Fair amount of metal music this week.

This week’s downloadable content update for Rock Band 4 features a song by Canadian heavy metal band 3 Inches of Blood, one by American indie folk band The Head and the Heart, and another by American metalcore band The Word Alive.

The following songs will be available from 22nd August:

  • 3 Inches of Blood – “Battles and Brotherhood”
  • The Head and the Heart – “Missed Connection” *
  • The Word Alive – “The Hounds of Anubis”

*Part of the Rock Band Rivals Season 12 Spotlight Pass.

Songs can be purchased individually.

The descriptions below are taken from this week’s release notes:

3 Inches of Blood led off their fourth album, Here Waits Thy Doom, with “Battles and Brotherhood”. A crowd-pleaser at live shows, “Battles and Brotherhood” is a great song in Rock Band as well. Guitar has a chugging main riff, sprinkling in some fret runs and a couple of solos. You’ll have to warm up for vocals, which spend nearly the whole song high-pitched. Drums rarely let up, pounding away and throwing many rapid fills at you.

The Head and the Heart recently released their fourth and latest album, Living Things, in May. Lead single, “Missed Connection”, already hit #1 on both the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart and the Alternative Songs chart. “Missed Connection” is driven by its bassline, but it also features strong harmonies. Backing lines regularly break out in anthemic chanting which gives breaks from matching the lead line.

Taken from The Word Alive’s debut album Deceiver, “The Hounds of Anubis” wraps up this week’s DLC. Fueled by word of mouth from their Empire EP, Deceiver debuted well and was in the top 15 on both the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums and Independent Albums. “The Hounds of Anubis” was the second single released from the album and has gone on to be one of their most popular live tracks. It’s a heavy, fast song, but it slows down a bit during the chorus. That’s also when vocals swaps to pitched tracking, so it isn’t necessarily an easier section for everyone in the band!

For a better idea of the songs’ pacing and structure, watch the latest DLC trailer (embedded below).

Developed and published by Harmonix, Rock Band 4 is available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.