While many video games are lauded for their original scores, others like the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise have gained reputations for using licensed hits in beloved soundtracks. Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series has become well-known for its in-game radio stations to listen to, and that musical exposure through Grand Theft Auto: Vice City had a big influence on Alex Bent, the drummer for heavy metal band Trivium.

In an interview with Music Radar discussing his influences as a drummer, Bent said when he was younger he played a lot of games, and that he first heard Slayer's "Raining Blood" from the 1986 album Reign in Blood through a Vice City radio station. That was apparently one of his first exposures to metal music, and he said he "couldn't believe the double bass" when he heard it for the first time.

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Bent said that he fell out of playing video games, but has slowly been making his way "back to that world." The drummer talks about how his style is intentionally mixed up to avoid being repetitive, with inspirations from genres like funk, latin, and gospel music, and it's easy to see how the eclectic soundtracks from games like Grand Theft Auto provide this. In fact, the soundtrack to WWE 2K20 revealed in late 2019 even included a song by a YouTuber and pop singer.

fake vice city promo art

Though the Miami, Florida-based Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out in 2002, its influence on the series as a whole and popularity among fans is still present to this day. A mod for Grand Theft Auto 5 added Vice City's map into the game earlier this year, and work has been put in by fans to overhaul and update the original game's textures.

GTA 5 is a particularly interesting case in terms of having influence through its longevity. During the "Future of Gaming" livestream that revealed Sony's PlayStation 5 this month, Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto 5 will be ported to the PS5, marking its third concurrent generation on the market.

That reveal confused and frustrated many fans of the series expecting Grand Theft Auto 6 to be released on next-gen consoles. However, a former Rockstar publisher believes this means the next entry in the series just isn't ready to show yet. With this kind of fervent fanbase behind the games, it should be interesting to see how these modern GTA titles influence future generations like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City influenced Bent.

MORE: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Mod Adds New Textures to the Game

Source: Music Radar