Behold, I say unto you: Shred is not dead. Anyone who disagrees should give Rusty Cooley's latest album a listen. Vintage, Shrapnel Records-era guitar mayhem from start to finish.

Rusty is a guitar monster. His incredible, almost super-humanly fast playing is non-stop on this album. We're talking Michael Angelo Batio/Shawn Lane velocity.

The majority of the compositions are firmly entrenched in the Yngwie Malmsteen neo-classical metal style. Lot's of arpeggios, extended melodic sequences, and harmonic minor scale runs. Rusty also mixes in some bizarre whole tone runs, and some atonal symmetric runs to spice up the mix. All these are played over hyperactive double-bass drums.

Rusty employs the mighty seven string guitar on this album. Nothing creates the chunky low-end grindage like a seven string. Rusty lays down some heavy rhythm riffs as the bed for his solo insanity.

This album brought me back to the late 1980's, the heady days of the shredder. It was an exciting time for guitarists as Shrapnel Records delivered to us a seemingly endless barrage of out-of-this-world players. The race was on to see who had the most insane licks. It was the era of guitar athleticism.

Rusty, unlike many of the Shrapnel players, has chosen to continue to pursue the shred. In my view, following trends is comparatively easy; playing the music you love (whether or not it's ‘in') takes some courage. Kudos to Rusty for keeping the faith.

As a shred aficionado, I enjoy Rusty's old-school warp speed playing. I'm not sure a casual listener would ‘get it'. They may be put off by the density of music, the speed, the complexity. However, I would argue that Rusty has chosen not to dumb down his music in an attempt to please trend-followers. This album says to me, “I shred. If you don't like shred, buy a Celine Dion album.”

I have a few small problems with the album, so let's get those out of the way. To my ear, the mix sounds ‘fizzy'. Too much high end. The midrange has been overly scooped, removing some of the tonal information. The result is the album sounds overly bright, while also missing the warmth of the midrange.

I would also like hear some more separation in the instrumentation. The lead guitar is loud and easily heard. The rhythm guitar is at times mushy and indistinct, fighting for room in the mix with the keyboards and bass.

Overall, pretty minor quibbles. Certainly nothing to dissuade me from enjoying the album.

I should also mention and compliment Kelly Carpenter on his vocals on “Dominion” and “The Machine”. Very, very metal! He has an excellent metal scream, and a strong, melodic vocal tone. I'd like to hear more from Kelly.

Ok, enough jibber jabber. If you love guitar-hero music, go buy this album. You won't be disappointed. Rusty Cooley shreds with the best of them.

8 out of 10 Stars.
Reviewer: Jeffrey Ryan Smoots
www.prog4you.com