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New Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftains song: Warriors of Azeroth
As a BlizzCon 2010 attendee, I was a little disappointed that the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftains weren't there with a new song. That has now been remedied, as Wowhead has exclusive footage of their newest song, Warriors of Azeroth. This was shot at the Cataclysm launch event. Sung by the metalhead and art lead Samwise Didier, this rocking new tune is an ode to all those who would don their armor for the greater good -- the warrior. Horde or Alliance, it doesn't matter -- those who grab their axes, hammers and swords, and rush headlong into battle, this song is for you. So say thanks to your tanks, give your arms warrior a hug, and grab a drink for your favorite fury. Kick back and enjoy!
Samwise's best memory of the last five years of WoW
Our good friends over at the Orange Country Register have jumped in on the fifth anniversary interview extravanganza, and they've posted information from a short chat with none other than Samwise Didier, Blizzard's primary artist. They asked Samwise for a crazy memory from the last five years, and he came up with a time when he was rolling through a Pollo Loco drive-through, and the guy behind the window called him out by name and said he "liked your show." Which show? Didier is of course the lead singer of TAFKAL80ETC, a.k.a. The Artists Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, Blizzard's in-house rock band. Pretty awesome that a video game artist is now literally a rock star thanks to this game. The OC Register (don't call it that -- did you think I'd get through a post about them without saying that?) is also looking for memories from fans as well to be printed in their paper -- you can jump in the comments on their site and share some memories of your own. We'll also be celebrating the game's fifth anniversary here on WoW.com, so stay tuned around November 23rd for a nice look back at where this gigantic game has accomplished in the past five years.
Blizzard announces official YouTube channel
To go along with their recently created Twitter accounts, Blizzard has now started up an official YouTube channel as well. Right now, the channel just contains animations and cinematics that we've mostly seen before (not that we mind watching that Burning Crusade cinematic for the umpteenth time), but we presume that in the future, we might see newly released videos, including possibly interviews with Blizzard staff, and maybe even some (gasp!) gameplay videos as well.Whoever's in charge of social media over at Blizzard has really been working it lately -- we can't wait to see their Last.fm account (Most Played: the artists formerly known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain) or their OkCupid account (Adam Holisky & Alex Ziebart would be at least 87% friends with Ghostcrawler, no question). Definitely fun to see Blizzard, historically a very closed-door company, opening up a little bit to the various outlets where they can correspond with fans.
Blizzard interview: Samwise Didier talks Starcraft 2
These days Samwise Didier is better known as the lead singer for Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, but he's been a Blizzard employee since 1991, and has been churning out artwork (like the above Starcraft logos) for years. He also has the dubious title of the creator of the Pandaren race.You can check out a huge chunk of his artwork in the gallery on the Sons of the Storm website. He has a massive head of metal hair, apparently never wears pants, and is overseeing the artwork on Starcraft 2. We sat down with him at BlizzCon not long before L80ETC opened for Ozzy Osbourne, and chatted him up about his job. Read on for the full interview.
BlizzCon 2009: Ozzy Osbourne closes show down, injures no bats
Blizzard fittingly chose Ozzy Osbourne to close down BlizzCon last night, since he's been in a fairly funny World of Warcraft commercial arguing about who is the true Prince of Darkness. He put on a fairly deafening, rocktastic show -- some of his setlist was appropriately composed of tracks off his 1980 "Blizzard of Ozz" album -- though he did stumble a bit through the words to "Iron Man." However, he made up for that by maniacally turning a hose on the audience, and I kid you not -- some women actually threw their panties on stage.Opening up for him was Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, although they've now changed their name in protest over their own name changes to a familiar Prince-esque symbol, or The Artists Formerly Known As Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain (TAFKAL80ETC). They put on a good show as well, although they really need to write some new songs. Browse the Ozzrific gallery below, and you can also check out one of Ozzy's classics below without the need for earplugs and a raincoat. Even though the show is over, we'll have more BlizzCon news soon. All aboard!
Ozzy at BlizzCon confirmed!
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/music/Ozzy_Osbourne_to_play_at_BlizzCon_2009'; It's not a rumor and it's no longer a surprise - Ozzy Osbourne is going to appear at BlizzCon 2009, according to the program details of DirecTV. Unless Blizzard's partner for the live stream content is just goofing around, "a special appearance" pretty much confirms that the Prince of Darkness is going to perform in Anaheim this August. The news first started as a rumor that sprung from Zakk Wylde's Twitter message about a month back, corroborated by another rumor that another guitarist would be performing with Ozzy at BlizzCon.Here's to hoping that Ozzy Osbourne's special appearance means he'll actually rock out on stage. As cool as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain are, I'm sure Samwise and his crew will actually enjoy the show (and who says they won't join up for one big supergroup?). Azeroth has its own Prince of Darkness, but having the real deal perform should be a special treat, just as it's sure to be something all fans can look forward to. It seems like another incentive to get the DirecTV package in addition to that cute, gun-toting murloc. With BlizzCon stepping up in the show department, I wonder what other big things are in store for us this year.Ozzy UK Blizzard commercial after the jump!Thanks, Milkingit!BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon, you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there are some great looking costumes.
L80ETC interview brings the thunder
Are you one of the 11 million people playing World of Warcraft? Frustrated by your enormous amount of down-time while waiting for the hot tastiness of the 3.1 patch today? Into Heavy Metal? You're in luck! Just in time for 10+ hours of agonizing maintenance (and probably a few extra hours of weirdness afterward) Games On Net has released their exclusive interview with Azeroth's madmen of metal, Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftan! Yes - you heard that correctly; not an interview with the creators, but an actual in-character interview with the members. We're throwing horns at the power-chord crunchers over at Blizzard for actually actively role-playing the interview for the sheer sake of awesome. Some of the answers in the interview were pretty funny, including references to several real-world musicians being given a special World of Warcraft twist (ManoWarrior and Jethro Troll being favorites) and an unexpected reference to Dwarves. If you get the chance (and let's face it, you've got the time with downtime) head over and give it a read. It's far too much metal for one hand... err... interview!
BlizzCon 2008: The awesome of the ending ceremony
On Saturday night the walls of the Anaheim Convention Center rocked with the cheers and laughter of thousands of BlizzCon 2008 attendees. This year's two-day event was packed full of excellent panels, cool gameplay and of course, lines that seemed to stretch from here to eternity. (I personally clocked in 3 1/2 hours in the store line - but I got awesome goodies out of it.) However, it was this final event that put the crown jewel in this year's BlizzCon event. Curious as to what all went on? Click through the gallery to check out the sights (and some sounds) from the front lines! On to the pictures! >> %Gallery-34307%
Around Azeroth: Heavy metal drummer
I must confess that due to my habit of playing WoW with the sound turned off, I've never actually heard the music of Level 10 60 70 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. In case you didn't know, L70ETC is a group of Blizzard employees who recorded some Blizzard-property-related songs and are now represented in-game as a Horde hair metal band. Lead singer Samuro is actually art director Sam Didier; bassist Mai'Kyl is Blizzard president Mike Morhaime; and so on and so forth. Vindonnus of Stormreaver took this particular pic of Chief Thunder-Skins (aka longtime Blizzardite Alan Dabiri) as the band played their hourly show at the World's End Tavern in Shattrath City. Please note that the Blizz employees are not actually playing the characters and cannot hear complaints and suggestions /yelled at their in-game avatars. And sorry, egg-throwers and forum trolls -- Kalgan, Tigole and Metzen aren't in the band. Save your all-caps complaints for General Discussion.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next! Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing -- use alt-Z to remove it. Please, no more sunsets -- but we would love some beta screenshots here. %Gallery-1816%
Strange things are afoot at the Grim Guzzler
A lot of us pre-Burning Crusade players hold a warm place in our hearts for the Grim Guzzler, the bar in the middle of Blackrock Depths. It's a hangout for desperadoes and shady figures run by a leper gnome with a demonic bar wench and a metallic bouncer. Most of the patrons would usually kill you as soon as look at you, but as long as they're drunk and you don't bother them too much, they'll generally leave you alone. Of course, sometimes it's worth bothering them, since a few of the patrons and staff drop some pretty cool loot. Despite this charming atmosphere, the Grim Guzzler is in the middle of a sprawling dungeon of hostile Dark Iron Dwarves, so ever since the Burning Crusade, people don't seem to go down there too often. That said, you might want to check it out in the next few days. There's a few new faces down at the bar since patch 2.4.3 went live, including an Arena gear vendor named Griz Gutshank, a Dark Iron Brewer who can't hold his brew, and a couple of goblin roadies setting up for a Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Check out the gallery for a complete illustrated guide to the new faces and surprises at the Grim Guzzler, and maybe I'll see you there tonight for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Oh, and try the Sulfuron Slammer -- It's Plugger's newest specialty! %Gallery-27816%
