When Nyko first revealed its third-party drum peripheral kick pedal replacement, the "Metal Pedal," I was in awe. As I put it: "it has a motherf**king skeleton on it, guys. And you can't get much more metal than a skeleton."

As it so happens, I was wrong, and Nyko out-metaled themselves with the packaging for the "Metal Pedal." Folks, it comes in a package shaped like a motherf**king coffin, and that's how you get more metal than a skeleton. 

Nyko brought the pedal to CES for us to try out, and after ripping through Alice in Chains' "Man in the Box," I'm confident they have a winner on their hands. The pedal is as heavy-duty as Nyko suggested in its press materials, and when pounding on it relentlessly with my little drummer foot, I didn't get the impression it was going to snap into two pieces after a few drunken sets. The pedal will also ship with a splitter jack so you'll be able to connect two kick pedals, which will come in handy for Guitar Hero: Metallica's Expert Plus mode. 

The good news is that the Metal Pedal is compatible with drum peripherals designed for both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band, and on all platforms. The better news is that the pedal is going to retail for a mere $19.99. It's a clear step up from the default pedal for World Tour, and for those considered about busting their existing pedal, this seems like a great buy.

And it has a skull on it and ships in a coffin box. Nyko's "Metal Pedal" ships to retail this spring.