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% www.virtuosityone.com Andy Craven

RUSTY COOLEY ‘RUSTY COOLEY’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)

Lion Music

Jack The Jester: Freaks opgelet!…….jullie staan op het punt om een lesje gitaar te krijgen. Deze geboren Texaan levert met zijn gelijknamige plaat een shred CD af die als ‘imponerend’ genoteerd kan worden. Twaalf nummers lang vliegen de licks je om je oren. Deze meester van de pentatonische toonladders kan dingen met zijn 7 snarige Ibanez gitaar doen waar menig top gitarist alleen maar van kan dromen. Rusty Cooley heeft in het verleden al een instructie CD afgeleverd (‘Extreme Pentatonics’) waarin hij, en dit is even voor de kenners, laat hij zien hoe je 2, 3, and 4 noten per string speelt, legato technieken, alternate picking, sweep picking, pickhand tapping met 3 vingers en string skipping uit moet voeren. Het is dus logisch dat je diverse van deze technieken terug hoort in de nummers. Dit alles gebeurd op haast demonische snelheid.

En dit is ook meteen het grootste nadeel van de plaat. Het is één grote ego trip. Natuurlijk staan er bijzonder fraaie nummers tussen maar over het algemeen worden die naar beneden gehaald door een gitarist die laat zien hoeveel noten per minuut hij wel niet kan spelen en een vrij eentonige geprogrammeerde drumcomputer. Als ik globaal door de tracks heen wandel doe ik verschillende indrukken op. De opener ‘Under The Influence’ is volgens mij een ode aan Yngwie J Malmsteen en het gitaarwerk is uiteraard ruimschoots in orde, maar storend is het gemis aan de bezieling in de drums die een live drummer wel heeft. Het als rustig nummer bedoelde ‘ Dark Matter’ vervalt al snel in het afratelen van toonladders terwijl een lang aanhoudende toon een stuk fraaier was geweest. En ‘War Of The Angels’ is een nummer waarbij de gitaar in het begin een vioolpartij imiteert maar al snel terugvalt op de hoeveelheid te produceren noten. Van de 12 nummers zijn er 10 instrumentaal. Van die 10 nummers zijn er 2 nog een keer opgenomen maar dan met vocale ondersteuning. In dit geval heeft het wel meerwaarde omdat nu het accent op de zanger (Kelly Carpenter) ligt. In ‘Dominion’ (met vocalen) blijkt dat als je het zo invult je een op Rainbow lijkend rock nummer overhoud en dat het behoorlijk heavy is. Dus zonder egotripperij en met een zanger als bliksemafleider kan Rusty Cooley een uitmuntende band worden waarbij er altijd ruimte overblijft voor een lekker solo’tje

Voor de gitaar freaks 98/100 - Voor de gewone luisteraar 62/100

http://www.rustycooley.com/ Review from www.lordsofmetal.nl

RUSTY COOLEY ‘RUSTY COOLEY’ (LION MUSIC/BERTUS)

The American guitarist RUSTY COOLEY has released a very impressive solo-debut CD on the Finish label LION MUSIC. The album contains fantastic instrumental Progressive Melodic Heavy Rock like a mix between MALMSTEEN and STRATOVARIUS. Songs like “Under the influence”, “The butcher” and “Dark matter” are really excellent instrumental prog. Melodic heavy rockers of a very high level. The album also has 2 vocal tracks, of which “Dominion” is by far the best, as this is a great uptempo melodic heavy rocker like RAINBOW meets MALMSTEEN. The singer on this song is Kelly Carpenter, and he has a great voice. Concluded, this CD is one of the best instrumental releases on LION MUSIC so far!

(Points: 8.5 out of 10) Strutter Zine

Rusty Cooley – “Rusty Cooley”

Guitar lover will totally freak out when they'll listen to Rusty. He's an amazing guitar player. Really technical, Rusty is a very talented musician and it's easy to see that in those songs. Very melodic, killer solos....his fingers are dancing on his guitar!!! The only thing is that I miss vocals! There's 10 instrumental tracks on this CD plus 2 version of songs with vocals and let me tell you that these 2 songs are killer! THe vocals is very intense and the guitar work is splendide! This guy can play I tell ya!

 
www.thedarkesthours.com Patrick

Rusty Cooley – “Rusty Cooley”

Be warned – guitar playing has just been taken to a new level or virtuosity! Rusty Cooley comes out smoldering and delivers a slab of true musical genius. Cooley is in a league of his own on this his first solo release. Showcasing musical chops and technical prowess that are nothing short of jaw drooping. Rusty pulls out all the stops and let’s his guitar do the talking. After years of intense study and teaching, Rusty comes forth with 12 polished tracks that showcase a new style and approach to guitar playing. This is a take no prisoner release putting Mr. Cooley at the forefront of today’s instrumental guitar scene. Not since YJM, Byrd, Rhodes, Petrucci or Van Halen has there been such a mind boggling release of technical virtuosity. This release should send all aspiring instrumental guitarists back to the woodshed for some intense study – Rusty Cooley has arrived!!

All the compositions are written with uniqueness in mind. Cooley is keen on keeping the listener on their toes with plenty of twists and turns. Tracks such as the classically influenced “War of The Angels” or the sweep picking madness of “Piece of Mind” highlight his mind boggling control over the guitar. One of my favorite tracks is the ultra heavy “The Duel” where Rusty rips through some super fast arpegiated sweep sequences that breathe fire – very cool! Phrases such as “how the hell does he do that” keep popping into my mind as I listen to the compositions throughout this CD. Another great track is the upbeat “Jazzmine’s Song”, a melodic rocker with a great hook. This song alone is worth the price of admission. All 12 tracks contain Cooley’s signature guitar licks which defy comparison. There are even two bonus tracks that are re-worked vocal versions of two of the instrumental compositions.

This entire CD will slay the masses in guitar and power shredder circles worldwide. Cooley delivers a musical masterpiece of originality that reaches a new height of technical brilliance – breathtaking!

Guitar Mania

http://www.guitarmania.ca