Guilty Gear music references

From Jonnydigital.com, the only reliable source

Back in 2006 I did some work cataloguing music references in the Guilty Gear videogame series for Wikipedia. Unfortunately, since it's impossible to provide citations for these, they have since been removed from Wikipedia. As an alternative, I'm listing them here.

Many thanks to the people who have helped to build this list.

Character references

A.B.A.
A.B.A. is named for the Swedish band ABBA, and arguably refers to ternary form (ABA) in music. Her special attack Erasure is the name of a British band. Her key weapon Paracelsus shares its name with alternative rock artist Peter Paracelsus.
Axl Low
Axl Low bears striking resemblance to Axl Rose, frontman for Guns N' Roses.
Anji-Mito
Anji shares his name with a guitar piece by Davy Graham and covered by Simon and Garfunkel on their album Sounds of Silence. His theme song, "Fuuga", resembles Motley Crue's "Live Wire". His "Shitsu" projectile arguably resembles Aerosmith's logo when transformed.
Bridget
Bridget's special move "Kickstart My Heart" is named for a Mötley Crüe song, while his Shoot the Moon is named for a song by Mr. Big. His "Starship" attack shares the name of a band. His teddybear Roger could be named for Queen member Roger Taylor. It's possbile that the idea for Bridget's character, a boy raised as a girl who longs to become more boylike, comes from the song "I'm A Boy" by The Who.
Chipp Zanuff
Chipp Zanuff is named for Chip Z'nuff, vocalist for glam rock band Enuff Z' Nuff. The opening guitar riff of Chipps's theme "Suck a Sage" arguably resembles the main riff of "Loved to Death" by Megadeth.
Dizzy
Dizzy seems to be named for Guns N' Roses member Darren 'Dizzy' Reed, and shares her name with Tommy Roe's 1969 hit. The main guitar riff of Dizzy's theme "Awe of She" resmebles the intro to "Liar" by Helloween. Her "Skull Crusher" attack references Overkill's song "Skull Krusher", while her Hunger Strike attack shares a name with song by grunge band Temple of the Dog. Her overdrive "Gamma Ray", which Justice can also use, is named after a German power metal band.
Eddie
See Zato-1.
Fanny
Fanny was the name of an American girl group, one of the first rock bands to feature an all-woman ensemble.
Faust
Faust shares a name with Bård "Faust" Eithun, formerly of black metal band Emperor as well as German krautrock band "Faust".
I-No
I-No is pronounced "ee-no", as in Brian Eno. Her character takes inspiration from Shiina Ringo, a Japanese singer who shares both her characteristic mole and guitar. Her attack "Chemical Love" is a Stevie Wonder song, and her "Last Will and Testament" is also the name of a The Lurkers album. Her boss theme Midnight Carnival strongly resembles part of Japanese rock band X Japan's "Kurenai".
Jam Kuradoberi
Jam Kuradoberi, or in Japanese naming order "Kuradoberi Jam", refers to Swedish pop/jazz group Cloudberry Jam.
Johnny
Possible namesakes for Johnny include Queen member John Deacon, guitarist Johnny Ramone, or Black Sabbath's song "Johnny Blade". His attack "Glitter is Gold" references Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."
Justice
Justice's name may reference Metallica's 1988 album, "...And Justice For All". Justice shares the Gamma Ray overdrive with Dizzy, an attack named after a German band.
Kliff Undersn
Arguably, Kliff is named for late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. His attack "Soul Survivor" shares its name with a Gorefest album and Helloween's song Sole Survivor.
Ky Kiske
Ky Kiske is named after Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske from the power metal band Helloween. His special attack Ride the Lightning is named for a Metallica album while his instant kill Rising Force shares its name with an album by Yngwie Malmsteen. His theme song, Holy Orders (Be Just or be Dead), is a reference to Iron Maiden song Be Quick or Be Dead.
Leopaldon
Leopaldon is the name of a Japanese techno band.
May
May is feasibly named for Queen member Brian May.
Millia Rage
Millia Rage is named after the band Meliah Rage. Her Iron Savior, Emerald Rain, Silent Force, Winger and Iron Maiden attacks are all names of bands. While her Silent Moon attack shares its name with a new age band, a more likely etymology is from the title of a Bruce Springsteen song. Her attack Bad Moon refers to a song by either Rory Gallagher or Creedence Clearwater Revival, both of whom performed a song titled Bad Moon Rising. "Angra", the sixth forbidden magic that Milla undergoes to gain control of her hair as a weapon, shares its name with the Brazillian heavy metal band Angra.
Potemkin
Potemkin's theme song, "Burly Heart", makes musical reference to Led Zeppelin's song "Kashmir". His Hammer Fall attack is named after the band Hammerfall, or the Queen song Hammer to Fall. His instant kill move "Magnum Opera" references Yngwie Malmsteen's album Magnum Opus, and arguably Queen's album "A Night at the Opera". The airborne nation of Zepp, from which Potemkin hails, is named for the Zepp chain of concert venues across Japan, and/or Led Zeppelin.
Raven
Raven shares a name with a British heavy metal band from the mid 70's.
Robo-Ky
Robo-Ky's Aegis High is named for Iron Maiden's song Aces High.
Slayer
Slayer is named for a well known band, while his attacks Under Pressure, Dead On Time, Spread Your Wings, All Dead, and It's Late are named for Queen songs. His Undertow attack is named for an album by Tool, while his Royal Hunt is a Danish metal band. Slayer's appearance references the character Impact Alberto from the animated series Giant Robo.
Sol Badguy
Sol Badguy is named after Freddie Mercury's solo album "Mr. Bad Guy", and shares his real first name "Frederick" with the same artist. Sol's theme song Keep Yourself Alive is named for a Queen song, and his headband lettered "Rock You" references Queen's We Will Rock You. According to the game manual, Sol's hobby is "Listening to Queen" and his favourite thing is Queen's 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. His Napalm Death is a British grindcore band. Sol's name is a near-anagram of Bal-Sagoth, although this may be a coincidence. Tenuously, Sol's swordfighting technique resembles Freddie Mercury's microphone stand "swordfighting" against Christopher Lambert in the Princes of the Universe video.
Testament
Testament is named for a band, as are his attacks "Grave Digger" and "Warrant". His "Master of Puppets" is named after a Metallica album. His Seventh Sign attack shares its name with a song by Yngwie Malmsteen. His attack "Nightmare Circular" may also refer to the song "Nightmare" by the band Testament.
Venom
Venom shares his name with British heavy metal band Venom. His Dark Angel overdrive references a thrash metal band, while his attack "Carcass Raid" is arguably a reference to Carcass. Venom's theme song, A Soltitude That Asks Nothing In Return, makes musical reference to Napalm Death's Breed to Breathe.
Zappa
Zappa is named after Frank Zappa. His attack "Last Edguy" is a reference to the German power metal band Edguy.
Zato-1/Eddie
Eddie shares his name with the zombie mascot of Iron Maiden. His attack "Break the Law" refers to Judas Priest's song "Breaking the Law" and his instant kill "Black in Mind" is named for an album by Rage. His Shadow Gallery move shares its name with an American progressive rock band, and his "Amorphous" attack is named for Finnish band Amorphis. His "Rise and Fall" attack from the original Guilty Gear shares its name with a Helloween song. Zato's theme, "Feel a Fear", seems to have an opening similar to the opening guitar riffs in the White Zombie song "Grease Paint and Monkey Brains." In the original Guilty Gear, Zato-1's theme "Black Soul" and his stage's background reference the album Souls of Black by Testament.

Other references

Let me know if you find any new discrepancies or new suggestions.

Last updated: 21st October 2008

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