One of the hardest songs in Guitar Hero history is back

There are elaborate, step-by-step guides on how to beat it. Being a human while attempting it is not just a significant disadvantage - it’s absolutely discouraged. If you play it on Expert difficulty after the age of 16, a doctor has to come untangle your ruined, wretchedly knotted fingers. And when the doctor shows up, he wipes his brow and calls an old friend of his, who turns out to be Hideo Kojima. And then Hideo Kojima looks at your labyrinthine hand situation and goes, "I'm sorry, but not even I can figure out how to untie this mess. It's pure nonsense."

DragonForce’s infamous digit-twisting, probably demon-summoning song ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ has finally joined the playlist for Guitar Hero Live. It’ll appear first through one of the game’s streaming channels and then as a regular track in the music game’s catalogue. Whether or not it'll be any easier in this incarnation remains to be seen and felt, but I suspect humanity's youngest wave has already evolved to handle it with ease. (Don't kids come with extra fingers now?)

You’ll find ‘Through the Fire and Flames’ in a screechin’ marathon playing on a special channel on GHTV, an interactive music video broadcasting service attached to Guitar Hero Live, from today until Monday, February 8th (7AM PT). According to Activision, a handful of other growling songs join DragonForce’s claim on Guitar Hero history, though none of these own cheesefest lyrics like ... “We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days.”

  • Alter Bridge – 'Cry of Achilles'
  • Megadeth – 'Hangar 18'
  • Lamb of God – 'Ghost Walking'
  • Trivium – 'Strife'

This DragonForce devil ditty first appeared in Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock in 2007. It is easily beatable if you take a deep breath and unleash your inner lightning wizard.

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Ludwig Kietzmann

Ludwig Kietzmann is a veteran video game journalist and former U.S. Editor-in-Chief for GamesRadar+. Before he held that position, Ludwig worked for sites like Engadget and Joystiq, helping to craft news and feature coverage. Ludwig left journalism behind in 2016 and is now an editorial director at Assembly Media, helping to oversee editorial strategy and media relations for Xbox.