GHSH: "Through the Fire and Flames" Expert Guitar FC

As time passes, more charts exist, and players get better at playing the plastic guitar, the difficulty of some FCs can start to fade into obscurity. "Through the Fire and Flames" is different, though, because even to a mainstream audience, it stands alone as the Guitar Hero song. It represents the peak of public engagement with the franchise and captures the cultural zeitgeist of what it means to be good at the game. No other song ever has been, or ever will be, as culturally important to the game as TtFaF. For that reason, I have struggled to FC it for well over a decade because it has that extra pressure associated with it. But now, I can finally say I have done it.
I don't say this lightly, but going for this FC was perhaps the worst grind of my life. While there are certainly a few standout hard sections, almost every part of the chart is missable. Sometimes I would start missing random strumming riffs for seemingly no reason, and other times I would just unlearn a relatively simple part like 2:06 or 3:16, stifling my ability to even get a chance to hit the solo in a run. Even worse, once I start to miss in stupid places a few times, I sometimes get in my own head too much and screw up even more, effectively ruining any progress until I can reset my mental state again. Obviously, that's very upsetting, too.
But FCing to the solo isn't even a big deal. Especially on GHSH, the real challenge starts at 4:40, and it doesn't really let up from that point on. There are several very tricky tapping sections in the second half of the track that the game is extra picky about because of the slider notes. Other parts are just really hard even without sliders. One thing about this chart all around is that the spacing is really weird. Pause the video and pay attention to how many notes are in each beat and where they sit relative to the beat lines; in almost all of the fast parts, the chart is very irregular.
The main problem sections in the solo for me were Lead the Way 2 (4:47), Shred to Glory B (5:45), and the Twin Solo transition (5:58). Initially, I would just hit 4:47 with one hand, but I eventually found that tapping was more consistent with a good method. Even still, I'd miss it sometimes, which is especially upsetting since it feels like the run is over before it even really begins, despite the time sink to get an attempt FCing to the solo in the first place. 5:45 is just one of those sections that comes with repetition and practice. I originally thought that StGB was the hardest part of the song, but with enough time spent learning it, I was hitting it more often than not in FC runs. In fact, on the day I FC'd the song, I hit the section every single run up to it. My main tip to anyone struggling with it would be to pay extra attention to releasing the frets early enough to hit the anchored greens and pausing long enough to not overlap the timing window of the subsequent reds. Twin Solo is actually the hardest part to FC. The transition into the doublets sucks, missing a strum is easy to do, and getting the ascending triplets to register properly is a nightmare on an FC run. I definitely ruined at least 20 runs at the triplets. 6:07 isn't free, either.
Unfortunately, even FCing past the solo isn't enough. In the end, I had to FC past the solo fourteen times to get this FC, losing nine runs in Chorus 3A (6:37), three in Beyond the Flames B (7:02), and one in the outro chords. None of those sections are actually hard, but the pressure of playing TtFaF on an FC run past the solo cannot be understated. It's absolutely crippling. There's a reason why this grind consumed all of my free time for multiple weeks; just being able to FC the solo isn't enough - not even close. Mentally and physically, it takes so much more than that.
I have included two chokes towards the end of the video for posterity. My reactions are probably a bit embarrassing, but illustrative of the gravity surrounding this FC. It takes a lot to get a rise out of me, but FCing TtFaF really is that hard. Thankfully, I did not cause any damage to my desk.
Many skilled players agree that the GHSH version is the harder FC. Even if the charted notes are not quite as challenging, the slider mechanic and engine make it more challenging than the GH3 version in a way that can feel unfair or discouraging. I certainly had a very hard time conquering this chart, and it does feel like an evil twist of fate that I now must do it again on GH3 to complete the Full Series FC. But on the other hand, having finally laid this one to rest is a massive weight off of my shoulders and absolutely a milestone in my rhythm gaming career. I have wanted to FC TtFaF since I was six years old. Since the GH3 chart is the only FC left now, I suppose I have no choice but to make it an immediate priority. Stay tuned.
Oh yeah, and I almost missed the last four notes. What on earth was I thinking at 7:21? Thankfully, I had just a little bit of luck left in the tank.

[@jdsmitty325]

Monumental accomplishment. Best of luck for GH3 Flames to become the next to claim to have the full series full combo'd

[@nidecker1]

Very well deserved FC! Those chokes were genuinly painful to watch. So glad you ginally got redemption tho. I knew it was only a matter of time until the FC to happenened. Epic achievement to say the least, let alone getting the FSFC wich I'm sure you will get in due time. Congratulations!🎉

[@JohnnyGrey]

Congrats on an incredible FC and incredible patience/persistence to stick with it and not give up after all the painful chokes

[@holyjewel]

Congratulations, and thanks for the thought-out and well-written description. It was like a nice trip back to my younger days, recalling the same desire and struggles.

[@SaberDrummer]

You just can't be stopped. Bravo.

[@droyal1994]

Congrats on FCing the hardest skill based song in the entire series, your Full series is guaranteed at this point It was amazing watching your progress on this past couple of uploads on your other channel. I knew this would be any day

[@KingInferno93]

You got this bro! Just one more FC from claiming a $75 bounty :)

[@itsRique_]

absolutely incredible FC amigo

[@NunoVH]

Incredible FC right here

[@skylerinman]

Hell yes!!!! This is absolutely bonkers

[@Gracking666]

Awesome job dude!

[@AbyssionQC]

Still one of the greatest FC to this day, this chart on this engine is no joke and no matter how much better people get at this game this FC will always be ridiculous. Lead the Way 2 can go to hell btw.

[@dayzeed]

You're spot-on about LtW2, I can't believe nobody seems to mention it as a rough spot.

[@UndeadFil]

This chart is ridiculously harder than it should be because of the wonky slider notes mechanic. It goes beyond my understanding that they never actually fixed it even in WoR, although they work perfectly in CH and even in the earliest mods of GH3PC.

[@UndeadFil]

I remember having a crazy consistent method for LtW2, it was the most awkward shit with a lot of anchoring and sliding but it ensured that at no point it would violate the base principles to avoid misses in purple sections (which should never have been a thing in the first place)

[@droyal1994]

@@UndeadFil sliders not functioning will always be one of the strangest things about these neversoft games. As you stated GH3pc and CH all made it so that they literally felt like hopo’s you didn’t have to worry about strumming and that’s the extent of it. But the galaxy brains that made the legacy games decided that sliders NEEDED to function on an entirely different hit window system from any other note in the game. You go from the free flowing nature of the standard hopo system in a solo to all of a sudden having to play like your on RB3 but everything has to be done early but it gaslights you on how early most of the time

[@WallpeSH]

Massive congrats lad. FSFC is imminent at this point.

[@BIIIIGBODDY]

genuinely incredible

[@cmguitar1]

Daamn legendary.

[@BlueStorm-ri9dp]

Danny ahh run. But seriously this is a massive W, especially without hyperspeed.

[@conjae]

niceeee amazing work

[@JarodFedele]

Oh I missed this, congratulations.

[@MTN6516]

This looks like something I may have difficulty hitting in Clone hero, let alone any of the console games. I remember seeing the transition to twin solo and simply saying "what the fuck" out loud. On an older engine? beyond fucked. G fucking Gs. Well deserved, every ounce of this.

[@TnZay]

Hell yeah

[@MarinoGaming]

that was fire

[@darkfox764]

🤯

[@jericho5655]

Congratulations on this FC on the aids of an engine this is. Also I have a question, why do you not anchor in strumming sections like 6:47? Is it more consistent for you that way?

[@alanbullington7503]

Supreme Overlord

[@qiukcshro]

amazing fc, great work

[@blackmagicbanette2820]

cool

[@david_nmn1888]

Pog

[@UndeadFil]

You're pretty good

[@infrarain]

that was the most gutteral and aggressive no ive ever heard at the end

[@dayzeed]

Yeah, not my finest moment. But in my defense, I have very seldom been _that_ upset at something.

[@Bennici]

iamchris4life already did this. Don't know what the big deal is TBH. /s

[@droyal1994]

Don’t know if you are meme’ing but you are wrong anyway. Chris never FCed the Smash Hits version, he did the GH3 version And just to answer your next curious question, this is the harder version to FC

[@Bennici]

@@droyal1994 I thought the sarcasm tag made it clear I was memeing. :)

[@droyal1994]

@@Bennici you’d think I’d be more well versed in internet lingo symbols like the (/s) but I’m not. Deep in the boomer lifestyle haha my bad bro

[@Bennici]

@@droyal1994 Unless your firstborn is from 1994, I am almost 10 years older than you haha. But no worries anyway!

[@bricklebob4502]

Would’ve gotten more views if you choked at the end

[@dayzeed]

Not even worth it at that point