Amusing contest, I'm in. For Gabriel Knight.

1. bler144 beat me to the correct answer to this question, so I'll just go with KISS.
2. Rock and Roll All Nite, perhaps? Sounds appropriate for live performances.
3. Ha! Easy one, there's only one great Queensryche album. Operation: Mindcrime. Now you'll tell me you prefer Rage for Order, right? I stand by my answer as the correct one, though :)
4. Pink Floyd gets only a single song? Assumption: must be something radio stations chewed on quite a bit. And since you're from the US, the choices aren't that many: Money, Another Brick in the Wall, or High Hopes. I'll go with the last one.
5. I'll just go with the cliche here, Pretty Fly (for a White Guy).
6. I, too, love Hall of the Mountain King.
7. Edge of Thorns, maybe?
8. That would be the one commonly regarded as their worst? Ooh, another trick question. I'll flip this time and say yes.
9. You really like your Van Halen, don't you? I'll go with the first strike is deadly line of thought, and pick "Van Halen".
10. Do you like F.U.C.K.?
11. You like KISS, so that would indicate Hagar.
12. I can't even decide what's my favorite Metallica album, much less yours :p Joking aside, maybe Metallica?
13. Geoff Tate is insufferable, therefore I place my hopes on the other one.
14. Erm, Welcome to the Jungle? Anything but their sappy balads.
15. Much like #4 and #12, I could never decide for myself, but for you I'll pick 2112: The Temples of Syrinx.

Not a lot of entries here, but at least I got to do something different from my usual giveaways. We need more metalheads in here! Anyway, on to the answers (and then I'll tally up the scores and announce the winner)...

1. What is my favorite Kiss album? [5]

Hotter Than Hell

They were still young & hungry, and their sound was not nearly as polished (and over-produced) as it was in later years. This album just flows together very well to me.

2. What is my favorite Kiss song to hear them play live? (hint: it's almost always been a part of their set list) [5]

Black Diamond

Often (but not always) used as their final song, this song just absolutely rocks live. It's the only Kiss song to have been sung live by 4 different band members...all 3 drummers (Peter Criss, Eric Carr, Eric Singer), AND by the song's writer (Paul Stanley).

3. What is my favorite Queensryche album? [5]

Operation: mindcrime

This was the first I'd heard of them, and this was their breakthrough album. It's remained my favorite album of all time (from any band) for over 20 years. On a sidenote, I'd put Rage For Order as my 2nd favorite Queensryche album.

4. What is my favorite Pink Floyd song? [5]

Comfortably Numb

Ok, it's a song about shooting drugs (heroin would be my guess), but the gentle, smooth rhythm of the song & the vocals are just soooo relaxing for me. I'm not a Pink Floyd fan (I only like a small number of their songs), but this song is just mesmerising to me.

5. What is my favorite Offspring song? [5]

I like almost all of their singles (there are more than people realize from over the past 20 years), but Gone Away is top of the line for me. The power, the lyrics, I really feel like there should've been a "The Crow III" movie with THIS as the theme song. (And while I'm on the subject of The Crow, I know #2 didn't do nearly as well as the first, but I really feel that if they'd tried a 3rd installment with a FEMALE lead as a change, it might've done well).

6. What is my favorite Savatage album with Jon Oliva on lead vocals? [3]

Gutter Ballet

It was love at first soundbyte for me when the title track debuted on MTV's Headbanger's Ball & I just absolutely fell in love with this album. The pianos, the acoustic guitars, the instrumentals, they all laid the foundation for the future Trans-Siberian Orchestra with this album.

7. What is my favorite Savatage album with Zak Stevens on lead vocals? [3]

Edge of Thorns

I remember being in the bathroom when the title track from this one came on (you guessed it) MTV's Headbangers Ball & I knew immediately it was Savatage. But then the vocals started & I was like "That's not Jon...but it's damn good! Who is this??" I was very surprised to find Jon had stepped down to concentate on writing & had passed the vocals on to this young man with a much smoother (but still powerful) voice. Wake of Magellan was a close 2nd for me from Zak, but EoT still stands at #1 for me.

8. Did I like the Van Halen 3 album? (this was the album with Gary Cherone on lead vocals) [1]

Yes.

I hadn't even listened to it until years after it came out, picked it up because it was in a bargain bin for a couple bucks. But I was surprised by how much I liked it. With the fans being so upset that VH didn't pick another blond as their lead singer (I joke...somewhat) and rejecting the band before the record even came out, I gave it a fair shot & actually did enjoy it. Dirty Water Dog is just amazing, if you ask me.

9. What is my favorite Van Halen album with David Lee Roth on lead vocals? [3]

1984

It wasn't just because Jump was such a huge hit for them, I just enjoyed this album from begining to end. I always felt like House of Pain could have been a single, and as the years went on I actually began to prefer I'll Wait over Jump.

10. What is my favorite Van Halen album with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals? [3]

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

Again, just one of those albums where I felt like everything flowed together perfectly. I still rock out to Poundcake every time I hear it on the radio.

11. Overall, do I prefer Van Halen with Sammy or with David? [1]

Sammy

With David, it felt more like a rock & roll partying jam band. With Sammy, it felt more like they upped their musicianship with their writing and their songs. There are plenty of David songs I like, I'm not a "One or the other" VH fan, I just prefered them with Sammy.

12. What is my favorite Metallica album? [5]

Master of Puppets

This was my first Metallica album and it has always remained my favorite. MoP is my favorite Metallica song ever, but others like Battery, Disposable Heroes, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Damage Incorporated and Orion are (almost) equally as awesome.

13. Which "Queensryche" album did I prefer from 2013, the one with Geoff Tate and his new band or the one with the old band & new vocalist Todd LaTorre? [1]

Geoff Tate

I hadn't heard anything I decisively liked from the band in many, many years. So when I heard they were splitting, I was actually excited (after the initial shock) to hear what each version of the band would come up with for their new album. I was hoping the competition between them would produce 2 solid albums. I know most prefered Todd's album, but nothing on it really stuck with me. Geoff's honestly surprised me, since I never cared for his solo work. I rated each song on Geoff's album up to 5 stars and the average for me was a 4.2 (not including the remakes).

14. What is my favorite Guns N Roses song? [5]

Nightrain

I just love the song from start to finish. They were still young & just enjoying themselves singing about something they loved (drinking), and musically this song just worked for me. There was no music video made for this song, but it was a radio single.

15. What is my favorite Rush song? [5]

Subdivisions

Not a big Rush fan (like Pink Floyd, I only like a small number of their songs), but I really love the sound on this one. The music, the lyrics, this is just a perfect blend. Tom Sawyer would probably be my 2nd favorite (why? Kerry Von Erich, that's why!).

Ok, here is the scoring for our participants (and non-participants who played just for fun)...


bler144 (not in, but scored 3 points)

3. What is my favorite Queensryche album? [5] Operation Mindcrime


RWarehall (11 points)

3. What is my favorite Queensryche album? [5] Operation Mindcrime

8. Did I like the Van Halen 3 album? (this was the album with Gary Cherone on lead vocals) [1] Yes

12. What is my favorite Metallica album? [5] Master of Puppets


Melvinica (not in, but would have won with 15 points)

2. What is my favorite Kiss song to hear them play live? (hint: it's almost always been a part of their set list) [5] Black Diamond

3. What is my favorite Queensryche album? [5] Operation Mindcrime

4. What is my favorite Pink Floyd song? [5] Comfortably Numb


Pardinuz (9 points)

3. What is my favorite Queensryche album? [5] Operation Mindcrime

7. What is my favorite Savatage album with Zak Stevens on lead vocals? [3] Edge of Thorns

11. Overall, do I prefer Van Halen with Sammy or with David? [1] Sammy


hyperagathon (13 points)

3. What is my favorite Queensryche album? [5] Operation Mindcrime

7. What is my favorite Savatage album with Zak Stevens on lead vocals? [3] Edge of Thorns

8. Did I like the Van Halen 3 album? (this was the album with Gary Cherone on lead vocals) [1] Yes

10. What is my favorite Van Halen album with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals? [3] For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

11. Overall, do I prefer Van Halen with Sammy or with David? [1] Sammy


...and thus, with 13 points the winner is hypergathon who gets Gabriel Knight! I'll be PM'ing you shortly!

I just wanted to applaud you sir as you definitely seemed to have given people some challenge to win this but those who know your likes or busted their hump was the one who likely won.

Thanks, Sarang. I really wanted to do something different with this giveaway, so going into a love of mine (music) while giving away something else I love (a good old game) was really fun for me.

I don't think anyone in this thread knows my musical tastes all that well (although plenty of you do now!), so I feel like this became more of a metalhead contest that anything. I'm curious how many posted answers based on their own knowledge of the bands/music and how many posted just by looking stuff up.

Since you're a Metal fan you should give NeXT's "Destruction Of the Shell" and "Trash Man" a listen. You can't go wrong with Novasonic either.

FWIW, I didn't look anything up. MOP would probably be my favorite Metallica album as well, and have listened to a lot of hard rock and metal, but the popularity of KISS has always confused me.

The Rush was a trick question then, eh? Subdivisions is a pretty good choice though I avoided the ones that got lots of radio play (with Floyd as well) on the assumption you were looking at something deeper. At least with Floyd I picked a song from the right album though!

On Rush I went with something from "Grace Under Pressure" just because it seemed like sound-wise it fit more with the mix of other bands you were putting up there. A bit consistently heavier and darker than a lot of their other albums. Still a touch of prog and plenty of keyboards, but hell, you like Operation: Mindcrime, so that shouldn't stop you ;)

Anyway, it was challenging enough that getting a lot of people to bite was going to be hard, but I had fun answering!

+1 and congrats to the winner!

Drat a little to late seeing this! Great GA!!!!!!!

I loved the questions!!!
Thank you for being so generous!

I thank you again. I really enjoyed this format, it's another idea to put on my "what to do for my own givewaway" list.

A combination in my case. I know very little about KISS and G'n'R, and even less about Van Halen. Which is a touch ironic considering I got three VH questions right, but on the other hand, two of those were deductions and one I just thought too amusing not to try. So those I looked up on Wikipedia.

The others I know well enough to choose something, but for Pink Floyd and Rush I still checked the singles list on Wikipedia, and went with songs that did well in the US. I remember eyeing Subdivisions and thinking "nah, too slick". I only "discovered" Rush last year, but pretty much loved everything I've heard so far (2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures (favorite), Signals).

Metallica I picked as some sort of halfway point between their thrashy days and what followed.

Queensryche was obvious, and apparently everyone got it right, which is As It Should Be, it's a great album.

I was surprised about Savatage, though had I known you like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I'd have went with Gutter Ballet.

You can still post what you would've answered...it's too late to win the contest, but you can still have fun with the questions. :-)

Awesome contest, ChaunceyK! My metalhead side quite enjoyed the challenge.
To answer your question, I posted mostly based on my knowledge of the bands (except for Van Halen which I had no clue existed) but unfortunately I failed miserably to read between the lines and figure out your personal taste. :D
Looking forward to the next metalhead contest!
PS: I'd like to suggest you keep the answers private next time, I think it's more fair that way.