Brütal Legend/WMG

The Sea of Black Tears is Cauldron Lake
That, in turn, makes the Drowning Doom Taken
 * Supporting evidence: "It's not a lake. *scary Taken voice* It's an ocean." A sea amounts to, depending on whether it's poetic naming or not, either an inland ocean, or exactly the same thing as an ocean (realistic naming and poetic naming, respectively).
 * Add to this that the Age of Metal happened on Earth, so you'd expect the Sea of Black Tears to still be around somewhere, and that Tim Schafer even tweeted about how Alan Wake features something strongly resembling a stage battle against the Taken, and this becomes scarily plausible.
 * as Mr. Scratch is to Alan. You really might be onto something, here.
 * "It's not a lake, it's an ocean," as a phrase would actually make more sense, too. Since the Sea of Black Tears is really more of a lake than a sea. Suddenly, this is what Alan was trying to tell us.

Labyrinth takes place in the same universe as Brutal Legend
Both take place in a magical, fairly medieval setting. Both can transport mortals from our time into their time fairly easily. Of course, the most obvious parallel is that both feature thinly veiled versions of our world's rock stars. The movie takes place before the events of Brutal Legend, featuring David Bowie's counterpart, " Jareth the Goblin King". Seriously, if you take a close gander at the world outside of the Labyrinth (at the beginning of the film) it does look remarkably similar to Brutal Legend's landscape. Possibly, the events of Brutal Legend take place thousands of years after the events of Labyrinth, (being only twenty years in our time). Jareth, being not only a ruler of goblins, but also a titan, could have become a god with the rest of his titan kin, leaving behind artifacts and wisdom for the mortals to find.
 * Would that make the goblins precursors to Fletus?

Eddie's in a coma, and the game is All Just a Dream
Everything starts going crazy when Eddie gets into a backstage accident, and gets blood on his belt. In reality, he was critically injured in the accident, going comatose and imagining a perfect world, where the stupid nu-metal band he works for is killed horribly, he's transported into a perfect world of metal and rock, and he becomes the hero of all humanity, being fully appreciated for his roadie skills the entire time.
 * Better Than Canon. It also perfectly explains why the alternate world can be so influenced and steeped in references and lore to heavy metal, not to mention why the Riggs managed to get things done so easily and so well in this world.

Doviculus will be brought back by the Sea of Black Tears
His head falls right into the Sea of Black Tears after the DECAPITATIOOOON! And the Sea seems to have this thing with bringing dead things back to life. It's just begging to happen. Doviculus could then lead the Drowning Doom, and possibly force Iron Heade and the rest of the Tainted Coil to fight together.


 * The Tears only work on humans. They hold both Aetulias power and sorrow, but it can only affect those descended from her - the Titans, and their imperfect clones, the humans. The Tainted Coil, being from a mix of the the First Ones and Ormagoden, inherited none of her purity aspects, and hence cannot gain her power.
 * Not sure, this actually might have some merit. If I recall correctly, it's only ever specified that the Coil are immune to the call of the Tears, not necessarily that they can't be affected by them at all. Doviculus was able to throw them around in the final battle, after all; stealing  couldn't be the only cause.
 * Eddie asked Rima about that near the end of the game and she said that humans feel despair and heartache more deeply than demons, so they're more vulnerable to the call. More specifically, she said the demons can "resist" it better, which does make it sound like they could be changed too.

An expansion pack or sequel in which you fight Fletus and his people is coming
Fletus mentioned his people are plentiful and building an army. He has wings, a car and a weapon (his brass knuckles). All he'd need to be an Avatar in the MP would be an instrument of some sort. Obviously they live in a faraway land (the game is only set on the first continent/island) where car parts a more plentiful. Perhaps the island might also have other factions such as the ancient Hard rock Nation?
 * Fletus and the Tick Choppers seem to be inspired by the art of "Big Daddy" Roth. They'd be the counterpoint to the S&M/ Corrupt Church of the tainted coil; cartoonish, bug-eyed anarchic "speed demons", which are a common album cover theme.

Axel Steel and Izzy Sparks from Guitar Hero are descendants of Eddie and Lionwhyte, respectively, and Lou is related to Doviculus.
Only, y'know, Axel became a full-fledged rockstar instead of a roadie.

Drowned Ophelia is Ophelia's despair made manifest.
At the end of the game, Ophelia cries a single black tear. She also seems to have some understanding of the events that took place- otherwise you'd think things between her and Eddie would be considerably more tense- and of course she managed to survive underwater for over three months. Drowned Ophelia was created by the Sea, yes, but rather than an entirely separate being, she was an Enemy Without of the real Ophelia, and upon Drowned Ophelia's death re-integrated with her original self.

As one of those who have been touched by the Sea, survived, and remained sane Ophelia now may retain her Drowned Ophelia powers.


 * I'd take that as straight-up canon. It explains why Ophelia was being kept alive within the Sea of Black Tears: since Dark Ophelia is a Literal Split Personality, she needs the real Ophelia alive. That also explains why Ophelia was still submerged in the Sea. Ophelia's basically a Soul Jar for Dark Ophelia, so it's safer for her to use a Remote Body to lead the Drowning Doom than to risk losing her real body in battle.

The Next Leader of the Drowning Doom will be an expy of Voltaire
What better way to satirize Goths than have yourself be their leader in a video game?

The Age of Metal is not really the ancient past. Instead it is After The Metalocalypse.
Obviously Dethklok become Titans after they reshape the world in the prophesied Metalocalypse (a concert so Metal it awakens Ormag Ã¶den on it's own merits). This explains the Schizo-Tech car parts and weaponry as it is a metal version of a Scavenger World, and why all those metal landmarks and species don't exist in our time because they were created during the Metalocalypse. Further more we have proof of uncertain canon that Eddie once worked for Dethklok.
 * Furthermore, Ormagoden didn't send Eddie *back* in time. Instead, he put Eddie into some kind of magical stasis/coma and remade the world. The altar Eddie wakes up on is the same one he built, or a replica made by the locals. The demons waiting for him were waiting for him to awaken, likely for some ritual.

Eddie traveled in time to help out Dethklock from an assassin.
The monster fighting skills he showed only came after he traveled to the Age of Metal. Something from the Age of Metal was sent after the band; so Eddie was waiting for them. After stopping it; he didn't need to make anyone any more sandwiches.

Brutal Legend shares a universe with Psychonauts and the entire game takes place within Eddie's Mind.
Sit tight, kids. This is about to get Freudian. WARNING: Unmasked spoilers to follow!!! Proceed with care.

Eddie was left in a vegetative state following the scaffold collapse at the start of the game and his trip into the game world is really a dive into the mind. Each character and faction represent a different aspect of Eddie's psyche and the conflicts they share are inner conflicts within Eddie.

Lars is a sort of idealized version of what Eddie would like to be: the last warrior in the metal militia fighting a desperate cause against commercialism and conformity. Lars represents Eddie back in his youth when he thought metal could take over the world. In a word, the Super-Ego

Lionwhite is the side of Eddie that "sold out" when he started being a roadie for nu-metal bands. He envisions him as a pretentious, power-hungry glam rocker to further juxtapose him to Lars. He is the ID that craves material payoff for his music. His betrayal of the human race mirrors Eddie's betrayal (however small and largely subjective) of true metal (Is it any surprise that Lionwhite is slain by a piece of a falling mirror?)

Ophelia is harder to describe. She represents the heavy-metal sub culture that is often maligned by the outside world as strange and dangerous. She is the community that surrounds heavy metal (shown by her devotion to Lars Naturally, Eddie loves this but ultimately has to turn away from it when it when he believes that she turned away from the true metal (by betraying Lars). Her defection to the Drowning Doom represents drug use (all of Lita's remarks about how she craved the Black Tears) as a way to deal with pain.
 * Ophelia could be a perfect girlfriend rendered by Eddie's mind in simillar fasion to Divine Comedy's Beatrice,who was the embodiment of divine and perfect being in Dante's mind.

Doviculus is the devotion to Heavy Metal taken to the extreme and unhealthy (as any fanatical devotion can be). Doviculus is the diehard "Stop Having Fun!" Guys that permeate the heavy metal community. Obsesses with brutality and purity, he forgets the true purpose of metal and perverts for his own aims. By ripping Ophelia's heart out, he seeks to consume the community for his own ends. Eddie realizes this and must kill him to reclaim the true purpose of metal: enjoyment.

Along the way, the various Expies of the Eddie's metal gods show up to guide him and bless his mission. Were Raz or any other Psychonaut to venture into Eddie's mind, they would experience much of the same things.


 * Actually, it's not Freudian, it's Jungian. Jung called it "the personal myth" and what he described has striking similarities to Eddie's experience.

Succoria was male and Eddie exists only due to dark cloning magics that combined Riggnarok and Succoria's DNA.
Well Succoria used the male title of Emproer instead of Empress, wore the large men's shirt that Eddie wore in the game and according to Doviculous had a rather large "pair".
 * There have been female emperor's in real life before so maybe she just chose to use that instead (or maybe Emperor was the traditional title regardless of gender).
 * Given Succoria was a demon, and given what demons are like in Brutal Legend, it could be that she had both sets of equipment but was marginally more female than male or self-identified as female. In her leathers and battle gear she'd be humanoid-shaped and masculine-seeming, but out of it she may be a glorious flesh-blossom of fangs and womanly endowments. Clearly Riggnarok loved her dearly. Or was a sick, sick puppy.
 * Alternatively, Succoria's "pair" was figurative and Doviculus just meant courage.

Eddie did more damage to the human cause than anyone else.
He's still a hero, and he does save the day at the end, but he inadvertently clued in all the Big Bads on how best to exploit the magic of the Age of Metal. Pre-Eddie all fighting went down in a more realistic fashion, as we can see from the comparatively mundane combat styles of Eddie's human companions. Post-Eddie, everyone taps into their inner rocker and unlocks their true potential... including the Sea of Black Tears and the Tainted Coil. Drowned Ophelia used Ophelia's knowledge of Eddie's tactics to create a proper army out of the Sea of Black Tears's victims instead of just mindless zombies. Doviculous, having dim memories of the Titans' pre-ascension rituals, finally put two and two together after seeing Eddie at work and dramatically boosted the power of the Tainted Coil. Had Eddie not been successful in detaining them both, the Doom and the Coil would almost certainly have ravaged the planet with pure Titan-derived heavy metal magic instead of being a local zombie threat and a cadre of lost and angry souls, respectively.

Eddie is an older version of Hoagie
Obiously, "Hoagie" is just a nickname. Between Day of the Tentacle and this game, his band breaks up. As a result of this, Hoagie decides to get into shape and become a roadie.
 * Actually, Hoagie already is a roadie. So this scenario requires even less of a mental leap than one might think.

The entire game is simply a dying dream from the POV of a different Eddie.
Both Eddies are similar to one another in terms of physical appearance and love of rock-n-roll. Also, both of 'em have enemies played by Tim Curry. Let's face it, Brutal Legend is basically what's going through Eddie's imagination as he's being murdered by Frank N. Furter.

There are unseen normal-human civilians who also populate the Age of Metal, but due to Activision we only see a few.
Since the campaign had much less time alloted to it than the multiplayer due to demands of the first publisher, there are a number of "invisible bystanders" who implicitly populate the world but which we don't see due to time constraints/conservation of detail. If the game had some more time to develop we'd have seen more "civilian" NPCs around the world and in the Ironheade settlements. They're just sort of assumed to exist otherwise, and are the source of the Drowning Doom's assorted suckers. Maybe not the wildest mass guess, but a guess nonetheless...

The Drowning Doom was "recruited" mainly from the remains of Lionwhyte's armies
Come think of it, we never learn how Ophelia managed to recruit so many soldiers for her army in just three months and turn them into the lean and mean killing machines on par with the Ironheade, who have just defeated the entire army of General Lionwhyte. Remember, that the three months during the Time Skip were mostly peaceful and the two armies first clashed afterwards, equally matched (though the Ironheade was supposed to have way more battle experience). So, remembering that the DD members are produced by having normal people drink from the Sea of Black Tears, the theory is that Ophelia gathered up all of the Lionwhyte forces that were outside his palace on that day and made them drink from the Sea. They may have even been more or less willing because they've just lost their boss and identity and it is highly unlikely that the Ironheade would have accepted back the glam rock minions and groupies.
 * An additional support for this theory would be that Lyonwhite's minions are nowhere to be seen after the Time Skip (though they might have been wiped out by the Coil).
 * Au contraire! Some of the post-game ambush missions have Lionwhyte units that attack near his fallen Pleasure Dome.
 * While that is true, one could still claim this is true, and the remaining Lionwhyte forces being those not taken in by Ophelia.
 * Also, a bit of unintentional Fringe Brilliance here, as the Frightwigs are listed as the animated hair of people who washed their hair in the Sea, then died, bringing the head along with it. What would be the first thing that Ophelia would have the converts do, Drink of the Sea, some possibly even being compelled to wash their hair in it, in a chance to prove just how loyal they are to their new boss, only to be taken in further than most.

The Sacred Beer Tree is an offshoot of Madranol
By analogy to the Middle-Earth, Madranol (a.k.a. the Teated Tree of Drinking) was Telperion, and the Sacred Beer Tree, the White Tree of Gondor, the poor man's version of the lost Telperion.

The beast in the opening cutscene is not the actual Ormagoden
Because as we know from the Creation Myth, Ormagoden is dead and everything in the Age of Metal consists of his Blood, Fire, Noise and Metal. Of course, gods have a tendency to come Back From the Dead and the Age of Metal may be actually far future rather than ancient times, but let's compare the Ormagoden of legend and the cutscene Ormagoden. The legendary Ormagoden illuminated the entire world and had enough blood in him to drown it completely and create it anew. The cutscene Ormagoden merely sent Eddie to the Age of Metal, then killed the Kabbage Boys and proceeded to roar angrily at their fans (which, if you think of it, is as impressive as writing them stern letters). The difference in destructive potential is obvious. So my theory is: the actual Ormagoden is dead, but Eddie's belt buckle contained a much inferior image of him, strong enough to fight off anyone pursuing its owner at the moment, then protect him until the transportation is complete. Would make sense for.
 * This is actually explained in game. Your suggestion is actually correct, and is referred as such in one of the later Legends within the Campaign. It's specifically made for such an event, as well as a way to return The Emperor to the Age of Metal once their mission was completed.

The Baron shares more than a voice and looks from Rob Halford
There is only one reason a man wouldn't be interested in Rima. Besides, we already know that he's a flamer.
 * Halford is openly gay, but isn't the jury out on the Baron character? He says he had a relationship with Rima as if it was some deep, dark secret and there's no real evidence supporting or taking away from his claim.
 * ...But on the other hand, it could just be a joke playing on how long Halford spent in the closet.

Eddie is an arachnophobe.
The same guy who walks alone unflinchingly into battle against a superpowered demon that's already murdered two of his friends, hunts down enormous beasts for fun, and thinks nothing of trying to ride firebreathing metal cats, was obviously hesitant to enter the lair of the Metal Queen, not to mention his very obvious shocked reaction to the first mention of Killmaster's flock of giant spiders. Granted, he sucked it up and went in anyway to save Ophelia, but his reluctance here when it didn't appear anywhere else seems to indicate something.

The villains of the next game will be a based on different genres.
Please add other entries above this one to prevent this entry from overwhelming the page.

Techno: Robot warriors that were once servants of the Titans, but rebelled and were banished by their creators. They then went offline until the sheer power of Eddie's Metal awakened them by reminding them of their creators. With revenge in mind, they storm Bladehenge, cue epic war with Ironheade.
 * Faction Name: Legion of Lights
 * Avatar: Two leather-jacket wearing robots who inspire the main force whilst secretly yearning to become human. Both work together, tag-team style - with less health than a standard avatar, the two can swap between each other via matter portal to prolong their survival. Use a heavily modified palm computer for guitar, fluorescent sword. The faction relies on stunning abilities and buffs/debuffs to make up for weaker units.
 * Car: Hover Car, A small car that resembles but is legally destintic from a Star Wars Landspeeder.
 * Stage: Glowing pyramid, various sci-fi style cues. Merch booths resemble monoliths.
 * Solos (Besides Rally, Summon Flag and Summon (hover)Car)
 * Once More - Briefly boosts fan income and unit speed.
 * Mister Mechano - Briefly makes your units invincible, but they are much slower whilst under the effects of the Solo.
 * Laser Show - Blinding laser show damages and stuns nearby enemy units.
 * Synth Metal - This blasphemy upon rock so angers the opponent they forget how to fly.
 * Reccurring Riff - Boosts unit production speed for a short while.
 * Trance Call - Summons Trance Spirits to the battlefield.
 * Dance Effect - The stage pyramid fires a huge laser-effect across the field, damaging and knocking down enemy units.
 * Units
 * Ravers - Typical combat infantry, wearing jeans and armed with glowsticks. Double teaming with them forms them up, similar to the mosh pit.
 * Grape iBot - ranged infantry - robots with a clean, purple form. Double team with them for a wider-spread shot.
 * Mobile Booth - Mobile DJ booth that rallies and heals units. Double team to drive and unfold a low powered, stunning laser gun.
 * Fluorotron - Siege unit similar to the Bouncer. Double Team to release disruptive shockwaves.
 * Light Rig - Hovering artillery vehicle that uses strobing laser effects. Double team to drive and boost firepower.
 * Dance Chicks - Robot girls who debuff and stun enemies with tight clothing and flashy glowsticks. Double teaming carries them on your shoulders, stunning large groups of foes by relasing blinding flashes of light.
 * Synth Stringer - stealth unit, can cloak and ambush the enemy. Double Team in order to release a cacaphony of synth strings, making enemu units fight amongst themselves.
 * Trance Spirits - Summoned via Trance Call, these fast swarm units fire concentrated light bolts. Effective against bikes and cars, but the Spirits are fragile. Cannot be Double Teamed with.
 * Sample-miester - Hovertruck that can spawn new units. Double team to spawn weak clones of enemy units.
 * Club Copter - a low flying gunship with a nightclub on board. Similar function to the Rock Crusher. Can only be shot down by ranged units, but is very fragile. Double Team to unleash the Legion's trademark dancetrack and cause massive damage.
 * Song Reccomendations
 * Robot Rock - Daft Punk
 * Pjanoo - Eric Prydz

Country: A horde of nomadic cowboys and Native Americans that are the descendants of the human subjects of the Titans that feld from Doviculus and the Tainted coil who have returned to reclaim their homelands. Would probably be led by an Expy of Garth Brooks or Toby Keith.
 * Offcial Faction Name: The Bronco Busters
 * Avatar: Led, by the mysterious "Man in Black" whose specializes in moody acoustic twang and southern rock. Swings a bulllwhip and wields a black acoustic.
 * Car: A beatup looking pickup truck. It doesn't have weapons but friendly troops can get on board the back and can be transported across the battlefield.
 * Solos (Besides Rally, Summon Flag and Summon Car)
 * Liberated Avian-Plays the song everyone wants to hear and raises speed and attack
 * Stampede-Sends rush of bulls charging through the area, damaging all enemy units
 * Unforgiven-Used after enemy slays you. Launches bolts of energy that home in on the enemy that killed you
 * Roughneck-Deals damage to infantry units in range
 * Patriotic Ballad-Inspires troops to fight harder, raising defense and healing nearby units
 * Units
 * Good-ol-boys-Typical combat infantry similar to the Headbangers. Double teaming causes a hoedown similar to the mosh pit
 * Huntsman-Long range infantry using shotguns and bows to pick off enemy units
 * Truckers-Supply force driving pickups with speakers in the back they keeps the front-lines healed and provides a mild attack boost to allied units
 * Rally Racers-Fast, Anti-infantry rally cars similar to NASCAR
 * Desperadoes-Mounted cavalry on horse back specializing in infantry harassment. Between lassos hoist individual units off the ground for a scrape across the field while small arms harass other units.
 * Sixteen Wheeler-Specialty of the Country faction, an armored personnel transport that can quickly deliver a large force safely to the battle field
 * Ranch Hands-Stealth units riding tractors. Specialize in destroying towers with the added bonus of automatically constructing a new Merch Booth when a geyser becomes available
 * El Toro-Similar to the Tainted Coil's Maiden attack, this unit is Exactly What It Says on the Tin: A giant bull that rampages across the battlefield, stomping, kicking and breathing fire from its nostrils. Requires the Avatar to be on its back
 * Song Reccomendations
 * Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
 * Free Bird - Lynrd Skynrd

Rap: A vehicular based faction that operates on hit and run tactics. They were cast away from the main continent for misusing the gifts of the titans for personal gain over the greater (and more metal) good. Faction may be cut to avoid claims of racism.
 * Official Faction Name:D-Unit
 * Avatar: A silent and enigmatic DJ who hides his face behind a gold plated theater mask and a black hoodie. Uses a turntable instead of guitar and a baseball bat as a melee weapon.
 * Car: Pimpmobile, a souped up convertable.
 * Stage: Plastered in gold plating, with several statues of dancing girls.
 * Units
 * Wannabes - Basic melee/swarm unit. The only T1 unit that can be built from the stage. Double Teaming brings up a promotion menu, which allows you to promote them to any T1 Rap unit. Can be upgraded - upgrades carry over when promoted.
 * Boyz - Heavy anti-infantry, armed with baseball bats. Double-team to gather them around you, allowing you to order a breakdancing malstrom when you need some space.
 * Ghetto Blasters - Ranged infantry with sound cannons, double team to use a mortar function.
 * Lyric Buster - Healing unit riding a pimped out car, healing units with improvised lines. Double Teaming allows you to switch between lyrics that heal, phat beats to boost damage, or a speed-increasing beatbox session.
 * Club Girl - T2 unit that can switch between vehicle/building sabotage and infantry combat. Double-team to gather them around you, forcing enemy units to attack you out of jealousy.
 * Combatmobile - T2 unit produced from stage. Basic combat vehicle, melee-infantry killer. Can be promoted to any T2 unit, can be upgraded.
 * Pimpcopter - Flying transport vehicle that can transport 3 infantry units. Double Team to fire the squads out in drop pods rather than normally depositing them, causing shockwaves on impact.
 * Jacked 'n' Amped Car Killer (J.A.C.K.) - Anti-vehicle/building vehicle. Armed with a heavy sound cannon that shakes targets apart. Double Team to drive and boost the attack power of J.A.C.K.
 * True Brother - T3 officer unit that heals and buffs firendly units. Can summon any other Rap unit via Double Team.
 * Deathmobile - T4 super unit. Super transport vehicle that transports 5 infantry units and 2 Combatmobiles/JACK's. Also has anti-infantry turrets along the side for self-defense. Double-Team to unfold a speaker system that can send a shattering Rap session at the foe
 * Song Reccomendations
 * My Name Is - Eminem
 * Fix Up, Look Sharp - Dizze Rascal
 * Izzo (H.O.V.A.) - Jay-Z

J-Pop: An anime inspired faction that has Ninja, Samurai, Humongous Mecha, Magical Girls and other stables of Shonen. Lead by a young woman with a yellow head band and a red arm band and a young angsty mecha pilot who wants to run away they come from across the sea in the name of exploration until Eddie offends them by accident and they seek revenge.
 * Faction Name: The Seeking Other Societies Organization. Specializes in paralyzing enemy units and evading detection
 * Avatar: The overly cheerful and phenomenally violent Hikari Sugiyama. Wields a glittery guitar and matching katana and is capable of motivating her troops with threats of a rarely followed up "death penalty." Needless to say, she has never had problems with morale.
 * Car: Taxi, a mysterious taxi cab that somehow shows up whenever needed.
 * Solos (In addition to Summon Flag, Rally Army and Summon Car)
 * Unwanted Harem-Gathers nearby infantry to Avatar where they stand helplessly panting while you pick them off
 * Dancing Theme-Avatar performs short dance and all enemy units will focus on her briefly (leaving any buildings/units they were attacking alone)
 * Colony Drop-Drops flaming chunks of space debris on enemy units and buildings
 * Beam Spam-Crowd control burst of lasers
 * Units
 * Sentai-Color coded melee infantry using overly stylized martial arts learned exclusively from anime. Double team produces a stylized attack combination.
 * Senshi-Magical girls that provide long range magical attacks. Double team triggers transformation sequence that leaves enemies paralyzed
 * Shinobi-Stealthy ninja that specialize in destroying buildings (much like roadies do). Double team allows Avatar to mimic stealth and lead the team
 * Mega Neko-Cat unparalleled in its size and cuteness. Heals nearby units with its warm and cuddly personality. In addition, it also renders enemy units paralyzed by its adorable mewing and unexplainable "Kawaisa". Mostly a support vehicle, the Avatar can Double team to bring MegaNeko's claws out...
 * Shinigami- Agents of death clad in black kimonos, they are indistinguishable from sentai units were it not for their "Rescue Arc" special ability which allows them to immediately rush to a besieged ally or building, plowing down anything in their way. Double team allows for the Avatar to instantly warp anywhere on the map
 * Power Suit-Mecha Units that specialize in vehicle destruction. Double team allows two Power Suits to combine into one for extra damage.
 * D-Racer-Rapid speed anti infantry in the form of drift racers. Double Team yields similar effects to the car in normal gameplay (i.e. Guns, rockets, etc...)
 * Zettai Ryouiki-Giant mecha in the form of a school girl (Essentially a mecha version of the avatar). Inspires fear int he enemy but the pilot has the nasty tendency to break down and run away when the fighting gets too tough (Or influenced by Ophelia's despair statuses). Avatar must Double Team to slap sense into the pilot

Classical: A clockpunk faction of banished predecessors of the Titans. Led by a clockwork cyborg Ludwig Van Beethoven.
 * This Troper would not like this, since Classical music inspired Heavy Metal.
 * Faction Name: The Symphony
 * Avatar: Amadeus Von Bludhaven, the first one. His orchestrations lead to the creation of all other life. Wields a sharpened conductor's baton for solos (called movements which cause phantoms of an orcestra to apear and play) and in meele combat. Some meele combos incorporate his clockwork implants as extending limbs.
 * Stage: Quiet, reserved, dignified, and hosting a full orchestra. Merch booths are very arty and should probably resemble a treble clef.
 * Car: Horseless Carriage, Exactly What It Says on the Tin a carriage that moves on it's own arcane powers. Instead of guns it has a balista on top.
 * Solos (In addition to Summon Flag, Rally Army and Summon Car)
 * Ode to Joy: Basic friendly buff.
 * Komm Susser Todd: Basic enemy debuff (extra effective against mecha based units from the SOS Organization).
 * Nth Movement: Disrupts enemy solos.
 * Oh, Joyous Machine: Summons a unit of Gear Dragoons.
 * 12th Cannon (misspelling is deliberate!): Ultimate last-ditch defense solo. The stage unfolds a series of Tuba cannons, which fire off volleys that do more damage the closer the enemy is to the stage.
 * Units
 * Droogies: Basic melee units with designs based on Alex and his gang from A Clockwork Orange. Double Teaming allows Amadeus to gather them around him and then charge them, issuing a beatdown on larger targets and smashing aside smaller ones.
 * Bassists: sharply dressed and playing cellos. Can double team to produce a shockwave effect.
 * Conductor: A fragile clockwork walker with a conductor riding astride it. Provides low attack and speed bonuses. Double teaming sharply increases these buffs, and Amedus can up the tempo to increase them even more for a short time.
 * Brass Buss: A brass band artillery vehicle. Double team to drive and aim, and add a shockwave effect to the shot.
 * Gear Dragoons: First Ones riding clockwork horses, swathed in robes. Summoned via solo. Similar in role to Tick Choppers - dedicated anti-infantry that attacks from range with hand cannons.
 * Mortonome: T4 ultimate unit. Massive support unit that resembles a metronome on tank tracks, massively buffs units within range. Has some small scatter-shot cannons to defend itself. Double team to affect all Symphony units on the field, and allow Amedus to conduct the Death Symphony (similar to the Bladehenge solo on the Rock Crusher).

Folk: A magical herb drives members of Ironheade to split off and follow a Bob Dylan expy to form a new army with psychedelic hippy motif that wages war on everyone else in the name of love and peace. The leader avatar can use psychedelic powers to daze opponents.
 * Faction Name: Children of the Flower
 * Avatar: Woody. A man of about average height and thinish build with black bushy hair. Weilds an accoustic guitar that has the words "This Axe Kills Demons Too" written on it in what appears to be sharpie and an indistinctive dagger for meele combat. Fights with an almost zen like calm and will compliment his opponents unless the fight starts going badly at which point he switches to a completely different persona one bursting with rage and often comparing his opponents to varying levels of evil. This personality change has no real effect upon gameplay only on his dialouge.
 * Car: A large van.
 * Solos (In addition to Summon Flag, Rally Army and Summon Car)
 * Peace, Love and Understanding - Converts nearby low level enemy units to his cause.
 * Blowing in the Wind - General buff for nearby allied units.
 * Psychadelia - Stuns enemey units, causes psychadelic Interface Screw upon enemy avatars.
 * Units
 * Hippies - General foot soliders equivlent to Headbangers.
 * Growers - Heals all units with their "magical herbal remedies". Double-teaming allows you to summon clouds of G-Rated smoke, confusing and stunning the enemy.
 * Pugilist Protestors - Support unit armed with signs, banners, slogans and no concept of peaceful protest. Can disrupt fan income from Merch Booths, drawing from the enemy income to add to your own. Fragile on their own, cannot attack. Double-teaming projects a shield that deflects ranged attacks.
 * Stoner - Anti-Infantry vehicle. Like a big van with a catapult on top, throws stones. Double-team lets you aim where the stone lands.

Power Metal: An apocalyspe-themed faction, based on bands like Dragon Force (video game), Hammerfall, and so on. It follows that, since metal can directly affect the world, power metal, which is faster metal, can rip holes in time and space. For this reason, the Titans sealed the genre itself away untill its power was diluted enough to be realeased.
 * Faction Name: Apocalyptus (add umulaunts as required)
 * Avatar: Sherman Lu, a member of the SOS Organization that tried to emulate Eddie by deserting his old faction. His attempts to play metal really, really fast got him possessed by Chukka, Demon of Power, so named because of the sound of the bass guitars in Power Metal. He wears jet black medieval armour with spikes and wings made of shards of metal, and has a broadsword for a melee weapon. The army is slow but powerful.
 * Car: Fames, a car made out of glittering metal bones.
 * Stage: Like what you get when you take the stage away but leave... stage-ness... behind. Mostly made of metal and fire, like Ormag Ã¶den is. Same for Merch Booths.
 * Solos (In addition to Summon Flag, Rally Army, Fan tribute and Summon Car)
 * Hands of the Dead - ghoslty arms pull the enemy Avatar to the ground, preventing movement for a short time.
 * Scream of War - increases the speed and attack of your army.
 * Riptide - Area of effect damage with incredible knockback.
 * Denial and Apathy - for a brief time, any emeny units produced will be spawned in a stunned state.
 * Create Death Spire - calls a shard of Death Crystal to erupt from the ground. This Death Spire will launch fire at any enemies in range.
 * Summon Metal Dragon - calls the mighty Metal Dragon to your location - needs to be built at the stage first.
 * The End - The skies begin to burn, making your units immune to debuffs and panic and causing debuffs amongst the enemy.
 * Units
 * Legionnare - ghostly melee unit. Double team to form up in a tortoise formation, protecting them and you from ranged attack.
 * Arrow Demon - ranged unit. Double team to unleash a hail of arrows in all directions.
 * Angel Choir - the guys that provide all the "woah"-ing. Heals units, double team to boost healing power and fire a blast of sound at enemies.
 * Ressurected Hero - a stone statue of a long-dead hero. Anti-vehicle/building infantry. Double team to use a charge attack.
 * Painful One - stealth unit, attacks from a distance. Lethal to most light infantry. Double team to access a sniper function. Due to balance issues, this will not affect vehicles or Avatars
 * War Chariots - Ghost warriors on chariots. Anti-infantry vehicles than launch flaming arrows. Doubleteam allows you to drive and extends blades from the wheels, cutting down enemies you drive through.
 * Death Spire - defensive turret, summoned via solo. No double team.
 * Herald of Ashes - anti-building vehicle armed with flamethrowers. Double-Teaming hooks up napalm instead of normal gas, burning for longer and leaving flaming obstacles.
 * Paladin's Tomb - walker, support unit. Projects a shield that deflects ranged attacks, defending anyone near it. Can fight in close combat. Double-team to extend the sheild radius and throw hunks of rock at the opponent.
 * Metal Dragon - this ressurects a Metal Dragon from ages past. The dragon is summoned via solo, and flies above, raining catastrophic destruction. It refuses to follow orders.
 * Song Reccomendations
 * Heart of a Dragon - Dragon Force (video game)
 * Hearts on Fire - Hammerfall

Jazz: An old-timey faction, with much of their units in Deliberately Monochrome sepiatone. (To help distinguish them from the Drowning Doom, which are also Deliberately Monochrome.) They're mobster-themed. Sort of. You can call them old-fashioned, but they've never forgotten: They're the original Music of Sin.
 * Faction Name: The Zoot Shooters
 * Avatar: Fatty Headstrong, a chubby, unassuming-looking guy in a pinstriped suit who sold his soul for the ability to instantly master any instrument. This also made him immortal, but unfortunately, he also happened to piss off the Mob. He Sleeps With The Fishes, still perfectly alive, until he's broken free. He swears revenge, and starts racking up toadies of his own.
 * Stage: A big band pit, with flashing neon lights and dozens of those tiny bulbs. You know what they look like if you've seen pretty much any 30's period piece.
 * Car: One of those 1930's mobster cars. You know what I'm talking about again.
 * Solos:
 * Never Bring Me Down: Makes Fatty immune to any avatar-targeting solos such as Anvil of Burden for a brief period.
 * Swing It: Increases unit speed with a jazzy solo.
 * Twist Again: Boosts stage production speed for a while.
 * Units:
 * Hepcats: Basic melee unit. Double team walks around snapping their fingers, enticing enemy units with their catchy beat and temporarily immobilizing them.
 * Stradiviolent: Ranged unit. Their violin cases are literally tommy guns. Double Team: Never enuff dakka.
 * Aceist: In our day, basses were played standing up! These healers can't move very fast, but provide extremely fast and thorough healing to those in their radius. Double Team allows them to move more quickly and extends their radius.
 * Flapper Girl: Runs out into the field, providing... distractions to enemy units, temporarily stopping them from attacking. Yes, even female ones. Double Team draws enemy units towards wherever she and Fatty are standing, despite their orders.
 * Hospitality Wagon: Anti-vehicle unit, manned by mobsters with machine guns. Trades power and health for speed and a wider attack radius. Double Team allows for a lock-on that pursues an enemy vehicle until it dies.
 * Moll: Throws booze bombs that cause rival units to infight. (I.E., they start attacking their teammates.) Double Team allows her to create clouds of alcohol vapor on the field that cause confusion for enemy units who pass through them.
 * Prohibitive Officer: He's on the take, and can disrupt fan income by "auditing" enemy merch booths. Only has a weak revolver, but double teaming unlocks the ability to call in some officers to quickly take down an enemy merch booth.

Dethklok: Special multiplayer faction gained by completing special goals within the game. Inspired by Metalocalypse
 * Faction Name: Mordhaus
 * Avatars: Toki (lower solo power, higher melee) and Skwisgaar (more effective solos but less melee damage). Players can switch between the two by returning to the stage (like the Techno Faction). Both wield their own guitars as well as battle axes similar to Eddie's.
 * Stage: Much like the Duncan Hills Coffee Deth-Jam stage with Nathan, Pickles, Murderface and Toki or Skwisgaar depending on who is leading the army. Merch booths skull'd appropriately.
 * Vehicles: Fiery chariots drawn by Thunderhorses
 * Toki Solos
 * The Gears: Inspire your minions to fight with berserker rage
 * Duncan Hills Coffee Song: Pour scalding hot coffee on your enemies.
 * Murdertrain a Comin: Play the most depressing solo in the world to debuff your enemies.
 * Crush my Opponent's Battle Balls: A more powerful version of Duncan Hills
 * Dethsupport: Heals nearby troops
 * The Comet Song: Rains Comets down on enemy buildings


 * Skwisgaar Solos( Due to gaps in Playing ability, some solos are exclusive to Skwisgaar. Solos affect ALL units AND buildings in the area but only of the same faction.)
 * Murmaider: Deal brutal damage to Drowning Doom
 * Dethharmonic: Deal brutal damage to The Symphony
 * Fan Song: Deals brutal damage to the brainless mutants of the Rough Riders
 * I Tamper With The Evidence at Odin's Murder Site: Deals Brutal damage to Apocalyptus
 * Grandpa's Guitars: Eviscerate the Children of the Flower
 * Water Horsey Blues: Bites back against the Zoot Shooters
 * Better Metal Snake: Brutalize Ironheade
 * Laser Cannon Deth Sentence: Destroys the forces of D-Unit
 * The Cyborg Slayers: Short Circuit the Legion of Light
 * Bloodlines: Expunges the Tainted Coil
 * Symmetry: Devastates the SOS Organization


 * Units

Other Tropers are encouraged to add their own examples and to edit these ones if they can make the factions more awesome.


 * Ok, how's this?
 * Metalfoot
 * Archivists whom protect ancient knowledge and learn by studying the battles of the past, present, and future.
 * Stage: Resembles a well-off university, turned ito a fortress, with barbed wire coils and sandbag ramparts.
 * Solos:
 * Price of a mile: Sinks the enemy Avatar knee-deep in the ground, making him unable to fly, and too sad to play guitar.
 * Panzerkampf: Sends allied units into a frenzy, increasing damage the closer they are to your stage.
 * Victory First: makes units invincible for 30 seconds.
 * Metal Crew: Summons weak clones of all faction leaders.
 * Reighn of Destruction: Carpet bombs the area.
 * Units
 * War Artist: War is a dance to these warriors. Basic melee attacker. uses a sword. double-team makes them invisible.
 * Stormtrooper: Cursed and cast out of their own lands, these undead warriors of a vile nation swore service to Metalfoot to escape eternal damnation. Basic ranged attacker. uses a machine gun. Double team switches to a grenade launcher.
 * Hellrider: Beleived to be an offshoot of the Firebarons and Thunderhogs, who banded together for mutual benefit. A vehicle somewhere between a tank and a motorbike. Buffs attack. Double team adds a flamethrower.
 * Ghost Division: Vehicular version of Stormtroopers. A tank. uses a cannon. Double team makes it semi-tangible, reducing damage received.
 * Birds of War: Tamed sickle-wraiths ridden by reformed demons. Double-team allows conrol of the Sickle-wraith.
 * Unholy Metal Machine: A tear-drinker encased in a massive set of Metal armor, assisted by an engine. Double team adds a pipe organ that de-buffs enemy attacks.


 * This Troper finds it unlikely, considering how much of BL stemmed from Schafer's obsessive love of metal. But she would never say no to beating the hell out of country icons. Someone send these ideas to Schafer!
 * I don't think this is exactly Wild Mass Guessing, but hell if it doesn't sound cool.
 * Yeah, we should probably move it to some kind of fan creation page.
 * Psychonauts had not sequel. Grim Fandango had no sequel. I will hedge bets that a new game world will manifest for the next double fine game.
 * This Troper would like to direct the Troper who posted this WMG to the following thread on the DFAF after seeing all those faction ideas.
 * Better yet, email Shafer these ideas. He'd probably hire you on for Brutal Legend 2. If it ever exists. Which it probably won't.
 * If you're open to ideas, some thoughts on songs for J-Pop since it's so anime should be Heroes Come Back by Nobodyknows(Naruto theme), Strength by Abingdon Boys School(Soul Eater), And...well there's one more I can't think of, but yeah. Also how can you have the Daft Punks without Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger?

The opening cinematic of the game is set in the in-game universe, not our own.

 * This is further explained in the game as Eddie and others refer him coming from his world to their's as 'time travel' not 'travel to different worlds'. The History of Metal explains this as well. The world in the opening cinematic is centuries after the playable world, and new technology etc. has been invented so it appears just like our own universe.

The reason rock has more power in the Age of Metal is because it is powered by Ormagöden's final scream
Which, as illustrated by the Artifact of Legend 'Fall of the Fire Beast' "...resonates throughout the world to this day." The reason why Eddie had never encountered this kind of power (fire and lightning from guitars, healing basses etc.) is because Ormagöden's scream had finally died or was dying out. Which also explains why the quality of metal music was slowly sinking over time until we arrived at 'Cabbage Boy' -cringes-