| Rusty Eye | |
|---|---|
2008 Rusty Eye Rocks! |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Genres | Heavy metal Progressive metal Punk metal Speed metal Thrash metal |
| Years active | 1995 - present |
| Labels | Epoche Records |
| Website | www.rustyeye.com |
Rusty Eye is a Mexican/American heavy metal trio that was formed in Mexico City in 1995. In 2004 Rusty Eye relocated to Hollywood, CA.
Contents |
Rusty Eye was formed in 1995 in Mexico City (Mexico) by main founder Mr. Rust (born Pablo Armando Salido Casanova) on bass and vocals, Dr. Eye on guitars and vocals, Daniel Acosta on drums and Ken Harrington on lead vocals. It previously went by the name of Scarecrow and Poltergeist in 1993 and 1994 respectively. The name Rusty Eye relates to the "corrosion of perception".[1]
After cutting several independent DIY demos, the band recorded their first LP titled Rust N’ Roll in 2000. Rust N' Roll was recorded with the lineup of: Mr. Rust (bass and vocals), Dr. Eye (guitars and vocals) and Leo Haze (drums). This album was released in Mexico in the year 2001 and in the United States in 2003 through the band's own Indie label Epoche Records. Miss Randall (born Julieta Randall) joined in 2003, replacing Haze on drums.
This lineup of the band relocated to Hollywood, California in 2004. The band's second production Cryogenic began in 2005 with guitarist Jonny Dee. In 2006, Dee was replaced with guitarist Baron Murtland. This line-up recorded their next LP Stendhal Syndrome.[2] Like previous albums, it was released via the band's own Epoché Records in 2006 next to the live album Live at the Joint MMVI. Rusty Eye was awarded with the Best Metal Single of the Year with the single "Mr. Cannibal" by the L.A. Music Awards in 2006 [3] and were listed in the Music Industry and Trade Magazine Music Connection Top 100 Unsigned Artists of 2006.[4]
In December 2006, Murtland took a hiatus from Rusty Eye and was replaced with live session guitar players, the most notable being Jehu (a.k.a. Jay) from the Metalcore band Tomorrow Comes Today. Jehu appeared as the guitarist and played "The Chef" on the music video for "Mr. Cannibal"[5]
In September 2008 Murtland returned to Rusty Eye. A cover of Circus of Power's "Mama Tequila" was recorded for the tribute album Working For The Machine - A Tribute to Circus of Power.[6]
In March 2009, the band announced the upcoming release of Possessor, an album again showcasing the band's blend of differing metal styles and sounds, with a horror film influence. It was recorded at Raymond Herrera and B-Real's Temple Studios in Chatsworth, California where Randall's engineering skills were put to use as producer and co-engineer for the album.[7] Mixed by Jeremy Blair, the album included collaborations by horror film composer Claudio Simonetti, from Goblin, on "Mondo Cane" and "Wings of a Demon"; producer and guitarist/keyboardist Waldemar Sorychta, from Grip Inc., on "Somnambulist Possession" and "Mandragora Screams"; and vocalist Alex Mitchell, from Circus of Power, on "The Serial Kind". The album's cover was illustrated by artist Joe Petagno.[8]
On May 14, 2009, prior to the release of Possessor the song "Mondo Cane" had its premiere broadcast on Mexico City's college radio Metal show Clinic Diafragma on Universidad Anáhuac's Radio Anáhuac.[9] Possessor was officially released independently through Epoche Records on June 6, 2009.
On June 27, 2009, Alex Mitchell was asked during an interview about his vocal and Spoken word collaboration with Rusty Eye on "The Serial Kind", he stated: "It's pretty cool… you know what? It's one of the coolest things I've done, actually".[10]
On December 12, 2010, Rusty Eye celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the band with the release of a live CD titled Live at The Rainbow MMX. The live performance was recorded in April 2010 and Rusty Eye became the first band to record a live album at the legendary Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood, CA. The album was produced by Miss Randall and was recorded with the band's mobile studio with the help of engineer Yuri Anysonian.[11]
Currently Rusty Eye is working on an EP in Spanish Language, for the first time in their career. This recording will be composed of cover songs from Rock en Español artists from Mexico, specifically ranging from 1989 to 1992. Not a lot of information has been released and there's has not been a set release date for the project. [12]
The vast majority of reviewers agree that Rusty Eye is a band with an original style and has a way of seamlessly moving their music in multiple directions at once, often without sacrificing the integrity of the song itself.[13] Because of this, attempts to pinpoint the sound and style usually lead to disappointment [14] "Without compromise, they make records exactly how they want them to be. Their ambition is a beating baboon heart at the centre of all their thinking." [15]
When asked what was the importance of spreading out musically and not pigeon-holing into any one style, Mr. Rust replied: "Many people have tried to label the sound: Progressive Punk Metal, Horror Thrash, etc…" "…It’s even been hard for us to come up with a simple, brief and accurate description and it’s so impossible to satisfy everyone, so to keep things simple we just say we are “Heavy Metal” and we let people figure out the rest by themselves." [1] On another interview, Miss Randall said: "It has always been difficult to label Rusty Eye‘s style, because no one else is doing what we are doing”, "we’ve given up on labeling ourselves and let everyone decide for themselves. We are definitely metal; that’s a given. Many others consider us to be progressive because of the technicality and the artsy side of the music. But the fact is that we aim to deliver a naturally original style of music" [16]
Many reviewers have described the style recognizing the elements that build the whole sound. For example, "the music is a colossal hybrid of metal, rock and punk styles all interwoven into a resonance that sounds very natural, without any notice of the music being forced into the aforementioned styles. You will hear thrash metal riffs, black metal style tremolo picking; punk riffs toppled with highly 70’s influenced progressive rock crossed with a very strong NWOBHM approach. If that was not a sufficient amount of genre hopping, I still did not mention the highly immense underground metal influence of death metal as well as stoner rock.".[17] "While most carrying the label of progressive metal tend to focus on one or two elements such as involved song structures or hybrid of styles, and exaggerating them to the point of hitting new territory, Rusty Eye takes little pieces of everything, almost like a jigsaw puzzle", "technical Thrash riffing, odd changes or unexpected sections, a pinch of fancy bass work rivaling both Steve Harris and Geddy Lee, a touch of older hard and Punk rock influences, a seasoning of keyboard ambiences and Neo-classical tonality, and the occasional smatterings of both Black and Death metal vocalizations".[18]"A complex alloy of virtually every extreme music form".[19]
- Mr. Rust. Bass & Vocals (1995–present)
- Miss Randall. Drums & Vocals (2002–present)
- Baron Murtland. Guitars (2006–present)
- Jehu. Guitar [from "Tomorrow Comes Today"] (2007)
- J Dee. Guitar (2005)
- Dr. Eye aka Rodrigo Xavier Gonzalez. Guitar & Vocals (1995–1996, 1999–2003)
- Rodrigo Tarrats. Guitar (1997–1998, 2001–2002)
- Sgt. Stoner aka Rodrigo Pacheco. Drums (2001–2002)
- Octane Insane aka Octavio Buzo. Guitar (2001–2002)
- Leo Haze aka Leonardo Jaso. Drums & Keyboards (1999–2000)
- Gian Cross aka Giancarlo Cruz. Guitar (1999)
- Daniel Acosta. Drums (1995–1998)
- El Perro aka Vidal Perez. Guitar (1996)
- Kenneth Harrington. Vocals (1995–1996)
- Live at The Rainbow MMX (2010. Epoché)
- Possessor (2009. Epoché)
- Stendhal Syndrome (2007. Epoché) see also: Stendhal syndrome
- Live at The Joint MMVII (2006. Epoché)
- Cryogenic Ep 3" Mini CD (2005. Epoché)
- Rust n' Roll (2001. Epoché)
- Skratch Magazine Vol. 30 (2006) Includes: Cryonic Suspension & Zombie
- Metal Edge Magazine Sampler Dec. 07 (2007) Includes: Mr. Cannibal
- Working for the Machine - A Tribute to Circus of Power (2008) Includes: Mama Tequila
- FTU Compilation Volume 1 "Death Rides A Pale White Dude" (2010) Includes: Wings of a Demon
- Heavy Metal Magazine: Gates, Vol. 1 - Ascension (Webcomic Soundtrack) (2011) Includes: The Entity (Ghostly Lust)
- Malpractice (1995. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Self-Determination (1995. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Aphotical Virtues (1996. Epoche) Out Of Print
- !ffOkcuF (1997. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Suffer The Neighbors [live] (1997. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Blasted (1998. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Wasted (1998. Epoche) Out Of Print
- St. Jerome's Acoustic Serenade (1999. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Menage a Trois [live] (1999. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Speaks of The Devil (2001. Epoche) re-released as "Rust n' Roll" Out Of Print
- Luvsong [Single] (2001. Epoche) Out Of Print
- Live at Rockotitlan [live](2003. Epoche) Out Of Print
In 2007 Rusty Eye released the music video Mr. Cannibal [20] by film director Alejandro Ordoñez. It was released on 10/14/07, a week after the controversial "Canibal de la Guerrero" was caught in Mexico City.[21] This is just a coincidence.
