Rusty Cooley currently has a great reputation
throughout the hoards of guitar forums out there on the net.
Coming with a reputation of having a very firm grasp on metal
guitar this self titled cd backs up those facts very nicely
indeed. What we have here is a collection of great metal concepts,
pummeling riffs and simply frightingly good lead work. Rusty
is a 7 string guitarist and knows how to make use of the additional
string to spice up lead and rhythm work. The production on
the album is superb, with a great mix and a lot of power -
I dare you to try and play this one at quiet volumes - it
needs volume!
Opener Under The Influence
is pretty neo-classical in nature that anyone who is fan of
Yngwie's recent instrumental work will get a BIG kick out
of. The Butcher has an almost
Symphony X feel being of a very prog metal nature. The lead
work here is particularly scary! The main melody on this one
despite being intense is very catchy.
Dark Matter sees
the intensity and tempo drop for a wonderfully melodic showcase
of Rusty's more tender side. Making great use of acoustic
and clean electric textures for the backing the lead work
is simply sublime. Mixing to these ears the melody of taste
of Uli Jon Roth with some of the feel of Marty Friedman. Dominion
is another strong rocker and is covered again later in the
proceedings with vocals from Kelly Carpenter.. E.B.E.
is pretty crazy with a crushing riff and more impressive lead
work which sees Cooley breaking out the wah pedal to alter
tonality on certain licks.
Hillbilly Militia
is nuts, nothing else can sum it up - look out the good ol'
boys are coming your way yet they have mutated into alien
lifeform! Jazzmine's Song has
an 80's style feel to it, again very melodic and the lead
work is the icing on the cake, kind of like Neal Schon on
steroids!
War Of The Angels
reminds me a little of Racer X, the neo-classical feel returns
for the lead lines, another highlight. The
Duel is quite classic metal in its backing yet the
lead work sees the feel updated, some great doubled lines
between Cooley and keyboardist Bobby Williamson. The vocal
version of Dominion is pretty
bizarre, sadly the vocals do not do a great deal to the track,
Kelly Carpenter has a pretty gruff voice and in my opinion
sits a little uncomfortably, yet the track does work well
in a vocal format. The vocal bonus track of The Machine is
The Butcher with vocals, again as with Dominion its looses
some of its impact, yet as these are bonus tracks I sort of
see them as an extra rather than part of the album proper.
Rusty Cooley has delivered a strong collection
of instrumental tracks. There is a definite individual voice
here and his command of rhythm guitar and lead work is worthy
of the tag "virtuoso". Overall fans of quality instrumental
music should check out this album.
