2007-01-28
If you've even wondered what
Nevermore had sounded like had they recruited
Yngwie Malmsteen,
Rob Halford and a few other vocalists, and decided to play prog metal, you need go no further than Outworld.
Actually, you don’t need Malmsteen, not when guitar whiz Rusty Cooley is around, though the young guy has a panache for neo-classical guitar leads, his riffing is somewhere in between Nevermore and
Meshuggah, making this album one of the best, most exciting metal albums I've had the pleasure of listening to lately.
With a debut album that starts off with "Raise Hell" very little can go wrong, it’s a combination of hard driving riffs that are both very heavy and quite complex, yet it still maintains a solid melodic base, the playing here, as a whole, is flawless.
There's a tight rhythm section, imaginative and interesting keyboard arrangements courtesy of the brilliant Bobby Williamson, that don’t turn into the usual prog "Watch Me Play fast!" segments, and the extremely impressive vocal range of Kelly Carpenter, of
Beyond Twilight fame, who is sadly no longer a part of the band.
"War Cry" is another great track, closer to traditional heavy metal, Carpenter does his best Halford impersonation, the man's range is truly staggering. Yet it's Cooley's fantastic guitar playing which is one the main elements that makes this so good, There are a lot of virtuosic guitar players out there who can shred, but very few of them can write a solid riff like Cooley can, the songs are just plainly impressive, there's not one weak track in the album.
"Prelude To Madness" does show off Cooley's lead playing, a gut wrenching and tragic sounding intro, based on his playing and an accompanying piano line, it continues with a re-recorded version from the band's demo. "Grey Tide", formerly "Concentration Camp", it's a strong and complex foray into progressive genius.
I can't stress enough how good this album is, it's progressive yet heavy enough, heavy yet melodic, all the ingredients fit in perfectly to create one extremely impressive debut album . Anyone who bears at least the resemblance of a good musical taste should take heed and give these guys a listen, you won't regret it.
Alon Miasnikov
