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Painkiller
Judas Priest
Painkiller
Painkiller
RaitingSR
Supervision Recommended
Information
Released 1990
Genre Metal
Language English
Source Rock Band 2
also in Unplugged
Available September 14, 2008
Playable in
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 3
Rock Band Blitz
Difficulty
Band redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil
Basic Pro
Guitar redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil NoNo Part
Bass redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil NoNo Part
Drums redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil
Keys NoNo Part NoNo Part
Vocals redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil redReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevilReddevil
Details
Male singer
Guitar Solo
Drum Solo
Vocal Cowbell
3-part Harmonies



Painkiller is a song on Rock Band 2 written by Judas Priest off their album "Painkiller." It is considered the hardest song in the game, and it is the highest tier on all instruments. The song includes difficult sections, including solos, long sections of alternate strumming and long and high-pitched notes for vocals.

Difficulty Tiers[]

  • Band difficulty: Tier 7
  • Guitar Difficulty: Tier 7
  • Drums difficulty: Tier 7
  • Vocals difficulty: Tier 7
  • Bass difficulty: Tier 7

Background[]

Written by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, the song is the opening track from the 1990's album of the same name and was released as the first single off the album later that year. The first guitar solo in the song is played by Glenn Tipton, and the second by KK Downing. The song is noted for Rob Halford's high pitched screams throughout the song as well as Scott Travis' complex drumming.

Rock Band 2[]

The song is featured in Rock Band 2, included in various setlist and challenges on Tour mode, such as "Metal Marathon" or "Guitar Legend", and it is a single venue on Sheng Li Stadium, Shanghai. Also, it's the last track to play on the "Rolling Stones' Rock Immortals" setlist, and in "The Endless Setlist 2".

Walkthrough[]

Drums[]

The Drummer is completely on his own for the opening solo (and failing out during it guarantees a restart except in certain Battle of the Band challenges), which starts at a faster speed and then slows down after 8 measures. The first 8 measures are similar to the opening of Panic Attack, and similar measures can be used if the kicking is too difficult to keep up with. The rest of the opening solo is similar to what the drummer will be doing for the verses and the two guitar solos - a Robot Rock-like pattern with no kicking where the snare is. The ending solo (done during the vocalist's 18-second note) starts off slow and builds up in speed and is preceded by a fast fill starting just after the second guitar solo ends.

Guitar[]

For the verses, use a strumming pattern similar to that of intro, remembering to strum the two chord notes and the note immediately after it. For the choruses, there is overdrive in the first chord pattern in each chorus and a second overdrive phrase in the last chord pattern of the last chorus.

Solo 1[]

The main choke point to watch out for is the fast run-in section D (Guitar Hero Van Halen veterans take note), which ends with a triplet run (which itself has overdrive at the end of it). Deployment of overdrive is highly recommended, partly for the higher chance of survival, and partly because it is the fastest run of notes in the song. The run at the end of the solo is similarly fast, but slightly shorter, slightly slower, and has overdrive at the end of it.

Solo 2[]

Surprisingly, the second of the two guitar solos is easy, with the only important thing being that the chords at the end of it exist outside of the area marked for the solo, meaning that they absolutely must be strummed.

Vocals[]

The vocals are mostly done in falsetto, so singing an octave below is advisable. The two talky "Aaaah" phrases are difficult to hit while singing properly but are nowhere near as broken as some other talky phrases. Inhaling deeply (especially using the stomach) is required if the last phrase - the 18-second note - is to be hit on one breath, however, even on Expert, the entire syllable does not need to be held to get an awesome.

Bass[]

This song is surprisingly easy to handle provided your strumming hand doesn't get Repetitive Stress Injury, however, the sextuplets make it impossible to full combo the song using only up-strums.

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