EA announced today that Brütal Legend, the next game by Tim Schafer, the man behind the humor for most of the LucasArts adventure titles, will be coming out just under a year from now. Why are they announcing this now? It looks like we are getting our first look at the game on Sunday, during the Spike TV Video Game Awards show. Yep.

Check out the full press release, complete with overused Spinal Tap joke, after the jump.

DOUBLE FINE AND EA TURN IT UP TO "11" NEXT FALL WITH THE RELEASE OF BRÜTAL LEGEND

Tim Schafer teams up with Jack Black for the Ultimate Rock Opus

Guildford, UK – December 12th, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Double Fine Productions, Inc. today announced that they have signed an exclusive publishing agreement that will bring the highly-anticipated rock-adventure Brütal Legend™ to gamers, headbangers, roadies and rockers worldwide next autumnl. The latest creation from gaming icon Tim Schafer and the award-winning team at Double Fine, Brütal Legend is a 3rd person Action/Adventure game starring Jack Black in the role of roadie Eddie Riggs, who sets on an epic quest to build an army of rockers with only a broad axe, a big block V8 and his faithful guitar in hand.

“This is awesome news!” stated Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. “The quality and creativity of the games EA Partners has been involved with make it a perfect home for our baby, Brütal Legend. Some people were starting to wonder if the saga of Eddie Riggs would ever see the light of day, but now I think it’s clear that this game, like Metal itself, cannot be killed!”

“Brütal Legend is shaping up to be a creative tour de force,” said David DeMartini, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EA Partners. ”At EAP, we are deeply committed to giving the industry’s elite independent developers a platform to launch their creations to a worldwide audience. Tim Schafer is known for some of the richest stories and characters in our industry, and with Jack Black offering his vocal styling’s for Eddie Riggs, we are extremely excited to help Tim and his talented team at Double Fine see their vision come to fruition.”

Brütal Legend tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, played by Jack Black, who is drawn back through time to a mythical world immersed in Rock and Roll folklore; where great Metal titans once ruled and power chords rang from the countryside for all to hear. When an oppressed people request Eddie’s knowledge of modern warfare, he pulls from his own experience in the only occupation he’s ever had, a roadie for a Heavy Metal band. From this springs the most hellacious army man has ever seen, and thus brings this ancient world into the Age of Metal.

I love Tim Schafer's games, and with a track record like his, this one should be pretty good. If for some reason you have never played any games written by him, it would do you well to play Psychonauts for the PlayStation 2 or Xbox. The game is available as an "Xbox Original" for the 360.