The Demo Review:
Band Name: Outworld
Band Members: Kelly Carpenter (vocals), Rusty Cooley (guitar), Bobby Williamson (keys), Shane DuBose (bass), Darren Davis (drums)
Location: USA

Rating: 5 Skulls

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    • Zilla's Review:
    Rusty Cooley is a name that guitar freaks will know from his release on Lion Music and his numerous instructional segments and videos on the Chops From Hell website. Let's just say this guy can shred with the best, hands down. I know for a fact that a certain John Petrucci from some band named Dream Theater has drawn a lot of inspiration from Rusty's playing as of late.

    So what does Rusty's band project, Outworld, offer up?

    Well, I'd like to just call it extremely well played neo-classical, progressive shred metal from hell, but that doesn't do it justice. Imagine mixing neo-classical shredding a la Yngwie, throw in the prog elements of Symphony X, yet do it all on 7 and 8 string guitars and 5 and 6 string basses a la Soilwork or Meshuggah. In other words, it's got a wonderfully deep, rich, chunky sound, but all the power, progressive and shred elements you could ever want.

    This demo starts off with the soaring, power metal rich "Raise Hell", which immediately put me in that "Wow, this shreds like Yngwie used to" mindset, especially due to Kelly Carpenter's incredible vocals. This guy is seriously ruling... controlled, powerful, melodic, emotional and rich. At times I hear some Jorn Lande (Masterplan), other times Tim Aymar (Control Denied, Psycho Scream, Pharaoh)... you get the idea. Seriously outstanding stuff.

    Rusty, Shane, Bobby and Darren show off their chops on the intro-esque piece "Prelude to Madness" which leads into the long, twisting, odd-meter romp of Hitler on "Concentration Camp". This song has some great twists and the sampling of "HEIL!" and soldiers marching just adds a spooky depth to this great piece. Wrapping up the demo is one of the band's oldest tunes, "City of the Dead", having both soft parts and then amping right up into the power and prog elements they play so well.

    That's the thing that has really struck me with Outworld: they have this incredible shredder in Rusty Cooley, which would make you think this is a vehicle to make him shine. It's not the case at all. Every player shines and truly helps to form a cohesive band unit that is hungry for attention and success.

    This is one of the best demos I've heard in a long time. I can't imagine European labels not being all over Outworld, like a kid in a candy store. Time will tell, but I'd say it's time to let the bidding wars begin.
    5 out of 5

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