GameSpot has issued the following report from Tor Thorsen:

Earlier this year, Activision unveiled Guitar Hero: AEROSMITH, the first installment in its billion-dollar rhythm series based entirely on a band. No sooner had the publisher announced the deal than speculation began to spread about what the second band-based Guitar Hero game would be. Along with VAN HALEN, the most mentioned group was METALLICA, the legendary San Francisco Bay Area heavy-metal quartet.

Now, talk of Guitar Hero: Metallica is no longer a case of wishful thinking or idle speculation - it's fact. When sifting through an SEC filing of Activision's over the weekend, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Edward Woo - associate of the highly visible Michael Pachter - uncovered a gem in the section where the Santa Monica, California-based publisher discussed its upcoming game slate.

"In fiscal 2009, we plan to publish Guitar Hero: On Tour for the NDS; Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Guitar Hero IV across multiple platforms," the company said in its report. Activision's fiscal year ends on March 31, 2009, which means that the game will likely follow the holiday release of Guitar Hero: World Tour (nee Guitar Hero 4).

Guitar Hero: Metallica will be the first time a game based on the multiplatinum-selling band - which has become only slightly less famous for its antipiracy efforts as its musical achievements - has made it to retail. However, it is the second such game to be announced. In 2003, Vivendi Games - which will soon merge with Activision - struck a deal to create a vehicular combat game inspired by Metallica's music. Unconfirmed reports stated that the project had been quietly canceled in 2005.

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