So it’s fortunate there’s a book coming out shortly full of Brutal Legend production art! Spanning 252 pages, The Art of Brutal Legend will feature concept art, behind-the-scenes features, and additional lore that ensures you know everything there is to know about the epic world of Brutal Legend and how it was put together.

You can currently pre-order it from both Amazon UK and Amazon US.

In other Brutal Legend merchandise-related news, you can now get a very limited number of Eddie Riggs figures for $150 each from the official Double Fine shop. This may or may not be one of the last chances you get to own one of these!

Check out the gallery thus far, for which entries can be submitted until November 6th. The guy to the right is my favourite — great likeness!

The article features loads of fantastic photos — including some from the race — videos, and Tim Schafer himself sitting in the bus! There’s also a tantalising teaser of an upcoming project at the end.

Titled ‘Tears of the Hextadon’, the DLC includes two multiplayer maps and the ‘Blade of Ormagoden’ axe. In Tim Schafer’s words:

“Circle of Tears is named after the crying of my vanquished foes on the battlefield, and Death’s Fjord is obviously a tribute to my Nordic ancestors, and their love of fan geysers and… Well, actually I just thought the name was cool.”

Interestingly, Sony seems to have netted itself some kind of deal because PlayStation Network buyers can get the DLC for free until November 19th, after which it becomes $5/£3.99. Xbox LIVE Arcade buyers will pay 400 Microsoft Points regardless.

I personally hope we see some single-player DLC shortly!

The festivities begin at 5pm PST and end at 9pm on October 28th. The developers have kindly provided their Xbox LIVE gamertags for immediate harassment:

• Patrick Hackett: DFpatrick
• Joe Virskus: DFjoe
• Geoff Soulis: DFgeoff
• Kee Chi: DFkee
• Tara Teich: DFtara
• Steve Peck: DFsteve
• Dan McGarry: DFdan
• Chad Dawson: DFchad
• Erik Robson: DFerik
• Anna Kipnis: DFanna
• Brad Muir: DFbrad

Once you’ve digested that lot, you’ll find two really sweet new pieces of fan art in the ‘Fan Art’ gallery. I’ve been sent quite a lot of fantastic art during the past week or so, and will be following up with the rest of it tomorrow. More is very much welcome!

I’ve also done a big update to the way the community tracker works. Brutal Legend-related stuff on other sites is no longer mixed up with updates to BRUTAL! itself — instead there’s now a pretty bar on the home page for that. This should make it a lot easier to see when new fan art has been added, etc.

Just a reminder that if you have any fan work to send in (art, music, fiction, cake), please go ahead! I’ve already had some great stuff that’ll be going up shortly.

Update

[October 24th, 2009 at 2:54pm GMT+1] Added an extra photo, both of which are courtesy of Jon ‘atomicpopmonkey’ Krop!

At least for the time being you can catch the promo on YouTube, also featuring a bonus Bouncer who promptly gets his ass kicked by Eddie.

Featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, and Rob Halford, the three of them share some thoughts on Brutal Legend and roadies in general — with a few words from a freshly shaven Tim Schafer shown in for good measure!

In other news, I’m going to start featuring new fan work in a special area on the home page shortly. I’ve been adding some truly awesome stuff during the past few weeks, but it is kind of tucked away. If you’ve created or seen any fan art, music, fiction, or whatever, please send it in or comment on this post — let’s build the most brutal collection ever!

Zachary George

Congratulations! As you didn’t leave any contact details I’m going to need you to comment on this news post with something I can use to get in touch with you.

Thanks for participating, everyone! Hopefully the fact that Brutal Legend is out today will ease the souls of those of you who didn’t win.

Update

[October 16th, 2009 at 9:38am GMT+1] And so, today Zachary George learns an important lesson about not leaving people hanging. Due to the prize having not been claimed after several days and no contact details having been left, I’ve done a second draw and chosen a new winner:

Tony Young

Lucky you! I’ve sent you an email seeing as you were savvy enough to include it. To be honest it kind of pleases me that a true fan got it — that Zachary guy clearly has no interest!

Firstly Jack appeared in character on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Check out all four video parts:

1. Living the Character of Eddie Riggs
2. Taking Steroids
3. Clap Pushups
4. Birthday Party

And if that craziness wasn’t enough for you, a whopping four ‘Brutal Thoughts with Jack Black’ episodes have been unleashed. Check those out here:

1. Episode 7: First Roadie
2. Episode 8: Mirror
3. Episode 9: Freedom Wizard
4. Episode 10: Breathe

Hope you’re all enjoying the game as much as me!

Apparently EB Games decided to jump the gun, and keen to to not be outdone JB Hi-Fi followed suit shortly afterwards. Naturally this could result in a chain reaction (Ho ho!), so it’s probably worth checking other shops too.

If anyone knows of any other places that’ve broken the street date in Australia and beyond, do comment!

Behold the complex entry requirements:

1. Check that you live in the United States (Sorry if you don’t!)
   
2. Leave a comment on this post that includes “Me please!” or something like that
   

On Rocktober 13th — the day Brutal Legend hits US stores — I’ll run the names of those who comment through a randomiser and announce the lucky metalhead.

It’d be wise to leave me some way of getting in touch with you (email address, Twitter, Facebook, etc) so I can notify you if you win. If you’d rather keep that private, just be around in a few days and you can send me an email to claim your booty!

Good luck!

Update

[October 11th, 2009 at 10:51am GMT+1] A few people have expressed concern about the possibility of people entering multiple times under different names. Just to clarify, IPs are logged and thus brutal measures will rain down upon those who employ such tactics (ie: disqualification).

Update #2

[October 13th, 2009 at 10:39am GMT+1] Winner announced!

1UP has also posted a brilliant eight-minute tour through Double Fine HQ, giving us a rare insight into the place where the most creative, imaginative, brutal games ever are made. It’s great to see how much Schafer treasures his advenure game days, with references and merchandise all over the place. You can almost see the tear in his eye when he realises someone’s stood on his Day of the Tentacle triangle box.

Xbox LIVE and the Wii will get the pack on October 13th, whereas PlayStation Network users will need to wait until October 15th. Wii owners will only be able to download each track individually however, and not as a complete pack.

The pricing is:

• Whole pack: $5.49 USD / £2.49 GBP / €3.99 / 440 Microsoft Points
• Per track: $1.99 USD / £0.99 GBP / €1.49 / 160 Microsoft Points / 200 Wii Points

And the tracks are:

• Motörhead: (We Are) The Road Crew ‘08
• Tenacious D: The Metal
• Testament: More Than Meets the Eye

Thanks to Andy for pointing this one out.

Update

[October 10th, 2009 at 9:53am GMT+1] Guh, this is what I get for writing posts in a hurry while on my way out. As Harmonix didn’t make it clear which tracks are included in the pack, I included their whole list whereas in actual fact just three of them comprise the Brutal Legend pack. Post above edited accordingly!

Hubble Space Telescope-eyed reader Mykal has spotted a PDF on GameStop’s site indicating which specific shops will be opening at midnight, so be sure to check that before you sit yourself down on the pavement.

If anyone knows of similar promotions in other countries, please leave a comment. I know the UK’s GameStation is known to do this kind of thing, but I’ve not heard any word on whether or not it’s doing it for Brutal Legend’s European release on October 16th .

You’ll find four videos of the event in the ‘Videos’ section, with #2 and #4 containing gameplay footage:

1. Press Conference
2. Multiplayer Gameplay Footage
3. Jack Black Talks Brutal Legend
4. Jack Black Plays Brutal Legend

“It is meant to be an homage, it’s not meant to be a new kind of metal, and it’s not meant to try to compete with the classic licensed tunes that we’re using in the game. What it’s meant to do is to really refer to them, call attention to them, and honor them in some sense, from a slightly different point of view, because you have this cinematic element going on.”

Definitely an intriguing interview for those who’re familiar with Peter McConnell’s past work (Monkey Island 2, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts). I’m personally really excited about seeing how he’ll be blending the licensed metal and the original music together, especially as it seems he’ll be utilising themes from the former in the latter.

According to Double Fine there was also a Brutal Legend X-Play special on G4TV last night. You’ll have to try and catch a repeat if you missed it, however there’s a small ‘Brutal Thoughts with Tim Schafer’ segment available on G4TV’s site.

Update

[October 3rd, 2009 at 7:18pm GMT+1] As expected the show aired, with Schafer looking appropriately slick. A video’s already up on YouTube, courtesy of Riadon3.

Update #2

[October 4th, 2009 at 5:08pm GMT+1] The ever-awesome Mykal has pointed out that G4TV is now sharing parts of its X-Play special online, and having just watched them all it’s a pretty good set of videos that gets various Double Finers as well as Jack Black in for a chat. Watch immediately:

1. Tim Schafer Zombifies Adam and Morgan
2. The Music of Brutal Legend
3. Gameplay Preview
4. Story and Character Preview (A little spoilery)
5. Multiplayer Preview
6. The Art of Brutal Legend

Okay, so it might not be quite as big and elaborate as EA’s effort. But still, some mighty fine production values have been lavished upon this thing and it’s certainly something I’d be happy to have in my collection!

Seems like it might be a video that’ll be included with the game itself as a quick primer for those who haven’t played through the single-player campaign, and as a result it does ’spoil’ a lot of the gameplay that’ll be available. If you’re sensitive to that kind of thing you should give this a miss.

Not sure why their official blog has been silent, but whatever the case Team Ironheade totally went for it on September 26th and was named overall winner of the derby. With a top speed of 46.1mph, the bus flew around the course and left the competition in its trail of awesomeness.

Here are some photos taken by LAist and Marketwire:

And don’t forget to check out Red Bull’s official video — skip to 1:29 for the epic unveiling of the Brütal Bus!

If anyone has their own photos and videos, be sure to comment with them and I’ll add them to the gallery. This thing deserves to be remembered!

Update #2

[October 1st, 2009 at 10:19am GMT+1] Double Fine has posted a great collection of pictures, featuring close-ups of the Brütal Bus and shots of it in action — all added to the collection above.  The creators have also uploaded a video of them wheeling it around, and you can check out loads of production photos on the Brütal Bus Facebook page.

• Interviews
• Q&As with followers of the official Twitter feed
• Giveaways
• A message from Tim’s Swine flu proofed bunker
• Spoilers
• Live axe lessons

Swine flu? Oh yeah, that’s right. Apparently Ormagoden — the monstrous god that pulls Eddie into the mythological world of metal — is threatening to mess you all up and give you swine flu if 666 million people don’t play the Brutal Legend demo. So, better make sure you’re around at 12pm PST (midday) on October 1st!

There’s a short video promoting this event featuring Brutal Legend designer Tim Schafer and Ormagoden, so keep an eye on the BRUTAL! YouTube channel in a bit for a HD version.

Update

[October 1st, 2009 at 11:43am GMT+1] Don’t forget that the demo is out today — possibly already depending on your location — and the release party is in about eight hours! Keep an eye on the official Brutal Legend Twitter feed so you can ask the developers questions.

What new design, you ask? Don’t panic — it’s not going to be too dramatic. The problem is that the general format of BRUTAL! has remained mostly the same since its launch, but the volume of Brutal Legend news and media has cataclysmically exploded.

The current design can’t adequately highlight all the new videos, images, etc that’re constantly flooding in, so it’s going to be shuffled around a bit and the front page is going to become more of a portal for the site’s various content; the site will also be better integrated with its various tie-ins such as Twitter and YouTube. It’ll retain a comparable look and feel, though. When’s it coming? Probably roughly when the game comes out.

But anyway, for now by all means follow BRUTAL! on Twitter and if you have any suggestions concerning the way it’s approached please comment. For example I’ve chosen to include Community Tracker updates on a trial basis, but if it seems too spammy I’ll have to reconsider.