It was 2010. The plastic guitar craze was dying, fast. Activision was pumping out titles like a factory line, and players were honestly just burnt out on plastic peripherals cluttering their living rooms. But then Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock dropped. It didn't just try to be another party game; it went back to the roots. It went metal. It went weird.
The Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock song list is a massive, 93-track beast that feels fundamentally different from World Tour or Guitar Hero 5. While the previous games tried to please everyone with pop-rock and Top 40 hits, Warriors of Rock (internally known as Guitar Hero 6) aimed straight for the shredders. It was a love letter to the people who actually liked the "Hero" part of the title.
The Heavy Hitters and the Megadeth Obsession
If you look at the tracklist, one thing jumps out immediately: Dave Mustaine. The game doesn't just feature Megadeth; it revolves around them. The "Sudden Death" track was written specifically for the game’s final boss encounter. It is, quite frankly, a nightmare on Expert.
You’ve got "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" and "This Day We Fight!" rounding out a trio of tracks that made most players' fingers cramp just looking at the note highway. It wasn't just about difficulty, though. The inclusion of these tracks signaled a shift back to the "challenging" identity of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
The game also brought in some serious heavyweights that had been missing or underrepresented. We're talking Pantera's "I'm Broken," Slayer's "Chemical Warfare," and Anthrax's "Indians." It’s basically a Big Four reunion in digital form. For a kid sitting in their bedroom in 2010, this was the ultimate metal education.
Seven Parts of Rush
We have to talk about "2112." Most games would give you a three-minute radio edit of a song. Not here. Neversoft decided to include the entire 20-minute Rush epic. It’s broken into seven parts within the Quest Mode, narrated by Gene Simmons and Dave Grohl. Yeah, that actually happened.
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Playing through "Overture" all the way to "Grand Finale" feels like a marathon. It’s one of those rare moments in gaming where the medium actually respects the source material enough to let it breathe. You aren't just playing a song; you're playing a progressive rock odyssey. It’s pretentious. It’s over-the-top. It’s perfect.
A Weirdly Diverse Middle Ground
Despite the heavy metal marketing, the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock song list had some strange, awesome outliers. You had "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. Think about that. Trying to map a Freddie Mercury vocal performance and a Brian May solo onto a plastic controller is a bold move.
Then there's the punk stuff. The Ramones' "Theme from Spiderman" is in there for some reason. Bad Brains brought "Re-Ignition," which added a much-needed layer of hardcore punk history. Even The Offspring showed up with "Self Esteem," a song that basically defined 90s radio but felt surprisingly fresh between sets of thrash metal.
I remember the first time I saw "Fascination" by The Human League on the list. I thought it was a mistake. Why is a synth-pop track here? But that’s the beauty of the 93-song sprawl. It wasn't just one note. You could jump from the technical death metal of Nile to the alternative vibes of Jane's Addiction or Muse.
The Technical Nightmare of the "Final Boss"
For the hardcore community, the song list was defined by the "tier 10" tracks. This wasn't just "Through the Fire and Flames" redux; it was a curated list of songs designed to break you.
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- DragonForce returned with "Fury of the Storm," which some argue is harder to 100% than their GH3 anthem because of the relentless strumming patterns.
- Children of Bodom provided "If You Want Peace... Prepare for War," a track that tests your ability to handle sweep picking on buttons.
- Dethklok made an appearance with "Bloodlines," bringing the fictional Metalocalypse band into the real world.
The difficulty curve in this game is a vertical wall. While the early tiers have stuff like Bush or Creedence Clearwater Revival to ease you in, the backend of the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock song list is arguably the most difficult collection of songs ever put on a single disc in the franchise.
Why This Tracklist Was the End of an Era
After Warriors of Rock, the franchise went dark for five years before the ill-fated Guitar Hero Live. The reason Warriors of Rock stands out today is that it was the last time a rhythm game felt like it had a specific identity. It wasn't trying to be Rock Band. It wasn't trying to be a karaoke machine.
It was a guitar game, through and through.
The licensing for these games is a legal minefield. Many of these songs have never reappeared in other rhythm games because the rights are so tangled. If you still have an Xbox 360 or a PS3 hooked up, this disc is essentially a time capsule of a very specific moment in music licensing.
How to Experience the Setlist Today
If you're looking to dive back into these tracks, you have a few options, though some are easier than others.
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The most authentic way is obviously tracking down a physical copy. Prices for Warriors of Rock have stayed surprisingly high on the secondary market because collectors know it’s the "final" traditional game.
However, many players have migrated to Clone Hero. It's a fan-made PC project that allows you to import tracks from every Guitar Hero and Rock Band game ever released. You can find "charts" (the note files) for the entire Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock song list online. It supports modern resolutions, high refresh rates, and basically any controller you can find an adapter for.
Another route is seeking out the "import" packs if you still play Rock Band 4, though the licensing for Warriors of Rock specifically was always tricky. Most of these songs remained exclusive to the Neversoft ecosystem.
Actionable Steps for Returning Players
- Check Your Hardware: Before buying the game, ensure your legacy controllers still sync. Xbox 360 wireless guitars need a specific PC receiver, while PS3 guitars require their original proprietary dongles.
- Download Clone Hero: If you just want the music without the console hassle, download the Clone Hero client. It's free and much more stable than the aging console hardware.
- Seek Out the "2112" Experience: Even if you aren't a Rush fan, play through the Quest Mode version of the song. The visual storytelling used in those venues is the peak of Neversoft's creative work.
- Calibrate Honestly: This game has tighter timing windows than GH5. Spend five minutes in the calibration menu or you'll be failing "Sudden Death" before the first verse even hits.
The legacy of this game isn't just the plastic guitars in landfills. It’s the fact that 93 songs were brought together to celebrate the absolute loudest, fastest, and most technical parts of rock history. It remains a high-water mark for the genre.