Chris Brooks - The Master Plan
	Released: 2002 Label: Independent Cat. No.: CB1001 Total Time: 42:23
	Reviewed by: Peter Fundeis, May 2003 Sometimes it is not just a matter of being talented or having that special recording. Sometimes one has to be in the right place at the right time to get heard and in the case of Australian Chris Brooks, that is probably the only thing holding his rise to stardom. Chris is not just an extremely talented songwriter/guitar-player and multi-instrumentalist, but also someone who knows how to record, produce, and arrange songs of the highest standards. And to top it all off, he does it all independently. His debut release, titled The Master Plan, is an instrumental extravaganza of progressive/metal/rock/jazz/fusion with an array of styles fused together in 10 different songs totaling just over 42 minutes. The focus throughout his compositions is primarily on the guitars but there are also some magnificent keyboard leads and fills. Chris nominates some of the greatest guitar virtuosos of all time as his influences but although one can find elements of many throughout The Master Plan, there is no cloning going on. As a matter of fact I would like to go a step further and say that Chris Brooks is on his way of developing a new side arm to fusion which is in parts heavier than anything else going around at the moment. Imagine the same speed and heaviness of a Yngwie Malmsteen but fuse that with Planet X or Explorer's Club and voila, you got a new breed of instrumental/progressive metal. I would also like to mention that Chris played all of the instruments on this recording and the CD has some of the best sounding drum samples which must have taken him years to programme. I do hope that he will find a real drummer to complement these great compositions in the future. Similar To: Planet X, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joey Tafolla PPO Rating: 8/10 [This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site; see also Marcelo's and Steph's reviews -ed.] More about The Master Plan: Track Listing: Kryptica (4:51) / Inner Light (4:05) / Crack In The Hourglass (5:42) / Blue Sky Odyssey (5:00) / Funksion (1:40) Master Plan Suite (Tracks 6-8): / Theme For The Next World (0:45) / Axiom (2:28) / The Master Plan (6:08) / Only Time (3:44) / Tales From A Distant Sky (8:00) Musicians: Chris Brooks – Guitar, all other instruments Contact: Website: www.chrisbrooks.net Note: will open new browser window Email: info@chrisbrooks.net Discography The Master Plan (2002)
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