Rusty Cooley (Revolution/Outworld)

Name: Rusty Cooley
Born: Unknown

Profile: He is a self-taught American guitarist who influenced by many styles including Jazz, Classical, Funk, Blues and even Country. His guitar works can be heard in his previous and current band such as "Revolution", "Dominion" and "Outworld", respectively.

History: Cooley received his first guitar on his 15th birthday (a Peavey T27 guitar and a Peavey Decade amp) from that day on he immersed himself in music, practicing upwards of 4 hours a day. Unsatisfied with local Instructors, he began teaching himself through instructional books and videos.

During high school, young Cooley took music theory classes and also attended the National Guitar Workshop. He performed solo guitar in high school talent shows and performed such pieces as Van Halen’s 'Eruption' and Randy Rhoads 'Revelation Mother Earth' solos. During his senior year, he was offered his first teaching job at the same store, where he had bought his first guitar.

After graduating from High School, Cooley continued studying Music Theory at the local college, as well as Music History and Class Piano. In 1989, he joined the local rock band "Revolution", the band wrote, performed and recorded all original music. They became one of Houston’s top drawing bands, and opened for national acts like "Badlands", "Nitro", "Every Mothers Nightmare", and "South Gang".

In 1992, "Revolution" released a four-song EP. "Revolution’s" music was once described as "Skid Row" meets Yngwie Malmsteen. The band made two appearances on a local TV show called 'Metallurgy' and 'Metallurgy Unplugged'. Cooley also taught guitar on a college TV show called 'Stay Tuned'. In 1993, he quit the band and started a new band called "Dominion", this new band wrote and performed locally as well but was short lived and broke up in 1995. Also, during 1995 he entered and won the 'Guitar Master Series' winning the title of 'Best Guitarist' in Houston.

In 1996, marked the beginning of a new direction, Cooley bought his first 7-string guitar and decided it was time to go for it on his own. It was during this period that he began to work on instrumental guitar compositions. These songs represented his desire to record an over-the-top guitar instrumental release featuring state of the art chops and strong melodic content. He also hosted 3 episodes of a local cable show called 'World Class Guitar Techniques', which aired in the Houston area.

In 2000, Cooley released an instructional CD 'Shred Guitar Manifesto' and gained endorsements with Jackson Guitars and Seymour Duncan pickups, and started doing guitar clinics as well. In 2001, he released two more instructional CD 'Extreme Pentatonics' and 'The Art of Picking'. Soon after, Cooley was asked to headline Jemfest in Orlando, Florida in 2002. Late that year, he had a custom 8 string guitar hand made by Bill Conklin of Conklin guitars.

In 2003, Cooley was given the honor of the '7th Fastest Shredder of all Time' in Guitar One Magazine, and not wanting to be known for shred skills alone, he and Bobby Williamson formed "Outworld", recorded its self-titled debut which was released in 2006 to both critical and artist acclaim. With the success of "Outworld’s" debut, and increasing notoriety in guitar circles, Cooley garnered a significant number of endorsements with Dean Guitars, EMG pickups and Diamond Amplification. In 2007, "Outworld" won 10,000 in a Famecast contest similar to American Idol where viewers watched and voted for the favorite artist.

Influences: Randy Rhoads, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Allan Holdsworth, Paganini, Bach, Steve Vai, Gary Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Marty Friedman, Shawn Lane, Derek Taylor, Buckethead, Todd Duane, Scott Stine and Haji’s Kitchen and Ritchie Kotzen

Axology: Jackson guitars, Dean Rusty Cooley signature series guitar - the RC7 Xenocide and Diamond Amplifiers

Signature song(s): Under the Influence - Rusty Cooley (Rusty Cooley, 2003)

Link(s):

http://www.rustycooley.com/ (Official website)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL3RJ4B349o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6frmbC3pdTs&feature=related

Michael Amott (Carcass/Arch Enemy)

Name: Michael Amott
Born: 28th July, 1970 (London, England)

Profile: He is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the bands "Arch Enemy", "Spiritual Beggars", and "Carnage", as well as a member of the death metal band "Carcass". He is the older brother of Christopher Amott.

History: Amott began playing guitar as a young teenager, learning to play by copying Punk/Hardcore and Thrash/Speed Metal out of his record collection. he soon went to a new level with his playing. He has stated in guitar magazines that he has a preference for pentatonics scales, and his soloing style is frequently compared to that of Michael Schenker.

In 1988, Amott co-formed the death metal band "Carnage" with singer Johan Liiva, and released two widely traded cassette demos, gaining instant underground interest. Plagued by constant lineup changes, "Carnage" would eventually record their only album 'Dark Recollections'. In 1990, Amott was recruited by "Carcass", and released the album 'Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious' a year later, followed by, 'Heartwork', the album which help to define what is now known as melodic death metal.

In 1993, he left "Carcass" and decided to form a classic rock influenced band, "Spiritual Beggars". The band released their debut album a year later, which led to an European record deal with Music for Nations.

Still heavily into extreme metal, Amott formed a new melodic death metal project in the same vein as "Carcass", and he contacted original "Carnage" vocalist Johan Liiva, as well as his younger brother Christopher Amott and put together "Arch Enemy". The band's first album 'Black Earth' was originally intended to be a one-off project, but in 1997, the album's first single, 'Bury Me An Angel' received unexpected airplay on Japan's MTV Rocks! program.

In 2003, "Arch Enemy" released 'Anthems of Rebellion', and for the first time, their received US MTV airplay with the video for 'We Will Rise'. The band would reach new heights in popularity worldwide, and toured constantly until the release of 2005's 'Doomsday Machine'. Amott returned once again to "Spiritual Beggars" in 2005, releasing the album 'Demons'. He also recently performed a guest guitar solo on "The Haunted" and "Kreator".

Today, Amott is busy touring the world and recording with "Arch Enemy" and the re-formed "Carcass", and he does not rule out a return to "Spiritual Beggars" in the future.

Influences: Michael Schenker, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Frank Marino and Uli Jon Roth

Axology: Dean guitar Micheal Amott Signature Tyrant Bloodstorm, ESP guitars, Ibanez RG 550 Road Flare Red, Fernandes guitars and Marshall amplifiers

Signature song(s): Heartwork - Carcass (Heartwork, 1993) and Bury Me An Angel - Arch Enemy (Black Earth, 1997)

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf9UVqaBQI8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77NK4aPayIU

Michael Shanker (UFO)

Name: Michael Schenker
Born: 10th January, 1955 (Sarstedt, Germany)

Profile: He is a German rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in "UFO", in addition to his solo work. He first rose to fame as a founding member of the "Scorpions", then achieved fame in the mid 70's as the lead guitar player for "UFO". Since leaving UFO in 1978, he has been leading the "Michael Schenker Group" in various incarnations.

History: Michael started playing at an early age, after his brother Rudolf brought home a Gibson Flying V guitar, which captured his imagination. He played his first gig when he was 11 with the "Scorpions" in a nightclub. Michael debuted with "Scorpions" on their debut album at age 17. The "Scorpions" went on tour after recording their first album, opening up for upcoming UK band "UFO" in Germany. Michael was offered the position of lead guitar player Bernie Marsden, even though he didn't speak English.

Michael wrote the music for most of UFO's major label. He left "UFO" soon after the last show of their US tour in Palo Alto, California, in October 1978. His playing with "UFO" attracted attention from music critics and especially from the guitar community.

Michael briefly re-joined the "Scorpions" in late 1978, and the year after he toured with the band in support of the album, but left the band 3 months later, where he was permanently replaced by Matthias Jabs, who had originally joined the "Scorpions" before Michael's return.

In 1979, Michael formed the "Michael Schenker Group (MSG)" and he briefly played guitar for the band "Ratt", appearing on their 1990 MTV Unplugged performance. Michael continues to perform and record and to maintain a following, and is called "a legendary figure in the history of metal guitar."

Influences: Rudolf Shanker

Axology: Gibson Flying V guitar, Schenker Dean V guitar and Marshall amplifiers

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwa3qErkUnU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blvnoao1WO0

"Big brother (Rudolf Shanker) has influence. But I had the passion, discipline and the desire to become what I felt deep inside (to be a guitarist)" - Michael Shanker

Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions)

Name: Ulrich Roth
Born: 18th December, 1954 (Düsseldorf, West Germany)

Profile: He is a German guitarist and one of the earliest contributors to the neo-classical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Academy and inventor of the Sky Guitar.

History: Started to play guitar in his teens where in the early 70's, Roth formed a band called "Dawn Road". After Michael Schenker left the "Scorpions" the two remaining members, Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine merged with Uli Jon Roth, as Scorpions new lineup.

In 1979, Roth formed his own band named "Electric Sun" which released three albums. The first, Earthquake (1979), was dedicated to Jimi Hendrix. A second album released two years later, Fire Wind (1981), was dedicated to Anwar el-Sadat (the assassinated President of Egypt who had tried to make peace in the Middle East), and featured a song called "Enola Gay" about the atomic bombing of Japan. In 1985, Roth released his third and final album, Beyond the Astral Skies, dedicated to Martin Luther King and to his fans.

After Electric Sun, Roth entered a new phase of creative work, composing four symphonies and two concertos, and sometimes performing with symphony orchestras throughout Europe (these were around the 90's and early 2000's)

In 2007, Roth had begun working on a new full-length studio album. The title of the album would be "Under A Dark Sky" and was going to be the first official release in the long-awaited series of Symphonic Legends - a cycle of music written by Roth for his all-encompassing Sky of Avalon project.

Going back in the 80's, there have been companies who sold Sky Guitars, either without Uli’s knowledge or without his consent. Many private individuals have also had copies built for themselves, because of the unique and appealing design and the features. But these were all just copied from photographs and no one had access to the precise dimensions of the originals; hence most of those copies resulted in poor limitations, which didn’t stand a chance to live up to the extremely high standard of the handful of originals. The new Dean Custom line will be the first genuine, fully authentic Sky Guitars for 20 years.

Influences: Vivaldi

Axology: Sky guitars; 'Mighty Wing' and 'Destiny' have 7 strings guitars and Marshall amplifiers

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQWuKv4HCWc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmDTO3XUGZ4

Michael Angelo Batio aka Mike Batio

Name: Michael Angelo Batio aka Mike Batio aka MAB
Born: 1956

Profile: He is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003. He was also listed as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" by Guitar World Magazine.

History: MAB started playing the piano and composing music at the age of 5, and first played guitar at the age of 10, reportedly playing faster than his teacher within 2 years. At the age of 14 he started playing jazz guitar, and within 2 years he had won the Chicago-based "All-State Jazz Solo Award". He attended Northeastern Illinois University and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition.

After he had graduated, MAB looked to become a session guitarist in his hometown. When he asked for a job at a nearby studio, he was given a piece of music and simply asked to play it. Naturally, he managed to play it and added in some of his own improvisations and fills, making him the studio's primary call-out guitarist.

MAB began his recording career in 1984 when he joined new heavy metal band called "Holland", the band split up soon after, due to the moderate success. In 1987 MAB formed "Nitro", which one of the music video "Freight Train", received much airplay on MTV, featuring MAB playing his now famous "Quad Guitar". By 1992, "Nitro" released their second studio album entitled "Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S..", and was disbanded shortly afterwards.

Influences: Unknown

Axology: Dean Guitars; both electric and acoustic, a Dean signature guitar known as the MAB1 Armorflame and Marshall amplifiers.

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcc7IL18m0I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhpAmlL86gY

Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society)

Name: Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt
Born: 14th January, 1967 (Bayonne, New Jersey)

Profile: He is an American musician and songwriter, who is best known as the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band "Black Label Society", and his use of Gibson Les Paul Custom model guitars with a "bulls-eye" graphic, a design he used to deliberately differentiate himself visually from Randy Rhoads. As a solo artist he released Book of Shadows in 1996.

History: Started to play guitar as a teenager, and played in a hard-rock band called "Stone Henge". The story with Ozzy began when Wylde's wife heard in the radio that Ozzy Osbourne was looking for a new guitarist, but Wylde did not know how to get in touch with Ozzy so he ignored the audition.

At a gig in Sayreville, N. Jersey a photographer friend named Feld approached him and asked if he'd ever considered to auditioning for Ozzy, it turns out Feld was a friend of rock photographer Mark Weiss and he offered to pass Wylde's press kit to Ozzy who just happened to be in town. The next morning Sharon Osbourne gave a call to him for an auditioned in L.A. Wylde was introduced as Ozzy's new guitarist in December, 1987 at New York City's Hard Rock Cafe.


Influences: Randy Rhoads

Axology: Gibson Les Pauls, Custom Dean Split-tail guitar and Marshall JCM 800s and 2203s amps, BOSS SD-1 and CE-5, Dunlop Rotovibe and Hendrix wah pedals

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsih9nUpq2U

"Me and Dime (Dimebag Darrell) would always say to each other, 'Are we the only two assholes, who can still get from low E to high E and back safely? Does anyone practices scales anymore?' - Zakk Wylde

"I think the longest I've ever gone without playing guitar is a day. I couldn't imagine going a week without playing guitar" - Zakk Wylde

Glen Drover (Megadeth/Eidolon)

Name: Glen Drover (Ontario, Canada)
Born: 25th May, 1969

Profile: He is a heavy metal guitarist from Ottawa, Canada, best known as the former lead guitarist in "Megadeth" and "King Diamond", as well as his own band "Eidolon". Currently he is teaching guitar lessons at Long and McQuade.

History: Glen Drover began playing guitar as a child, and was joined at age 10 by his brother Shawn on drums and formed the thrash/power metal band "Eidolon" in 1996 and in 1998, Drover joined King Diamond.

In 2004, Drover joined thrash metal band Megadeth, bringing along his brother Shawn. Following an extensive world tour, Drover also cut a guest guitar solo for the track "Emotional Coma" for Swedish metal group "Lion's Share", he recorded his solo at home in Canada, and sent the music file to the band. In January 2008 Drover left Megadeth to focus on family life and his last show with them was on 2007 in Australia.

Influences: and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Tony MacAlpine, Al Di Meola, Randy Rhoads, Greg Howe, MIchael Romeo, George Lynch and Warren DeMartini.

Axology: Dean guitars

Link(s):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et-m9M0KC_Q