More Rock Band Stuff. Wih Metallica. Great.

Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, MTV Games, a division of MTV Networks which is a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), and rock icons Metallica announced today a deal that will showcase the incredible depth of the band’s music in the highly anticipated videogame Rock Band™. The Grammy-award winning thrashers are making key tracks from their celebrated catalog available as digitally-distributed game levels. The incomparable metal song “Enter Sandman,” will ship on the game’s disc this holiday season.

“Metallica is one of the best loved bands in the world and their albums redefined hard rock and metal. Its one of the bands we had to bring to the Rock Band experience,” said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. “Rock Band will allow gamers to jam with the guys through their long, successful career, from young, raw talent to mega stars, playing the hard-rocking sounds that the band is known for.”

Distributed by Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), Rock Band is a new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. Offering four music games in one – Rock Band challenges rockers to master the lead/bass guitar, drums, and vocals or play in a cooperative band experience. Built on unprecedented deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and include many of the master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time.

Best known for its thrash-metal sounds, Metallica’s 11 albums have sold more than 95 million copies over their 26-year career. Easily one the most influential and intense metal bands of all time, the range of Metallica songs that will be available to Rock Band players will allow them to play along as the history of the genre unfolds.

“Enter Sandman,” the first single from the band’s self-titled album and one of the best known tracks, is a staple at Metallica’s live concerts. VH1 ranked it as the 22nd in its “40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time.”

“Our goal was to bring a deep musical experience to Rock Band by providing not just one song by a player’s favorite artist, but a carefully-chosen career-spanning array,” stated Paul DeGooyer, MTV’s Senior Vice President, Audio, Home Video and Games. “Metallica has never been afraid to let their fans get closer, and now those fans will be able to inhabit this incredible music in a completely new way.”