Think you've heard it all? Then the instrumental debut from 7-string slinger, Rusty Cooley is going to require a radical rethink in guitar shredquarters. Simply put, Mr Cooley has taken the rules of guitar playing, lined them up against the wall and shot them point blank through the head! A new guy is in town and HE makes the rules!

From the neo-classical magnificance of 'Under the Influence' to the mad and meaty 'Hillbilly Militia', Cooley has adopted a 'no rules' approach to his music, ensuring his listeners are subjected to displays of the most outrageous technical prowess imagineable - and then some. Super-heated speed-picking, torrid tapping and outrageous sweeping are the name of Rusty's game. Even the more 'laid back' 'E.B.E' contains more shredding moments than most guitar albums feature during their entire length. Heavy as hell one minute, neo-classical and exotic the next, Rusty crashes through the boundaries set by other players, then uses his 7-string to scratch out a new barrier - one which few will ever reach, let alone cross.

His CD should come stamped with a new shred rating system: RA (Rusty Advisory)!

Matt Williams

Head of Liquid Note Records, author of The Modern Guitarist: A History of Rock Guitar Since the 70s

http://www.liquidnoterecords.co.uk

-2003