Rusty Cooley - Rusty Cooley
2003 Lion Music

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.
 
Hot Spots:
Under The Influence, Dark Matter, Jazzmine's Song, War Of The Angels.
Rating: 82%