Album Notes

First here follow a comment from John Petrucci (Dream Theater) about OUTWORLD :

"Thick guitar tones, unbelievable playing and aggressive metal/prog/melodic tunes. That's the best way for me to describe Outworld's latest release. Being a huge fan of Rusty, this is definitely his best to date. The guitar playing is intricate, creative and beyond comprehension at times while at the same time incorporating unique and interesting phrasing. In fact, all of the players really shine on this CD. The thing that stands out the most however, is the maturity of the song structures. Really cool riffs, melodic hooks and a great mix have made this one of my favorite releases this year."

So if you know to know more about the fantastic new comer from Texas, feel free to read the bio and listen to the sound clips...

OUTWORLD is :

Rusty Cooley – guitars
Bobby Williamson – keyboards
Matt McKenna – drums*
Shawn Kascak – bass
Carlos Zema – vocals **

* Drums on the album performed by Mikey Lewis
** Vocals on the album performed by Kelly Sundown Carpenter

Out of Houston, Texas, USA comes the new shining star on the heavy metal sky : Outworld. This amazing band has a unique way of blending musical styles with a genuine conviction in which they express themselves.

Musically they can be described as anything from power metal to progressive, groove and melodic metal. With influences ranging from neoclassical and progressive metal heroes such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Symphony X and Dream Theater, to modern day hard edged bands such as Pantera and Meshuggah.

Outworld is one of the few bands in the metal genre that is not afraid to groove and try out new things hence forming a stand alone image. Outworld not only take their music seriously, but also spend as much time on lyrics and subject matter to grab the interest of many.

Outworld was originally an idea of guitarist Rusty Cooley. With former drummer Darren Davis he put together the band. Soon afterwards they asked keyboardist Bobby Williamson to join them and began composing their own material.

Vocalist Kelly Sundown Carpenter used to sing in a band with Rusty back in the mid-nineties, and when he and Rusty met up again, energy started pulsating.

In January 2003, Rusty released his self titled debut instrumental CD through Lion Music. The CD got really great reviews, as it showcases Rusty as one of the few of today young guitarists capable of combining shredding technicality with a flow of melodies. The members from Outworld took part in the albums two bonus tracks, which had vocals on them.

2003 also saw Outworld being temporarily reinforced by ex-Cea Serin bassist Shane DuBose, who helped the band recorded the demo, which led to Outworld signing a management deal and then, less than a year later, a worldwide record deal with French company Replica Records, who have bands such as Patrick Rondat, Andromeda and Manigance on their roster.

In the spring of 2004 Outworld concluded their search for the ultimate line-up, as they integrated bassist Shawn Kascak (ex-Cauldron Born). Outworld is everything a real heavy metal band should be - musically perfect, and with an attitude seldom seen in this business, they are now ready to take on the world - and the outerworld - with their own brand of metal. But…

By the fall 2004 Scandinavian cinematic metal band Beyond Twilight asked Kelly to contribute to the vocals parts of their second album "Section X" (released early 2005 through Massacre in Europe and Replica in France). Kelly gladly accepted and flew to Denmark to record with the band. His performance on this CD was highly acclaimed, even if at the time nobody expected that all these positive reactions to Carpenter’s performance will, at the end, create more problems than young guns like Outworld need…

After a few months, from mid 2005 to early 2006, the band finally recorded his first album with the help of Mikey Lewis on drums. Soon after the end of the sessions, Outworld recruited Matt McKenna as full time drummer and was supposed to take the World by storm, when… Kelly received various offers from several other international acts which were looking for a lead vocalist. The singer couldn’t make up his mind and these sirens calls had definitely a negative impact on the band chemistry. So, among various other internal reasons, this situation enforced Outworld to stop to work with his vocalist, since the band couldn’t wait any longer to release his much awaited album.

After weeks of speculations, the decision to release (on November 13th, 2006) the album with Kelly’s vocal parts on it has been made, since Outworld wanted to look at the future instead to delayed once again the launch of his international career…

Early September 2006, Outworld has found an unexpected new vocalist (not a substitute !) in the person of Carlos Zema. This strong, powerful and impressive Brazilian singer has previously played and recorded with some bands as Heavens Guardian and Vougan. With him, Outworld already started to work on his second opus which might be released sometimes next year. It’s also with Carlos that the band will play his first shows in Europe which can be expected for the spring 2007.