Outworld

For other uses, see Outworld (disambiguation).

Outworld
Origin	Houston, Texas, USA
Genres	Progressive metal Heavy metal
Years active	1997−2009
Labels	Replica
Associated acts	Thought Chamber
Website	www.outworldband.com
Members
Matt Mckenna Rusty Cooley Shawn Kascak
Past members
Kelly Carpenter Darren Davis Brent Marches Bobby Williamson Carlos Zema

Outworld was a progressive metal band that was formed in 1997 by guitarist Rusty Cooley. Their name is allegedly taken from the fictional Outworld realm of the Mortal Kombat video games.

History

The original line-up of the band was keyboardist Bobby Williamson, guitarist Rusty Cooley, drummer Darren Davis, bassist Brent Marches. They set out to make instrumental music but soon after decided they wanted to also have vocals and added Kelly Carpenter.^[1]

They worked on two bonus tracks for Rusty Cooley's solo instrumental album, which was released in January 2003. Outworld signed a management deal with the Danish Label Intromental Records in mid-2003. Later in 2003 Outworld added Shawn Kascak as bassist and Matt Mckenna as drummer, replacing Marches and Davis. Kelly Carpenter decided to join Danish metal band Beyond Twilight in late 2004 but remained with Outworld until they added Carlos Zema as singer in fall 2006.

In December 2004, Outworld signed with Replica Records and recorded their first album, which was released November 13, 2006.^[2]

In August 2007, Outworld won the Famecast Fenom Contest in the metal category, having been voted #1 in all six rounds of voting.^[3]

On March 12, 2008, The band announced founding member and keyboardist Bobby Williamson and vocalist Carlos Zema were leaving the band. They will be searching for a new singer as well as a second guitarist (instead of a keyboardist) for a heavier sound on the new record.

On March 24, 2009, Rusty Cooley announced that Outworld had disbanded, with members going on to other projects.

Sound, style and influences

Outworld was ostensibly a progressive metal band, though they often blended many different styles. Their writing was influenced by bands such as Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Pantera, and Symphony X.,^[2] while their overall sound was influenced by the likes of Meshuggah and Nevermore^[4]

Band line-up

Final Line-up

• Rusty Cooley − Guitar
• Shawn Kascak − Bass
• Matt Mckenna − Drums

Former members

• Kelly Carpenter − Vocals (2002–2006)
• Carlos Zema − Vocals (2006–2008)
• Darren Davis − Drums (1997–2003)
• Brent Marches − Bass (1997–2003)
• Bobby Williamson − Keyboard (1997–2008)
• Stephen Vance − Drums
• Mikey Lewis − Drums
• Shane Dubose − Bass
• Jeff Huerta − Drums

Discography

• Demo (2004)
• Outworld (2006)
• EP (2008)

References

1. ^ Rustcooley.com
2. ^ ^{a b} Outworldband.com
3. ^ Famecast.com, Contest Format
4. ^ Virtuosityone.com interview with Rusty Cooley!

External links

• Outworld official site
• Outworld page at Replica Records
• Official Outworld at MySpace