When I first heard Swedish hardcore band Refused's 1998 masterpiece, The Shape of Punk To Come, my brain leaked out of my ears, a big reason why extreme music sounded the way it did in the 2000s, and why the band's music is still so popular today, connective tissue between generations of hardcore and metal. In a similar vein, The Outsiders' "Metal: Hellsinger" attempts to connect high-octane first-person shooter and rhythm gameplay to metal.

Rhythm FPS is a relatively new phenomenon, perhaps best described as an unholy union of Doom and Crypt of the NecroDancer. While only a handful (opens in new tab) of games (opens in new tab) currently exist in this nascent genre, it is not difficult to find striking similarities between them. What makes "Metal: Hellsinger" stand out is the quality of its soundtrack and its deliberate gameplay.

The lyrics and music for all of the songs are written by the same people who also worked on "Battlefield 4" and "Warhammer: Vermintide 2". The songs are all rock and instantly recognizable as metal, so if you were worried that this game might lack a bit of brutality, don't worry about that. The masterpiece here, however, is the guest vocals.

Each track represents a different circle of hell and its associated torments, and each features a different acclaimed metal vocalist. For example, you might hear the growls and snarls of Dark Tranquility's Mikael Stanne on the snow-covered mountainous Volk, or be overwhelmed by the voice of Lamb of God's Randy Bryce on another level of Acheron. Other guests include Dennis Rikzen of Refused, Tatiana Shmeyluk of Ginger, Matt Heaphy of Trivium, and lead vocalist Serge Tankian of System of a Down.

The variety of metal screamers on this soundtrack gives the whole thing a kind of chameleon aspect. However, the album retains its own identity almost entirely, even when the guest vocalists take the form of music that they specialize in. It is an interesting sampler and by far the most unique video game soundtrack released this year. But how does the music mesh with the gameplay?

Players will immediately sense Doom's DNA in Metal: Hellsinger. On the path leading to the large arena, you have to defeat everything to move on.

Rhythmic gameplay will be an important factor here as well. This is because you need to shoot to the beat in order to keep the combo alive and keep your fury as high as possible. Shoot too fast and you will stumble; shoot too slow and random enemies will kill you. Instead, the game emphasizes discretion and takes the "rip and tear" idea of "Doom" seriously, brutally dominating any lesser demon that gets in your way.

After battling through each circle of hell, players will have the chance to test their skills in "Torments," stand-alone boss rush arenas where they fight waves of enemies according to specific conditions and earn sigils that give them new powers. These Torments are not only fun but useful and can be very OP at the end of the day if you clear them all.

If only the story were this sharp. You play a grieving, lost soul (the Unknown), armed with a sword, a talking skull, and Hell's arsenal of demonic weapons and powerful ultimate techniques, and you fight a revenge battle over the nine circles of Hell. Throughout the crusade, you will face the Red Judge, the Devil himself, who will try to stop you from tearing Hell apart.

In theory, this works great as a backdrop to the story between murder festivals. In practice, the story quickly becomes buried in its own mythology. For example, God is referred to here as "All," the Red Judge has a pact with Heaven, and the entire game revolves around a prophecy that a being called "Hellsinger" will destroy both Heaven and Hell and throw the rest of the universe into chaos. It's a promising setup, but told in a very unnecessarily convoluted way. For example, it is obvious that you are a Hellsinger, but the game seems to go out of its way to pretend otherwise until the very last moment.

Metal: Hellsinger has two voice roles: the Unknown/Hellsinger is ironically voiceless in this game, and the gun and Paz talk a lot. And wow, Paz talks a lot. He narrates the entire game as if he were talking over cheap whiskey in a seedy metal bar on the wrong side of town, but mostly he sounds like he's narrating a 2007 Bilt Ford Tough commercial. Jennifer Hale, on the other hand, gives an excellent performance as the Red Judge, but much of the campy dramatics of her lines are overshadowed by the vocal effects applied to her. Otherwise, they sound sour in a perfectly brutal melody.

Is "Metal: Hellsinger" the form of rhythm FPS to come? This game has great replay value, a great idea, a great soundtrack, a goofy story, and a perfectly good game. This game aspires to greatness, and even if it doesn't get there, I would play it if the Outsiders made a sequel.