Rock Band Network Community Spotlight : December 2011

[Arcanon]

To complement Askari Nari's posts, here's some preview videos of his tracks we authored.

Cluster #2 (RB2 Version) (credited to Jacob Chaney)
Cluster #2
Mercury Blooming

On our end, we're gonna do a write-up of our past and present songs. We're gonna pick four songs from our past and we'll highlight all of our November releases. Then, if all goes well with a few videos I'm preparing, I may make some announcements about what we have coming soon. If not, or if I have too few of those, I'll highlight the stuff that's in the pipeline right now and coming out soon.

This post will be about our past tracks. I've gone back and picked out two RBN1 and two RBN2 songs from our catalog to highlight. All of these are 80 MSP and available only on the Xbox 360 (though we continue to hope the RBN2 tracks hit PS3 one day).

Shylo Elliott - Bittersweet Melancholy (Note: Remixed version was used for final release)

Shylo Elliott’s first ever composition (though the second one he ever finished) starts off with a steady kick-powered intro that continues where Alpha Strike left off. Unlike Alpha Strike, though, this song isn’t as challenging. Still, it provides a fun time for guitarists and drummers. Guitar is made mostly of repeating chords and lead lines, but features an ending solo with some diverse and moving patterns. Drum patterns are simple but challenging; the chart isn’t insane, but requires a fair amount of stamina and will definitely get you warmed up in no time. This song is one of his most underrated tracks, and yet one of the more enjoyable songs from his album.

Kylie D. Hart - Firehouse Bar

Kylie D. Hart’s first RBN offering is a rowdy, upbeat country track. The song was added to RBN1 near the end of its days to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a charity dedicated to wiping out the disease Kylie suffers from. Despite that, she continues to create amazing music and clearly knows how to have a good time doing it. Firehouse Bar features Kylie’s high-energy vocals, a consistently fun guitar chart, and some swinging drums. This is a must-have for Rock Band players who are looking for some active charts to play, some great music to listen to, and a great cause to support while doing it.

Kurodust - Doll in the Dust

Australian band Kurodust is a DIY force of nature. Their entire Containment Failure album, available for free download on their website, was made in a home studio and yet sounds like it was professionally produced. Doll in the Dust is a song about child abuse with a strong message (strong enough to earn a recommendation from HMXLachesis), but it’s no slow ballad. The song features a fun guitar solo in the middle and vocal harmonies throughout. This was our first RBN2 song to release, and one of my favorite releases.

Winter Crescent – Battle of Egos Part I (also available in 2x Bass Pedal)

Greek progressive metal band Winter Crescent has enjoyed great success in their country, and want to spread their music far beyond those borders. The band has always been about their fans and making them happy. They’re also about heavy, technically brilliant progressive metal, and it shows with their first RBN offering, Battle of Egos Part I. Fast and varied on guitar, unpredictable and diverse on bass, powerful and heavy on vocals, and technical as all get-out on drums, the song is a perfect fit for Rock Band. The band wants their music on PS3, so they devised a contest to give away free MSP and free copies of their debut “Battle of Egos” album to Rock Band players with the chops to handle the song on Expert. The contest is still ongoing and free stuff is still available to give out. The band is also committed to release the entirety of “Battle of Egos” on RBN, and are currently hard at work on their second studio album, which is planned to be released on RBN as well! The band has stated a desire to release every song they ever make on the Network, which is good news for progressive metal fans!

I’ll post later with write-ups on our releases from this month.

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

Here's the last of our RBN Present posts :

Prototype : The Way it Ends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhuz8Cy2Xhg

If you've played Guitar Hero 3 then you no doubt have memories of this Bonus song coming out of nowhere and tearing your face off. A really killer song that we're happy to have helped get into the Rock Band library!

You can purchase it here :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...0-0c8945410914


Halcyon Way - Death of a Dream (2x Bass Pedal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-LyP7joJdE
The same great Halcyon Way song. Now with 2x more bass kicks. If you like Halcyon way, or just great metal then nothing more needs to be said.

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...0-0c8545410914

Halcyon Way : Inversion (2x Bass Pedal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2zk3Q1eDoY

You know the drill, 2x bass pedal version of the song.
Here's where you can pick it up if you like what you hear/see :
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...0-0c9345410914

Next post we'll start unveiling new songs and new game play footage!

[Arcanon]

No time like the present, eh? Here's all of our releases since November on both Xbox 360 and PS3:

Xbox 360:

Active Knowledge - The Fractal Reason (released 11/10/11)

The third offering from Boston chiptune artist Active Knowledge and the most challenging so far. The Fractal Reason offers disco-heavy drums, alt-strum heavy bass, a crazy guitar part that alternates between altstrumming and fretting sections, and a long keys solo that gets progressively more difficult the further in you go. It’s one of many songs to come from Active Knowledge, as the album it’s on is coming to RBN in its entirety, but it might be the toughest one to master.

Rainbowdragoneyes - Heavy Weather - The Storm ov The Undead (released 11/10/11) (also available in 2x Bass Pedal)

Literally the most insane song we’ve ever released. If you don’t believe us, look at the difficulty tiers; this is the first RBN2 song to have devil tiers on all possible instruments available on RBN2, and for good reason. While guitar is easier than Creatures ov Deception, it’s no cakewalk, as Derris-Kharlan’s guest solo translates into some really crazy stuff. Bass is absolutely insane, with many different speeds of altstrumming and tricky trills throughout. Keys have insane scales that will require VERY fast fingers, though if you survive those the rest of the chart is more relaxing in comparison. Vocals have some tricky octave jumps and phrases, and a WIDE variety of harmonies, including a few lines from guest vocalist Roniit. Drummers have the most challenge here, as the drum chart is one of the most insane things to hit the Rock Band Network, with unconventional drum patterns and constantly changing rhythms. It’s truly a beast of a song, as you would come to expect from Rainbowdragoneyes, master of chiptune metal.

Askari Nari - A Tadg30 Song (released 12/1/11)

An electronic metal song with an Eastern influence in the keyboards. This is my personal favorite of the Askari Nari tracks. The drums are varied and fast, and the other instruments each have a tough solo! That’s right, this song has a guitar, keys, AND bass solo! While it’s a rather short song, it’s very challenging and fun to play.

PS3:


Paul and Storm - Fuzzy Man (Fuzzy Nation) (released 11/22/11 on PS3 and 9/1/11 on Xbox 360)

Our third ever PS3 port and one of our more popular tracks. Paul and Storm deliver an epic rock opera-style song inspired and written for the Fuzzy Nation novel by John Scalzi. The song features two guitar solos, keys and organ throughout, a breakdown with vocal harmonies and hand claps, and the longest vocal tube in all of Rock Band (a third harmony line at the end of the song spanning 39 seconds, beating out Opening Band). Lucky for solo vocalists, that tube is only in Harmony mode, but if you’re playing with friends, we wish the third vocalist the best of luck.

[AskariNari]

So. . .

It's not too early to start talking about new things, is it? Oh well, I'll do it anyways.

First (something present I forgot about): If you're not a big fan of electronic music, then you should check out my acoustic version of A Tadg30 Song. It has cello, bongo, acoustic guitar, and acoustic piano in place of the standard instrumentation.

Note: The rest of the announcement isn't directly related to songs that recently came out or are imminently coming out, but I planned this announcement before the theme of these threads changed.

So, have you ever heard a song and thought about looking how to play it, but couldn't find anything? Or have you ever wanted to add background music to your Youtube video, but were worried about it getting the video taken down due to copyright infringement?

Well, both of these things regularly happen to me, and it can be pretty irritating. That's why I have decided to release the majority of my works* into the public domain. Now, anyone, including you, can use my music, royalty-free, for practically anything you can imagine.

Not only that, but I've gone through the trouble of uploading the REAPER project files to numerous tracks onto a public Mediafire account, that way you can look right into the music, revealing the musical score of the song. This will make learning the songs, creating covers, and remixing the tracks incredibly simple (as long as you have an elementary grasp of how to navigate REAPER). The tracks also have detailed notes, written by the composer himself.

I've tried uploading the stems to the songs too, but I couldn't get it to work for some reason. That should be coming as soon as I find the issue. I might just upload them to Bandcamp and list them as a free release if I can't figure out the MediaFire thing.

Here is the Mediafire Account.

* "Majority of my works" = All original Askari Nari songs, not including the "Satan is a Fallen Angel" album or any mixes or releases of songs from that album. Note that not all tracks have had files uploaded into the Mediafire account, but this does not mean that they aren't included, it just means I didn't get around to it.

Also, I will also eventually be getting a XNA membership and will start uploading even more of my tracks for testing and eventual release. These are the closest to being Creators ready and will probably be released first (in no particular order):

Ave Maria [RB Mix] (& 2x bass pedal version) - Symphonic
Jesse Collins Nightmare/Gorge [Instrumental] - Symphonic
**Korn - Acid Jazz
Audio Mindf*** (& 2x bass pedal version) - Noise
**Wings - Chiptune
I Can't Fly (Feat. The Infamous Southern Oregon Cat Symphony) (& 2x bass pedal version) - Drums n Bass
**Nari: Sonar Echoes Theme - Ambient Symphonic
**An Ode to [NAME REDACTED] - Rock

** = This is a good song. No, really, check it out at least.

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

OK here's the first part of our RBN Future!

We announced Strikken a few months ago, and now all are ready to enter play testing. Just bear in mind these are our first 'alpha' builds, so these are not indicitive of what the final released charts will look like.

Strikken : Ashes :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GmNfv_Nts8

Strikken : The Final Act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQKRluA7OeA

Also for all fans out there of Ghost Brigade, they'll have a second track hitting play testing next week! This song is a lot harder that Into the Blacklight, but as good as Blacklight was this song is that much better.

Here's Ghost Brigade : Clawmaster!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKDe8-XBVJc

Just an FYI that song is using an Autogenerated venue (which will be changed before it hits play testing). Just wanted to let you know that's why the camera is focusing on the lead singer, when the guitarist is actually doing the 'growly vocals'.

More to come!

[atalkingfish]

Does Cheesy Pop Song count as "present" or "future"?

[Catch-22]

Does Cheesy Pop Song count as "present" or "future"?

Limbo

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

It'll be present in the next thread. It was released on the first so it just missed the November cut off.

So in the January thread it'll be featured in the present/songs released last month section.

[ASPKev]

Hey guys, Kevin from Alt-Strum here.

We just wanted to chime in this week to announce some of our favorite songs that have recently hit the store, the tracks of ours that have been released this past month, and what to look for from ASP for the future.

So, starting out are a few favorite tracks of mine that were released recently:


Ra Ra Riot - Boy
Seriously, these guys are awesome. This track in particular is a favorite of mine, and it's rather mellow, catchy, and plays really well in game. As mainly a plastic guitar player, I find it to be more on the easy side of things difficulty wise, but has you constantly moving over the fretboard at a nice tempo.

Atheist - Faux King Christ
These guys are legends, at least to me, and I'm ecstatic to see them in Rock Band. Their new album is a favorite of mine, this song being a highlight of the album, and I'm glad to be able to play their stuff in Rock Band. This song is blisteringly difficult on just about every instrument, and is a total blast to play. Metal fans, this is a must have song.

Buckner & Garcia - Ode to a Centipede
To be honest, I had never knew about these guys prior to them being in the RBN, and since hearing them, I've been in love. This song (and really all of them) are fun to play, and I always find it amusing to play a song about a video game, in a video game. Plus, it's from the 80's, and you can't go wrong with music from the 80's. It's science.




November has been a great month for us, having eight songs released in total. The full list is below, with links to preview videos, song difficulty, and more!


All Shall Perish - Embrace The Curse
All Shall Perish return to the RBN to bring more tracks off their latest album, This is Where it Ends, this time, with the track Embrace The Curse. You can pick it up, and it's 2x bass counterpart (listed below), today!


All Shall Perish - My Retaliation
All Shall Perish are here, bringing more metal to the RBN. For those who favor the difficulty these songs provide, with their double bass, blast beats, sweeping guitar solos, and insanely fast alt strummed sections, then this is a must have for you!


All Shall Perish - Embrace The Curse (2x Bass Version)
Are blast beats your thing? Do you enjoy drumming along some of the hardest songs the RBN has to offer? Well, with this double bass version of Embrace This Curse by All Shall Perish, you can embrace the curse of having a double bass pedal, and play this version today!
*Note, this is a double bass version of the song, and requires a second bass pedal in order to play.


All Shall Perish - Spineless (2x Bass Version)
Another amazing track from All Shall Perish. Those who are able to play and keep up with the blisteringly fast double bass are anything but Spineless.
*Note, this is a double bass version, and requires a second bass pedal in order to play.


The Haunted - Trenches
The Haunted are making a band familiar with both Rock Band and the RBN, having had a song released through each in the past. Well, they've decided two just wasn't cutting it, so we worked with them and Century Media to bring their track, Trenches, to the game, making it their third song in total.


Thunder and Lightning - Horizon
There's a saying, you can't have lightning without thunder. Or was it thunder without lightning? I'm no meteorologist, but what I am is a purveyor of awesome music. One of the perks that comes with being a purveyor as awesome as myself, is the ability to control the weather. With this ability, I'm bringing the RBN Thunder and Lightning, stretching as far as the Horizon.


Cancer - Over and Out
It used to be that outside of astrological signs, cancer was a pretty bad thing. But as of this month, the game has been changed and the rules have been rewritten. Now, as of November, you can buy Cancer's song Over and Out, as DLC through the RBN, and get the chance to play some good 'ol, highly requested, Rock n Roll music. And nothing is better than some good rock and roll music.


Snovonne - It's Sno, Baby - Not Sugar
This song may not be sugar, but it's about as sweet as it. Not in taste*, but in how sweet the charts are. With Snovonne, you can't go wrong. Pick this track up today!

*Note, this song has only been tasted to work in game, and not to be eaten. Alt-Strum is not responsible for anything that occurs as a side effect of DLC consumption. If side effects occur, you should seek a doctor immediately.



Now, talking about the future, we do have one thing to announce.

Alt-Strum Productions is proud to announce that we're partnering up with Standby Records to bring some of the wonderful acts on their roster to the Rock Band Network.

Stay tuned to future announcements for details on which bands and songs we'll be bringing.

[ThatAuthoringGroup]

Limbo

So Jade was the reason the game was in black and white? Damn he is depressing