requested band for GH3, and everyone loves them. How can you go wrong with such amazing guest acts as THIN LIZZY, QUEEN, THE MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, and LANARD SKANARD?
One good thing about the guest acts is that they use songs Metallica covered for Garage Inc., which means Stone Cold Crazy. Unfortunately, this also means Bob Seger.
I would have liked to see Megadeth in the game, since Mustaine wrote a shitload of Metallica's songs. I think the two bands had already made up by the time the game came out, too. Mustaine could have been a guest character, unlockable and shit. The Mechanix would have been a perfect choice and everything.
The most obvious thing about Metallica is that it is based on Guitar Hero: World Tour. This is a good thing, as World Tour improved immensely on GH3 in every way. For my throughts on GHWT's interface and gameplay, consult the last thread.
A new(?) feature in this game is a screen where you can read the lyrics to the songs before playing them. This seems like a very logical step, and it seems obvious in retrospect.
Another new feature is "Metallifacts", which is a rip-off of VH1's pop-up music videos. You could probably learn all the information from Wikipedia, honestly.
The game starts you off as the titular artist (unlike Aerosmith's game). The gang's all here; Kirk Hamburger, James Henderfeldt, Lars Ulrickastley, and even Robert Truckdriver. Damage Inc., however, is not in the game in any tempo or key. Sorry, DragonForce fans.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls": A
This was a GREAT song to start the game with. It's easy, but has a bunch of fun HO/PO sections. It's also one of Metallica's better songs.

"The Unforgiven": B
I'm not a big fan of this song, but it was pretty fun, especially the guitar solo. Honestly a good counterpoint to For Whom the Bell Tolls, especially if you're somehow unfamiliar with Metallica. Why did you buy this game then?

Samhain/"Mother of Mercy": D
Have I ever told you the definition of mediocrity? That would be you, Mr. Hain. Samuel Hain mumbles incoherently over some powerchords.

Bob Seger/"Turn the Page": F
So, not only is it Bob Seger, it's hand-cramping and repetitive. Yay!

Alice in Chains/"No Excuses": A
This is how to do a chordy song right. It's got a bunch of trills in the choruses, and the solo's pretty good. It's also a great song, so that helps.

Lynyrd Skynyrd/"Tuesday's Gone": A-
A slow song, but it has interesting guitar licks thrown in. It's a great song, and pretty fun, but it goes on a bit too long.

Corrosion of Conformity/"Albatross": C+
I had to double-check to make sure the song title and band name weren't switched. The song itself is okay, and so is the chart. Nothing too special either way.

"Nothing Else Matters": B-
Another song I'm not a big fan of, but it's executed pretty well. The Black Album is better suited to the game than I'd thought.

"King Nothing": A-
Do you like Load?! I sure don't! However, this song's pretty good and has a really fun chart. Honestly a great choice to represent Load in a positive light and trick people into buying it.

"Enter Sandman": D+
"Exit Dave, enter Kirk." - E. H. Lewis, 2007
Look, this song is shit. We all know it. The lyrics are laughably bad, and the prayer section is just retarded. Honestly, if it weren't their most popular song, we'd all love it for how awful and cheesy it is. The new fadeoutless ending makes it even sillier. It would be a hilarious song if it weren't their biggest.
As far as redeeming qualities, I kind of like Kirk's wah solo and miscelaneous licks. The verses don't sound bad at all if you don't pay attention to the lyrics. It's just a shame that the song has the unforgivably terrible ending coda of "we're off to never never land". I dub thee unforgiven

"Orion": B+
This song is very uninteresting to listen to, but it's really fun with its solo. It's an instrumental, in case you forgot. The intro takes after the rest of ... and Justice for All, which means it lasts too long. The solo REALLY makes up for it, though.
HOLY SHIT I UNLOCKED MARCUS FRETSHREDDER
who is marcus fretshredder

"No Leaf Clover":
I bought this game used at a pawn shop, and it's in really shit condition. This song gave me a disc read error twice, and I have a feeling that it's never going to let me play this song. Maybe later, I'll take the game to Bull Moose and pay them to resurface it and see if that helps.
I've never actually heard this song before, since I never listened to S&M. I guess it's going to stay that way.

Thin Lizzy/"The Boys are Back in Town": A-
I played a live version of this in Rock Band, which was more fun due to SOLOS. However, this song is still really fun, and it's one of those cliche popular songs I have a soft spot for.
I'm kind of surprised they didn't use Whiskey in the Jar, though.

Foo Fighters/"Stacked Actors":
Another song the disc won't read. Fuck yeah. A shame, because I was looking forward to this one.

The Sword/"The Black River": B
Even if the game hadn't told me, I'd know it was the same guys who did Freya. Unfortunately, it is an inferior song to Freya, and the notechart isn't as interesting. The solo is cool, though.

Suicidal Tendencies/"War Inside My Head":
Has anyone else noticed that the last four artists were in GH2? Just me?
This song didn't work, either.

Actually, this is where the disc stopped working completely. Nothing is working, so onto SNAE.
I will definitely get back to it once I get the disc resurfaced or a new copy.

OKAY WE'RE BACK, TWO DOLLARS LATER

"No Leaf Clover": A-
This song was very cool and fun, but James' vocals sounded kind of weird. S&M was a live album, right? Maybe they should have done a studio version of this song.

Foo Fighters/"Stacked Actors": A
A very fun chart that never does one thing for too long. The song's much better than I remember, too.

Suicidal Tendencies/"War Inside My Head": A
Remember Institutionalised? This is nothing like that. This song is pretty generic punk outside of the guitar part. BUT OH GOD THE SOLOS
Way more fun than Institutionalised at the cost of not being as good a song. I'll take it.

System of a Down/"Toxicity": B+
The is the first fun SOAD song I've played in one of these games. Chop Suey may have been a better song, but it was shit to play. Honestly should have been in Rock Band 2, and Chop Suey should have been DLC.

"Sad but True": A
The best song on The Black Album is, unsurprisingly, great in-game. I love the ripple effect they used.

"The Memory Remains": B
RELOAD TIME
This song is ruined by the ending, which is confusing and awful. The chart is fun, but the song (even without the ending) is just okay.

"Fuel": B+
The only song I liked off Reload. The main riff is much better than I'd remembered. I might even add it to the riffs list if I can remember.

"Wherever I May Roam":
Oh dear. It's happening again. I just can't win. Oh well, it's just a song from The Black Album anyway. why couldn't it have been bob seger

"Welcome Home": A-
Metallica's best song's chart shines in a few places, but not really in others.

Kyuss/"Demon Cleaner": A-
This song is VERY mediocre. The chart, however, is very fun, especially the outro. I don't like Kyuss.

Queen/"Stone Cold Crazy": A+++
Look, it's fucking Stone Cold Crazy. I shouldn't have to explain this.


When I tried to play Stone Cold Crazy a second time, the game crashed on the level select screen. That's right, the game disc won't let me replay songs. It won't let me play anything any more.
Guess I have to buy another copy.

OKAY WE'RE BACK, TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS LATER

"Wherever I May Roam": A-
Gotta love that sweet taste of India.
One of the better songs on The Black Album for sure. That outro solo is fun as fuck.

Social Distortion/"Mommy's Little Monster": C-
At least it's better than Story of My Life.

The Michael Schenker Group/"Armed and Ready": A-
A lot of chords in the verses, but that solo is more than worth it.

Judas Priest/"Hellbent for Leather": A+
One of Judas Priest's best songs. The riff is great, and the solo is even better.

"Frantic": B+
The best song from St. Anger? Don't mind if I
I love how the "YOU ROCK" thing is the St. Anger fist, but there's only one song from the album in the game.
BECAUSE MAN LISTEN TO THOSE DRUMS
LARS MUST HAVE SEEN A CAT KNOCK OVER A TRASH CAN TO GET INSPIRATION FOR THIS ALBUM
OH WOW THOSE DRUMS HAHA
Honestly, after all this time, playing Frantic in GH feels kind of weird. It's like a pipe dream that you only kind of wanted. The chart is just okay. It gets bonus points just for being in the game, really.

"Fade to Black": A
The intro and guitar solo are amazing, but the rest is just kind of there.

"All Nightmare Long": D+
Despite all of Death Magnetic being DLC, they decided to put one song from it in the game. It's a pretty good tactic to get people to buy it, honestly.
This song is just too long and uninteresting. Parts of the solo are fun, but the verses and choruses aren't. This is the first song I did not five-star. I couldn't get the rhythm down.

"Mercyful Fate": A++
This is from Garage Inc., and is a medley of Mercyful Fate songs.
FUN AS FUCK
A very long song, but every part is fucking amazing. Solos everywhere, riffs that are actually fun, oh man. the best metallica song is a cover

"Whiplash": C-
Finally, a song from Kill 'em All. Shame it's "hold down green and strum until the solo": the song. Aside from the solo, it's very disappointing.


You know what else is disappointing? MY FUCKING GUITAR STOPPED WORKING
THE 360 DOESN'T EVEN RECOGNISE IT ANY MORE
WHAT THE FUCK
"HERE PLAY EIGHT SONGS THEN GET FUCKED OVER"

OKAY WE'RE BACK, THIRTY-SIX DOLLARS LATER

Mastodon/"Blood and Thunder": F
/v/'s favourite. For those who don't know, this song is about the white whale, Mobius Richard. It is a chore to play, and not even a good song. Holy grail, indeed.

Machinehead/"Beautiful Mourning": D-
Everyone's favourite Deep Purple tribute band comes to Guitar Hero with this... gem. Fun moments are hidden behind general tedium and an awful song.

Motorhead/"Ace of Spades": B+
Lemmy makes a guest appearance here for some reason.
This is the same rerecording they used in Rock Band 2. It still replaces the iconic line "and don't forget the joker" with... "that's right, babe, but apparently i am". A WORTHWHILE CHANGE DEFINITELY

"Hit the Lights": C
Holding down the green button and strumming until the solo? I'm sensing a pattern from Kill 'em All.
Notably, the song's intro is fucking horrible. Not that this is news, of course.

"Seek and Destroy": A
Also a lot of holding down the green button and strumming, but not nearly as quickly. This song has a lot of variance in the verses and chorus, and it's definitely a Tony song.
Honestly, it should have been swapped with Whiplash, because it's easier and a better introduction to Kill 'em All.

"Creeping Death": C-
This song really doesn't have much to offer aside from the solos. The rest is just G-G-[RY]-G-[RY]-G-G-[RY].

"Master of Puppets": B
In contention for Metallica's biggest song. There's really not much to talk about here. The solo is cool and it's one of the band's better songs. It's actually pretty fun aside from the G-R-Y-G-R-B-G-B-O bits.

"Battery": D-
This song was in Rock Band 2, and wasn't any better than, either. Despite being one of the band's best songs, it's absolute shit to play. Absolute fucking shit.

Diamond Head/"Am I Evil?": C-
The solo almost saves this song, but that singuy is almost unbearable. It's also too long for its own good. This would be a better song if it were by Judas Priest or Iron Maiden or something.

Mercyful Fate/"Evil": A
ALICE COOPER GENE SIMMONS KING DIAMOND appears for this song.
An INCREDIBLY FUN CHART saves this otherwise mediocre song.

Slayer/"War Ensemble":
I can't do it. Too hard, too I don't give a shit. I failed seven times within the first 4% of the song. Next song.

"One": A+
I've never given One much credit in the past. It's really one of Metallica's best songs. It might have been reused from GH3, the slider parts might negate all difficulty, but damn I really enjoyed playing this one.

"The Shortest Straw": C
It's a decent enough song, but the chart is really nothing special. I don't see how it's in the same tier as Goddamn War Ensemble.

"Dyer's Eve": D
THE FINAL TIER SURE LOVES ... AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
It's a good song, but I had no idea what the fuck was going on. The solo was great, but everything else was a mess.

"Disposable Heroes": D
A decent song, but an incredibly BORING chart. Would not recommend.

"Fight Fire with Fire": F
WHAT THE FUCK EVEN IS THIS SONG
WHY DOES IT EXIST
HOW DOES KIRK DO IT

"The Thing That Should Not Be": B
How is this the final encore? IT'S EASY AS FUCK
One should have been the final encore. It's not the hardest song, but it fits better than The Thing That Should Not Be (The Final Encore).