Outworld’s founding members, Rusty Cooley and keyboardist Bobby Williamson, first came together to record Rusty’s instrumental CD, released in early 2003 on Lion Records. Not wanting to be known for shred skills alone, Rusty and Bobby decided to form Outworld as a vocal band in the vein of their own influences, such as Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Pantera, and Symphony X. With the addition of Kelly Carpenter on vocals, and the help of other musicians on bass and drums, Outworld recorded a four-song demo in 2004. The demo led to the signing of a worldwide deal with France-based Replica Records. With the subsequent addition of bassist extraordinaire Shawn Kascak the core of Outworld was born. The band pressed forward with the recording of its debut CD. The band’s lineup, however, continued to be unstable at vocals and at drums. The band went through three drummers in the span of a year, and vocalist Kelly Carpenter became increasingly involved with other projects, most notably recording with Beyond Twilight for their 2005 release 'Section X'. The band finally completed the recording of its debut CD in late 2005, originally intended for a spring 2006 release. Shortly thereafter, the band began a national search for a dedicated drummer with undeniable skills, ending up with current drummer Matt McKenna. On the eve of its debut CD release in fall 2006, having been further delayed due to various issues, Outworld unexpectedly parted ways with vocalist Kelly Carpenter. However, they quickly found Brazil-based vocalist Carlos Zema. With the addition of the leather-lunged Carlos, the band was set with a hungry lineup.

OUTWORLD (2006) REPLICA RECORDS

Like most of us have noticed, MySpace is here to stay. And I'm all for that. MySpace is namely one of the hottest new places to discover bands. And that is exactly where I found out about Outworld. They used their page for all it's worth, and quickly gained some buzz. Eager to listen, after accepting their invitation, I was blown away over what I heard. This was clearly a new power/prog band to really look out for. I preordered their debut, and couldn't wait to get it in the mail. Well, now it has arrived, and I'm quite pleased with my purchase. Outworld have 2 things going for them; 1. Rusty Cooley. The man is a virtuoso of rank, and also a solid songwriter. 2. Kelly Carpenter. You might have heard him on Beyond Twilight's 'Section X' album. Then you'll have a clue how great this singer really is. After all, he replaced none other than Jørn Lande in mentioned band! Outworld's music contains equal amounts of power, prog and virtuoso musicianship. Some might be put off by the keyboards, but when you know how much of an influence Dream Theater is to this band, you won't think twice about it. Outworld are much heavier than their heroes though, and at times I almost get a modern vibe from their choice of riff-tones. If I have to put my finger on something negative about this debut album, it would have to be that the songs sound a bit too much alike. The individual track sort of drowns in the overall picture. I would also have tried to harness Kelly's voice a tad, as he is really all over the place here and there. Still, this is a firstborn to be proud of, and a new metal act to look out for in the future.

My CD is autographed by 4 of the members.

Killer tracks: Raise Hell, Riders, Outworld, The Never, Grey Tide