This is your fair warning to get a head start — plug your ears. From Blabbermouth:
You may not get to sing to 70,000 at Wembley Stadium… You may not get to power slide across the stage at Download… But you can jump around your living room in your pants!
The first-ever “Kerrang! Karaoke” presents 16 monstrous anthems hand-picked by the K! team to provide the ultimate high voltage rock ‘n’ roll experience, featuring a gluttony of legendary rock artists and Kerrang! favorites, including FOO FIGHTERS, GREEN DAY, NIRVANA, AC/DC, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, IRON MAIDEN and many more.
No band to play in? No problem — with Kerrang! you can star in all the greatest ever bands to rock your world. No longer feel pangs of jealousy watching Axl shimmy or Anselmo roar or Ville croon, for now you can practise your vocal and musical talents to perfection. Special features include Vocal Version, Karaoke Version, Backing Version, No Lead Guitar Version, No Bass Guitar Version, No Drums Version, Video Backdrop, Blue Screen Option.
Following a massively successful pre-Christmas limited release to Kerrang! magazine readers, Kerrang! Radio listeners and Kerrang! TV viewers, the now-infamous “Kerrang! Karaoke” DVD hits the shops on February 26. The “Kerrang! Karoke” DVD is also available to buy online at Kerrang.com, or via your mobile — text ROCK to 80908 for further details. (Text messages charged at standard network rates.)
“Kerrang! Karaoke” DVD track listing
01. AC/DC – Highway To Hell
02. IRON MAIDEN – Number Of The Beast
03. GREEN DAY – American Idiot
04. GUNS N’ ROSES – Sweet Child O’ Mine
05. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
06. SLAYER – South Of Heaven
07. METALLICA – Enter Sandman
08. SYSTEM OF A DOWN – Toxicity
09. FOO FIGHTERS – Monkey Wrench
10. NIRVANA – Smells Like Teen Spirit
11. PANTERA – Walk
12. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – Under The Bridge
13. BLINK 182 – All The Small Things
14. EVANESCENCE – Bring Me To Life
15. H.I.M. – Buried Alive By Love
16. GOOD CHARLOTTE – Lifestyles Of The Rich And The Famous
Let’s explore this further.
If you’re a karaoke crackhead like yours truly, you’ll immediately note that all but three of these tracks (Slayer, My Chemical Romance, and HIM) are already available on commercially produced discs. In fact, you can’t enter a karaoke bar without tripping over AC/DC, G ‘n’ R, or even Evanescence. So in that regard, while it’s a nice compilation of tracks, much of it is old hat.
As for drummers, guitarists, and bassists? Most people learn songs by playing along with the album. How exciting is it to now have a version played by session musicians without one track so you can fill it in? Suddenly, you’re not jamming with James Hetfield anymore. You’re not even jamming with your buddies. You’re jamming with… some dudes. Or maybe some chicks. You don’t know. Granted, you’re going to show through without doubling someone else’s work, but how fun is it to play along with a cover band when you can play along with the real one?
But still, it’s a great gimmick, especially with the ability to tune out instruments as well as vocals. I’m not sure how many people need on-screen instruction to play along with Green Day, Good Charlotte, or Blink 182, but I suppose all levels of skill need to be covered in order to generate a widespread appeal.
Now if only karaoke in the Western world would catch up with Japan. You can sing Blind Guardian at a karaoke bar in Japan. Not that most people would really want to hear you and your friends giving that an attempt, but when you’re drunk it would definitely sound like a great idea. If Kerrang! continues the series with less mainstream artists, the market is wide open.
