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Reviews in full

Peter Fundeis, Screaming Symphony Radio [13-04-2002] 
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 program. I do hope that he will find a real drummer to complement these great compositions in the future. 
(score 10/12)

MJ Brady, Prognosis website
After having heard some demos a while back from Chris Brooks' website, I was very excited about hearing the final product of his debut release The Master Plan. As great as those song clips were, my expectations were well exceeded when I first listened to this cd all the way through. From the Land Down Under, Australia, the land that also has brought us some of the worlds very best fusion musicians (Gambale, Garsed, Donati, Fierabracci, Aliano, Indaba, DeLuc), it seems as though there is something in the water down there. Chris Brooks, acknowledges some of these influences as well as many others such as Vinnie Moore & Yngwie Malmsteen for inspiration while coming up as an aspiring musician. Though I can say, he sounds nothing like any of these artists, perhaps his studies at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, gave him the tools to express his musical personality and identity. 

I can attest, that he is an amazing musician, and is a very crafty composer also. It would have been far too easy for him to have mimicked the Moores, Malmsteens, and Garseds of the guitar world. His playing is far beyond such apery, this is proven by is writing abilities. His music is always in a rhythmic flux, utilizing a high complexity level, blistering speeds, and precision-like melodic interchange. The fact that he performs all the instruments is also an amazing feat in and of itself, as the music is such, that nothing less than highly competent professional virtuoso types would be capable of keeping up with the demanding changes and progressions. 

I am reminded of some of the more challenging artists coming of age such as Cyril Achard, Michael Harris or Dave Martone, also there are times when I am reminded of Liquid Tension Experiment, or Planet X. And yes, he is worthy of this lofty company of musicians. From beginning to end The Master Plan produces music of the highest caliber, how Chris plans to upstage this debut is going to be a challenge, but knowing this is his first solo project, hopefully the best is yet to come. A MUST for technical, instrumental fusion listeners!

DB Silver, Prognosis website
As much as anything track 1 . Kryptica reminds me of Al Dimeola's The Wizard from his Land of the Midnight Sun debut CD. And like DiMeola did in his debut, Chris Books comes out scorching in this awesome take-no-prisoners debut CD.
The guitar playing is beyond measure here - inventive and technical - to the first degree. Brooks is a virtuoso beyond any doubt playing full out or sensitive when called for. Equal billing needs to be given to the quality of the compositions - which bring a style mix of Fusion, Shredder, and Prog. A fine guitarist with less than fine music bears watching. But marry one up with first class music and you have a 'must-have' CD. The Master Plan is just such a recording.
If there is a flaw here it is that Brooks elected to play all instruments. It is impressive the way he delivers - I am especially surprised at the quality of the drums - it does not sound like a guitar player composed or played them. But the flaw - if it truly exists and is not in my imagination - is that the non-guitar parts lack a bit in personality. Maybe it is just me because a listen to Axiom dispels any question that the man can handle himself at a top level on every instrument he plays especially drums.
There are many prog elements throughout many of the songs which means that this recording should be received well by prog-metal fans. Fusion fans will find highly technical music for all instruments here - each well performed and exceptionally delivered. Shredder-types will meet a new guitar hero. Chris Brooks ROCKS.

Progressive World.net
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, June 2002

Australian guitarist Chris Brooks has released his debut solo album The Master Plan. You won't find anything new here. That is, Brooks isn't taking the guitar-based-rock format into new territory -- he's emulating Vai, Satriani, Johnson, etc., not Fripp (for example). But, on the other hand, I don't feel he's taking the tried and true artists' songbook and repeating it.  Brooks names John Norum, Kee Marcello, Paul Gilbert, Brett Garsed and Vinnie Moore as his main, and early, influences, adding that later it was Richie Kotzen, Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth, Joe Tafolla, Vai, Jon Finn, Shawn Lane, "and groups like Garsed/Helmerich, Liquid Tension Experiment, The Johansson Brothers, and Dream Theater." You'll hear all that here, though I can only speak specifically to the LTE and DT elements as being in his sound.

Brooks' guitar style and sound will, more often than not, recall Johnson and Satriani, specifically -- at least for me. The middle section of "Inner Light" made me think of Neal Schon's work with Journey ... not that it recalled any specific Journey song, but Brooks wails away in a manner similar to Schon's. For the most part, these are high energy pieces, that zip along. They aren't just shred fests -- the songs have a beginning, middle, and end -- structure and direction. The dips and dives and diversions take you on a sonic journey. Though I have not had the chance to do so myself, it is the kind of album you want to take on the open road. There are a few phrases at the end of "Crack In The Hourglass" that sound familiar, a nod perhaps to another well-known instrumental -- that I wish I could name (it may be "A Summer Place").

"The Master Plan Suite" is a three track suite, that begins with "Theme For The Next World" which is a keyboard - acoustic guitar piece, that lasts barely a minute. It leads into the driving "Axiom." On this track, Brooks achieves the feeling of twin leads, he playing each on a different guitar.  There were points where I thought of Dream Theater - with the keys, guitars, percussion sounding very much like the interplay between Petrucci and Portnoy (though I'm not sure its Rudess as keyboardist I'm thinking of here). "The Master Plan" finishes of the trio of tunes, and it is a punchy, metallic workout.  Brooks mixes it up with some acoustic passages; some artier, solidly guitar-rock passages; and some passages that seem right out of the prog-metal-double-bass-and-all school. Just about a tour-de-force performance.

"Blue Sky Odyssey" takes a different approach, beginning with a rather nice, though fairly standard, keyboard intro. Brooks brings a different tone into this by playing a few passages with a loose-feel steel string acoustic, before returning to the electric. "Funksion" feels a bit like Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein," though not quite as heavy. It's short, but fun. You can almost guess that Brooks has a good time playing this.

"Only Time" has a romantic feel to it; it's slower paced that the other pieces on the album. It's the kind of piece that comes at the end of the picture, when the protagonists have made up, and come to some resolution about their relationship and looking ahead. It's contemplative and reflective... oh, you know, I thought a bit of Guns N' Roses "November Rain," but I know there's a much better reference. Perhaps it's the inclusion of piano that recalls that track. This does it much better as it doesn't go into over-the-top theatrics. Brooks' "Only Time" is, however, quite an effective and affecting track, very well played. Brooks mixes the acoustic and the electric nicely, each able to make certain statements within in the piece.

You'll think Tony Levin made a brief guest appearance on bass in "Tales From A Distant Sky," which closes the album. But it's Brooks for this brief passage. The track fades out, then fades back in in a rather spacey manner.

All in all, Brooks' debut is a winner. If you like guitar rock with a metallic edge, then, like me, you'll like this release. One suspects that with a few more albums under his belt, we'll be adding Brooks' name to the "guitar god" pantheon.

Prog4you.com

This instrumental album by Australian guitar whiz Chris Brooks, is sure to please fans of the 80's guitar heroes, but who like a more modern, even mix with other instruments. Chris has a very detailed bio available online at www.chrisbrooks.net so I won't go into further details here. Suffice it to say, this album is the result of a very detailed, laborious journey, and the great care he has taken  compositionally and in the performance of every instrument is clear from the first few bars of the Dream Theater tinged opener "Kryptica". Yes folks, he does play every single note on this album, and it's all very skillfully laid down. One of the things that I really liked about this album is the fact that, while Brooks is definitely a shredder, he is more careful than most in his selection of notes. Most of his solos are constructed around pleasant and interesting melodies buried beneath the usual trillion notes a second style of embellishment favored by these guitar mutants, and he seldom loses track of the original themes (exceptions to this occur during half of the solo to "Crack the Hourglass", but it's really nowhere near as strident as in the work of other, much better known guitar demons, and besides, fans of the Vai's and Satriani's of this world have grown used to solos that take all sorts of liberties against the basic human thirst for simple melody, so they'll have nothing but pure ear candy with this one).

All in all, this album came as a pleasant surprise to me, and I would like
to wish Chris Brooks continued success in all of his future
projects. Check it out!

Reviewer: Luis Nasser
Review Date: 6/28/02
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Metal Coven http://www.metalprovider.com/metalcoven

This is the debut solo album of the Australian guitar virtuoso Chris Brooks.  I can describe his style as adventurous instrumental hard rock with progressive influences.  You can hear that Chris is inspired by the great guitar players and progressive rock/metal bands of the eighties and nineties, but Chris has created a style on his own.  Some instrumental records begin to bore after a while, but “The Master Plan” includes so many breaks, tempo changes and melodic passages that makes this album one of most exciting and also one of the best instrumental albums of the last five years.  Chris did not only play the guitar, he also plays all the other instruments and he even produced the album on his own.  I think this album will not only satisfy fans of instrumental rock music but also fans of progressive metal (listen to the title song) and melodic rock (“Only Time”) will enjoy themselves listening to this album.  Chris Brooks also co-wrote and played on two songs on the last Mark Boals album “Edge Of The World”, so Mark Boals has also discovered this multi-talented musician.  This album is very recommended for everyone who loves great music.  90%

by Ronny Elst (2003)

Detritus newsletter

It is very hard to receive a work of a guitarist, because most of them are self-indulgent albums, of guitarists that are mere Malmsteen clones, with no creativity and fast playing. However, there are a few times when I find myself surprised with the quality of some of these works. Fortunately, Chris Brooks' THE MASTER PLAN fits into the last category. 

The Australian guitarist comes with an independent work in his first solo album. Even working in a "do it yourself" routine, the production is amazing, as well as the performance of Chris, working on all instruments. Working in a similar path as guitarists like Tony MacAlpine, Chris works on furious scales and riffs, blending with some fusion hints here and there, capturing the attention of the listener for the whole album. The creativity of Chris on the melodies is noticeable in songs like "Kryptica," an excellent surprise at the beginning of the album, going from mellow harmonies to shredding and heavy playing, all in less than one minute. It is all so surprising that one may think there's a full band behind THE MASTER PLAN. Chris' excellent job in the keyboard parts is shown in songs like "Crack In The Hourglass," with some astonishing synth leads and harmonies. 

The variety of styles keeps the album fresh until the end; "Funksion" is, as the name states, a funky theme with some acrobatic guitar parts, while "Blue Sky Odyssey" is a true representative of charming guitar ballads, with some inspired acoustic guitar work, progressing into a wild guitar work and a duo guitar/keyboards. In certain parts of this song, Chris reminded me a lot of Dream Theater's John Petrucci. The masterpiece in this album is actually the "Master Plan Suite," divided into three sections. Starting with the soft, short, keyboard driven "Theme For The Next World," the suite flows into "Axiom," a heavy song with mindless timing, full of rhythm changes, nervous. To conclude the suite, "The Master Plan" is an atmospheric theme, with some trippy guitar/keyboard work. 

The only complaint I have about this is album is that it does not last longer. If you are a Tony MacAlpine, John Petrucci or Vinnie Moore fan, and enjoy a creative, well-crafted work, you should definitely check Chris Brooks. At last, if you wanna get Chris' album, visit http://www.chrisbrooks.net for more information; it will be a surprise for you as it was for me. - Rodrigo

FRIDAY THE 13TH Fanzine

I am not a big fan of instrumental albums but saying that this new and very talanted guitarist from Australia called Chris Brook is an awesome player, the best I have heard to come out of Australia by far!! As a debut the production is excellent and so is the playing and is a must for any fan of Tony Macalpine, you just have to listen to Chris and you'll hear Tony for sure. This album however could have been given 5/5 if there had of been a awesome singer that was involved in this recording. Chris also plays guitar on the new Mark Boals CD if your interested to know who the guitar player is on Mark's new album. I can't fault this album as far as the guitar playing is concerned, only default is the fact that there is no vocals - pity really. I can also hear from Dream Theater (Images & Words) in the music as this is a Progressive album. Check out: Kryptica, Inner Light, Crack In The Hourglass, Blue Sky Odyssey, Axiom, The Master Plan, Tales From A Distant Sky. Great album by Australia's new hopefuls, best of luck to Chris he deserves it!! 

Jason Brown friday13thmetal@hotmail.com