Easter eggs

Guitar Hero

• The song "Spanish Castle Magic" was recorded with vocals, though they are not present in the final game. The song can be sampled with vocals intact at the official Guitar Hero website. Why the vocals were removed from the song has been said to be that the Hendrix estate do not wish for Hendrix to be impersonated.^{[citation needed]}
• While waiting for a song to load, a loading screen is presented with an image of an amplifier. The amp has three volume knobs, each of which turn to 11. This is a reference to the 1984 "rockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap, in which an amplifier is discussed for its apparent ability to go to 11 rather than simply 10. Furthermore, one of the random loading screens displays the reference 'Eleven IS louder than ten'. Subsequently, the song "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" by Spinal Tap was featured in Guitar Hero II.
• Though many of the loading screens give the player brief playing tips and hints, many of them are also jokes about rock'n'roll culture. One of the screens reads: "They don't really want you to play Freebird, they're just heckling you." This is a reference to the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird" and its frequent request at concerts. Ironically, "Free Bird" became a playable song in Guitar Hero II, with a rather self-referencing response: "Fine. They're not just heckling you this time. Sigh."
• Watching the credits in their entirety rewards the viewer with a number of messages, one of them asking the player if they've started playing a real guitar yet. A similar suggestion can be found for attaining Guitar God status on any of the difficulty settings in career mode.
• After completing all songs on the expert difficulty, the player receives the "Battle Axe" guitar. At the Guitar Select Screen, the info box next to the Battle Axe states "Judge this race not by its remains". This is very similar to one of the lines in Genesis' "Watcher of the Skies" which states "Judge not this race by empty remains".
• At the song select screen, if you scroll to the bottom, there is a graphic with the letters PMRC crossed out. This is a reference to the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).
• At the character select screen, when the Grim Reaper character is highlighted, the info box on the right side of the screen states, "Do not fear the Reaper," an obvious allusion to the Blue Öyster Cult song, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper".
• The unlockable bonus track "Guitar Hero" is played by Monkey Steals The Peach, a fictional band comprised of rotating members of the Harmonix art team including Mike "Swid" Swidereck (Level Artist and Bassist), Ryan Lesser (Art Director and Guitarist), Daniel Sussman (Producer and Guitarist), and Jason Kendall (Art Associate Producer and Singer).

Guitar Hero II

• On the loading screen, you can see a cherry next to a pi symbol on the chalkboard. This is a reference to the song Cherry Pie, which appears in the game.
• The Stonehenge venue is most likely a reference to a scene in This Is Spinal Tap, in which a performance of their song "Stonehenge" goes awry.
• The high school is Nilbog High, which is Goblin spelled backwards, a reference to the movie Troll 2.
• The sixth tier is named after the real-life [[Wikipedia:Warped Tour|Vans Warped Tour].
• On the floor of the Harmonix Arena there is a sign that says "the end is nigh!", like those held by street preachers.
• Similarly, on the floor of the Harmonix Arena, there is also a chalk marking of Buckethead on the floor. This is a reference to his "Crime Slunk Scene" album.
• One of the loading messages before you play Free Bird refers to the previous game's loading message about Freebird: "FINE. They're NOT just heckling you this time. SIGH."
• Another loading message reads "Remember, NO STAIRWAY!". This is a reference to Wayne's World, where one of the characters tries to play Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven at a guitar shop but the owner stops him, showing a sign that indeed reads "No Stairway".
• When loading the song "Less Talk More Rokk" by the band Freezepop, the loading screen will say "Throw your undies on the stage, no wait, you're underage", which is a line from another of Freezepop's songs, "Sprode", which is a bonus song by Freezepop in the Harmonix PlayStation 2 rhythm game Amplitude.
• After the encore at the Battle of The Bands, your drummer disappears in a puff of green smoke, yet another reference to the movie This is Spinal Tap.
• In the end of the Career, the stars discreetly spell out "Live and Let Rock".
• It may say Stone Henge is in UK, but the van actually drives to Greenland.
• Also on the loading screen, you can see a game of hangman; if you look to the left of the image, the word of the game is "Strong Bad", who is featured in the game with the song "Trogdor".
• The Top Rockers screen could be a reference to "Bathroom Wall" by Faster Pussycat, which would appear in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.
• One of the venues is in Detroit Rock City. This is a reference to the KISS song "Detroit Rock City".
• The Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II, the credits read "No pitchers were harmed in the making of this game. Except for one. Joel Zumaya. He had it coming." This is a reference his absence 2006 American League Championship Series due to a sore wrist because of him playing Guitar Hero.
• Some of the loading screens prior to a song are jokes and references specific to that song; for example, before encores, it tells the player never to "just jam" when the audience wants an encore (a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap), while prior to "Jordan", the player is told that wearing a bucket on one's head won't improve one's performance, a direct reference to the song's artist, Buckethead.
• The scrolling text on the walls of the school venue contains various lyrics to Alice Cooper's "School's Out".
• Clive Winston will use a violin bow to play his guitar when star power is activated with him. This is a tribute to several guitarists, most famously Jimmy Page, who would often do the same thing during performances. Pandora also mimics this action sometimes when her star power is activated, yet she does not actually have a bow.
• Xavier Stone will sometimes pick his guitar with his teeth when using star power, a tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

Guitar Hero III

• 3's & 7's is the 3rd song in the 7th tier.
• In the second venue, Mitch's Moose Lounge, if you look hard while playing, on the stage is a Red Bull can.
• On the side of the GH3 main setlist, you can see some advertisments for 5 Gum & Guns N' Roses on certain consoles.
• There is a Led Zeppelin poster in Kaiju Megadome.
• When you play at the Desert Rock Tour, look at the drummer and check out his bass drums. You'll notice they have a figure on them; his name is Kokopelli.
• At the Kaiju Megadome, there's a banner that reads "G h III" off to the side, near the ceiling.
• When playing at the Kaiju Megadome, look at the symbol on the drums. This symbol comes from the drums that the Japanese god of thunder carries around with him.
• The Farewell to Kings guitar is a reference to one of Rush's albums. Also, it's skin pictures the Killer Queen, referencing the song by Queen (which itself appears in the original Guitar Hero).
• Most of the parts in which Paranoid is divided make reference to other Black Sabbath songs: Riff of Doom = Hand of Doom; Into the Verse = Into the Void; The W-Riff-T = The Writ; Solo Bloody Solo = Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
• The guitarist now sings along to certain parts of songs, as long as you have a 4X multiplier, and are in the Green on the Rock Meter. They'll sing backing vocals for some tracks, but not all of them. Easiest ones to notice are F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.'s screamy part, and Closer's "SEARCHING FOOOORRR!". They also sing along for most of My Curse if you maintain a 4X. (Unconfirmed)
• The Distant Visitor guitar's description says in big letters DON'T PANIC, a reference to The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
• If you look at the "More Stats" screen for the Tom Morrello Battle, all of the names of the sections are named after how his/your guitar sounds loosely translated.
• The stage diver's shirt says "Bom Chicka Wah Wah" (which is another Axe advertisement).
• The large glowing sign on the left of the screen in Kaiju Megadome is a Japanese Proverb saying something along the lines of "Falling down 7 times, getting up 8.". Kaiju is the 7th stadium out of 8, and all the signs behind where the guitarist play say encouraging things about not giving up.
• In the PS2 loading screen with the buff guitar-playing arm, if you look at the guy's forearm there are 2 cards tatooed: 3 and 7.
• In the PS2 version loading screen, the little skeleton with wings has a 5 Gum logo on his arm.
• The loading quote that says "Don't trash your instruments unless you can afford to replace them," is a possible reference to The Who, who, before they were popular, played shows in bars, and were getting paid around £200, and smashing up £300-400 of equipment per gig.
• On Shanker's Island, the drummer's bass drum has the God of Thunder head from The Garden venue of the original Guitar Hero. Also, "God of Thunder" is a song by Kiss.
• The section name for the solo in Rock and Roll All Nite is called "Ace This Solo, Freely". This is a reference to KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley.
• The back of the Moon Shot guitar has a black sticker which reads "DARK SIDE". This is a possible reference to Pink Floyd's classic album "Dark Side of the Moon".
• The location of Backyard Bash is 22 Arcadia Avenue, a reference to Iron Maiden's "22 Acacia Avenue".
• The man on the PlayStation 2/Wii loading screen is playing a guitar replica of the Kramer Striker PS2 controller.
• The loading screen, "Never leave your lead singer in charge of the mix," could be a reference to Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose, who replaced a section of Slash's guitar track with the work of Paul Tobias on a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil."
• The Bat guitar and it's subtitle 'Out of Heck' is a reference to Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell".
  • In the final cutscene, you are seen escaping Lou's Inferno on a motorcycle, referencing the cover to Bat Out of Hell.
• The alternate clothing for Axel Steel has him wearing a trucker hat, black vest, and camouflage shorts along with a red beard. The image is meant to represent Dimebag Darrell,deceased guitarist of Pantera. The Brown Vest style represents Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist Zakk Wylde with his blond hair and beard.
• When you play Through the Fire and Flames on Expert, the loading screen always says "Good luck".
• On the poster of the Desert Rock Tour there is a signpost with an arrow pointing to the right saying "Lou's Inferno". Lou's Inferno is the final Venue.
• One of the loading screens says, "It's probably not a good idea to tackle your lead singer." This is a possible reference to John Myung of Dream Theater, who once tackled James LaBrie on stage.
• Lou is also the other teacher in the tutorials.
• On the Xbox-360 edition, there is a sign on the crowds left-hand side of Mitch's Moose Lounge that reads "Telus, I dare you to stage dive"

in the japanese map there is a poster of sublime featuring lou dog

• Even Flow is a song by Pearl Jam, who are from Seattle, Washington. Note that this is the encore song in England, but this song was played in Florida.

Cut Scenes

• Cutscene 4: When the lights shine on the singer, La Marseillaise (the French national anthem) plays for a few seconds. Note they are playing in England.
• Co-Op Cutscene 3: At about 9 seconds, it shows three magazines, and the middle one is titled The Throwing Stone, which is spoofing Rolling Stone.
• The final cutscene has a literal tornado of souls, a possible reference to Megadeth's "Tornado of Souls".
• On the cutscene with the news reporter, look closely when it shows Slash. Next to Slash, there is a shadow of a guitarist and it looks like it's shaped like Skwisgaar, a character from the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4XKVaaPJJU Pause it at 3 seconds.
• On the cutscene before Shanker's Island where the magazine asks if they are selling out, this is a reference to Avenged Sevenfold. The picture depicts the band in a car, similar to the Avenged Sevenfold's Bat Country music video.
• In the third cutscene when Lou offers the contract to the band, He says "Just go ahead" which is the only real words spoken in the cutscenes.
• The ending cutsene for the Co-op career is the same as the solo career. This is incorrect, as the bassist from the solo career appears in it, and in co-op mode, the bassist is a character that is chosen by one of the two players.
• In one cutscene, the band and Lou are watching a video of the band performing. The website they are on, FretVid, is mimicking the layout and logo of YouTube.

Guitar Hero On Tour

• On the Box art, the Axel Steel based character has a shirt with the Vicarious Visions logo printed on it.
• After the encore for the third venue, one of your reviewers is "Vicarious Envisions" obviously a reference to Vicarious Visions, the game's developing company. Also, one of the reviews is by a company called "Green Octave" who says they will put the songs in the next "Guitar Warrior" game. This is a reference to RedOctane, the creator of Guitar Hero.
• During Guitar Duel Mode, when a fan asks you to sign their book, the top of it reads "Lars Umlaut" a character from previous Guitar Hero Games
• Also during guitar dual mode, one of the shirts will have "Casey Lynch :(" at the bottom of it.