This week Activision spilled the beans on details surrounding the next iteration of its coveted Guitar Hero franchise.  Number 6 is called Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and it will pack  90 “guitar-shredding tracks” and come bundled with a brand new guitar.  The story is dubbed Quest Mode and it will be narrated by Gene Simmons of KISS.  In this story-driven mode, “players will embark on a larger-than-life, epic rock journey from the stage of CBGBs, the infamous punk-rock club in New York City, to the molten lava fields of rock treachery as eight Guitar Hero characters transform into rock warriors that must join together to use their unique, game-changing powers to help the Demi-God of Rock take down “The Beast” and save rock n’ roll.”  A new mode called Quickplay+ will introduce 13 challenges for every track in the game (and for all downloadable content tracks released since Guitar Hero World Tour).  In it, “gamers will complete challenges such as Band Streak, High Score and Power Challenge, which allows players to choose any two warrior powers they have unlocked to try and earn ridiculously high scores, to rank up and unlock more rewards and content than ever before.”  A partial tracklist has been revealed and is sitting after the break.  Avenged Sevenfold, Black Sabbath, Children of Bodom, DragonForce, Foreigner, KISS, Megadeth, and ZZ Top made the cut.  Oh and there’s this: Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Muse’s “Uprising” are featured as well!

The guitar features a bold new design.  Since all of the internal circuitry is now located in the neck of the guitar, players can remove the interchangable “wings” and replace them with other custom designs if they so choose.  Noticably absent is the touch-enabled slider bar.  Now located at the bottom of the neck is a battery compartment (or where you’ll store the Wiimote if you’re a Wii user).  Also, the star power button has been slightly raised so reaching it with your palm is an easier task for you non-tilters.  Two guitars will be made available for WoR, the standard controller (above, left) and the GameStop exclusive “axe” controller (above, right).  Look after the break for a closer look at ’em.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will release for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii this September.  Pre-order your flavor here.  With E3 looming around the corner, more details surrounding gameplay, release date, and pricing will surely be announced soon.

[Via Joystiq, here & here; Activision]

AFI – “Dancing Through Sunday”

Anthrax – “Indians”

Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”

Black Sabbath – “Children Of The Grave”

Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get?”

Children Of Bodom – “If You Want Peace… Prepare For War”

The Cure – “Fascination Street”

Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)”

Dethklok – “Bloodlines”

Dire Straits – “Money For Nothing”

DragonForce – “Fury of the Storm”

Drowning Pool – “Bodies”

Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance”

Foo Fighters – “No Way Back”

Foreigner – “Feels Like The First Time”

The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”

Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”

Jethro Tull – “Aqualung”

KISS – “Love Gun”

Linkin Park – “Bleed It Out”

Megadeth – “Sudden Death”

Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne – “Paranoid (Live)”

Muse – “Uprising”

My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”

Night Ranger – ” (You Can Still) Rock In America”

Nine Inch Nails – “Wish”

The Offspring – “Self Esteem”

Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Rammstein – “Waidmanns Heil”

The Rolling Stones – “Stray Cat Blues”

Silversun Pickups – “There’s No Secrets This Year”

Slayer – “Chemical Warfare”

Slipknot – “Psychosocial”

Stone Temple Pilots – “Interstate Love Song”

ZZ Top – “Sharp Dressed Man (Live)”