Top 10 bands that need more songs in the series: Guitar Hero edition

Neversoft

Let's face it, there aren't many big artists that haven't had at least a song or two in Rock Band or Guitar Hero (aside from the obvious ones like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd). That's why instead of doing a top ten list of artists that need to be in Guitar Hero and Rock Band (this time, anyways), I'm going to do a list of artists that have made brief appearances in the series, but deserve to have more in each respective series.

This time, we're looking at the bands that haven't appeared enough in the Guitar Hero series. Sure, the series hasn't quite had the DLC that Rock Band has had, but it has had 11 major disc releases, if you count Band Hero (which I do), plus several releases into the handheld realm.

10.The Answer
What We Have: "Never Too Late" (Guitar Hero: World Tour)

The Answer are loved by fans of classic rock and it's easy to see why. Their sound is highly reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, so much so that Zeppelin's legendary guitarist, Jimmy Page, has even said that they are much like Zeppelin was in the 70's.

The only song we have from these retro-rockers is the extremely fun "Never Too Late". The track features a nice drum beat, soaring vocals and a great bassline, but the obvious standout part is the guitar part. The song opens with a furious solo and the guitar work is solid throughout. Pretty much every song by this band would be appropriate for the Guitar Hero format.

Zakk Wylde performs as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as the frontman
during "Stillborn" in Guitar Hero: World Tour

9. Iggy Pop & The Stooges
What We Have:
"Search & Destroy" (Guitar Hero 2)

We have only been graced once by the band that many credit as the first punk-rock group of all-time. The band was never really garnered much attention while they were together, but seeing as how the music they put out is a key part of the foundation of both punk and grunge, people are paying plenty of attention to these geniuses now.

Songs like "I Wanna Be Your Dog" would play well in full band and would hold up well in a party setting.

8. Black Label Society
What We Have:
"Fire It Up" (Guitar Hero)
"Stillborn" (Guitar Hero: World Tour)

"Stillborn" and "Fire it Up" might not have been the most eventful tracks in terms of guitar playing, but it was a good choice due to the sheer popularity of the track. That being said, there are plenty of tracks that BLS have put out that could be a challenge, especially on guitar.

7. Pantera
What We Have:
"Cowboys from Hell" (Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero Smash Hits)

This is constantly one of the most requested bands in both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. "Cowboys from Hell" was one of the toughest songs in the original Guitar Hero and it maintained a pretty solid level of difficulty when it was brought back to life through Guitar Hero Smash Hits.

That being said, it's baffling as to why Guitar Hero hasn't brought more Pantera to the table. Between Dimebag's incredible gutiar work and Anslemo's crazy vocals, tons of songs from the 90's kings of metal would be a great challenge in the full band format.

6. Michael Jackson
What We Have:
"Beat It" (Guitar Hero: World Tour)

While it might be somewhat voodoo to include anymore songs from Jackson so soon after his passing, Jackson's songs really embody the direction that the Guitar Hero series seems to be taking. If there was any question as to the popularity of Jackson in today's music scene, it was dashed away quickly with his passing and the amount of news it garnered.

While the guitar parts might not be the most challenging, the beats are infectious and the vocals are unquestionably difficult. Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo in "Beat It " was great and Slash's guitar work in his collaboration with Michael Jackson would be fun to play as well.

We already have Carlos Santana in Guitar Hero 5,
but we have only had 2 songs so far!

5. Santana
What We Have:
"Black Magic Woman"
(Guitar Hero 3)
"No One to Depend On (Live)" (Guitar Hero 5)

Sure, Carlos Santana was a playable character in Guitar Hero 5, and sure, he had one of the most popular songs in Guitar Hero 3, but so far that is all we've seen from one of the most iconic guitarists of the past 50 years.

It was a huge announcement that Neversoft had gotten "Black Magic Woman" into Guitar Hero 3, and the track stood up to the hype. Both tracks that have been in the series have proven that Santana's music translates well to five colored buttons.

4. Deep Purple
What We Have:
"Hush" (Guitar Hero II)
"Smoke on the Water" (Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero Smash Hits)
"Space Truckin'" (Guitar Hero: Van Halen)
"Woman from Tokyo ('99 Remix)" (Guitar Hero 5)

Out of the ten bands on this list, Deep Purple has the most songs in the series. That's for good reason, mind you. They have so many iconic riffs scattered throughout their impressive catalog that Neversoft would be crazy to not include as many songs by them as possible.

Machine Head is easily one of the best albums of all-time and would make spectacular full-album DLC. The Guitar Hero series has also yet to be graced by one of the best songs from the Rock Band series, "Highway Star".

3. Buckethead
What We Have:
"Jordan" (Guitar Hero 2)
"Soothsayer" (Guitar Hero 3 DLC)

Buckethead is another one of those guys that are constantly topping the most-requested lists across the net. Fans were left with their jaw open when they first stumbled upon "Jordan" in Guitar Hero 2 and witnessed the first "impossible" song in the series.

While Buckethead's return to the Guitar Hero series in the form of DLC for Guitar Hero 3 was not quite as difficult as his epic debut in Guitar Hero 2, it was a welcome return for the man behind the KFC mask.

2. Guns N' Roses
What We Have:
"Sweet Child O'Mine" (Guitar Hero 2)
"Welcome to the Jungle" (Guitar Hero III)

While this might never happen due to Axl Rose seeming to side with Harmonix since he felt Neversoft sort of betrayed him by having Slash play "Welcome to the Jungle" in Guitar Hero 3, it would still please a lot of people to have songs like "Paradise City" or a full band version of "Sweet Child O'Mine" included in future installments.

Guns N' Roses is almost solely responsible for bringing the 80's out of the glam era that many people look back on nowabdays and laugh at. Guns N' Roses has released it's latest album on Rock Band, but Guitar Hero remains the only series to have classic Guns N' Roses songs.

1. The Doors
What We Have:
"Love Me Two Times" (Guitar Hero: World Tour)

It is almost inconceivable that The Doors were as iconic and important to the history of rock and roll and have not only appeared only once in the series, but that one appearance was the only time that The Doors have shown up in the genre.

Jim Morrison's voice is haunting and really a spectacular voice to sing along to. The whole band is really tight and deserves to show up more in the series and the genre. It's not as if the band has no hits remaining in their catalog. "Break on Through", "The End", "Light My Fire" and "Five to One" would all be great choices for the Guitar Hero series, and I really hope that Neversoft brings more of these legendary rockers to this series.

Big Thanks to TheLonging and sonicdude164 for catching a few of my misses in the article.