Chris Brooks is an Australian author, rock, metal and fusion guitarist most noted for his debut instrumental album ''The Master Plan'' and his subsequent work with members of

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

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, and fellow Australians

LORD Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

Early life

Growing up as one of two sons of a career musician (drummer Ken Brooks), it was not really until he was 11 or 12 that Brooks realised that being a musician could be a career. He knew his father played the drums and that he was "bloody good at it" and that he did it a lot, but it was not until his own life-altering experiences with music that Brooks realised he could make a living and a lifelong pursuit out of music. In 1986

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

made a comeback, and Farnham's new band featured

Brett Garsed Brett Edward Garsed (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian musician and songwriter, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the American band Nelson. Garsed was feature ...

on guitar. A concert for the "Whispering Jack" album was broadcast on Australian prime-time TV and featured a tune called "Let Me Out", the extended Garsed guitar solo of which Brooks credits as a major turning point in his inspiration to resume playing the guitar. Brooks cites other early influences as

Kee Marcello Kee Marcello (born Kjell Hilding Lövbom, 20 February 1960 in Ludvika, Sweden) is a Swedish guitarist/vocalist, best known as the former guitarist in the hard rock bands Europe and Easy Action. He is currently pursuing his solo career. Career ...

of the band

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Vinnie Moore Vincent Moore (born April 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and a member of the British hard rock band UFO. Biography Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware. He began his professional career at age 12 after receiving a guitar as a Chris ...

and

The 1990s and 2000s

Brooks attended the

Australian Institute of Music The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) is an Australian private tertiary education provider, with campuses in Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1968, AIM delivers education for careers in the Australian music, entert ...

for a certificate course in contemporary music. During his short time there Brooks was exposed to jazz fusion and began listening to guitar instrumentalists like

Frank Gambale Frank Gambale (; born 22 December 1958) is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques. Recording career Solo ...

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...

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and

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...

. Demo tapes recorded in the 90s on four-track tapes have since shown up on YouTube, including a cover of the Yngwie Malmsteen track "Black Star", and the original track "I Wonder Why". On 9 March 2002, Brooks released his debut album ''The Master Plan'', which showcased his guitar chops in dynamic and sometimes complex progressive metal / rock fusion influenced compositions. The album has (as of January 2009) sold 4,000 copies and gained critical acclaim from artists including

, and

Jon Finn Jonathan M. Finn (born 1958) is an American rock musician and guitarist. He is the founder and leader of the Jon Finn Group, and is a professor at the Berklee College of Music; he joined the guitar faculty there in 1988. He is also the author o ...

. Press coverage of the album included ''Metal Hammer'' magazine (Greece), ''

Burrn! is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984. It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country. As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo. The magazine's c ...

'' magazine (Japan) and ''Young Guitar'' magazine (Japan) as well as numerous fan-maintained progressive rock/metal websites. In 2003 Brooks joined the Sydney-based melodic rock band Feeding The Addiction. The band failed to have any success besides a publishing deal with Sony/BMG. Brooks left the group in 2006 to return to the instrumental guitar genre, beginning with the opening track "Unruly Elements" from the 2007 Liquid Note Records (UK) release "The Alchemists II". The album also boasted the talents of

, Terry Syrek,

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guitarist Bumblefoot and

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sideman

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. In September 2011, the second solo album "The Axis of All Things" was released under the label Axiology Records, a moniker for Brooks' self-released efforts. The album featured guest appearances from

, Rick Graham, and drummers Peter McDonaugh and Gordon Rytmeister. In 2017, Brooks signed to publisher Fundamental Changes and released his first book on 17 October entitled "Neoclassical Speed Strategies for Guitar". The book is a biomechanical breakdown of the picking style of guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen.

Guest appearances

In 2002 Brooks wrote and appeared on two songs on the

Mark Boals Mark Robert Boals (born December 5, 1958) is an American heavy metal vocalist and occasional bassist, best known for his vocals with Yngwie Malmsteen. He is currently a member of the band Foundry. Boals' first album with Malmsteen, 1986's '' ...

album ''Edge of the World'', which also featured guitarist Tony MacAlpine (

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), drummers

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and Vinny Appice of

and Dio, and keyboardist

Erik Norlander Erik Norlander (born 6 February 1967) is an American musician known for his work in the progressive rock genre. From 2007 to 2014, he was the touring and recording keyboardist for Asia Featuring John Payne. He is also the managing director of ...

. The album was released by the labels Marquee Inc in Japan and Frontiers Records worldwide. Brooks also appeared on the Australian metal band

's 2007 release '' Ascendence'', on which he contributed guitars to the tracks "Rain" and "Through the Fire". In 2009 LORD released a new album entitled ''Set in Stone'', which features a new Chris Brooks solo on the track "Be My Guest".

Guitar style and gear

Brooks is renowned for his speed picking and legato technique and melodic phrasing which result in a fluid improvisational style. Brooks used Ibanez guitars for the first few years of his recording career and has been seen on numerous YouTube videos using a 2004

Paul Reed Smith Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) is an American luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a high-end guitar maker. Early life Smith graduated from Bowie High School in 1974. He also attended St. Mary's College of Maryland where ...

Custom 24 guitar in vintage Yellow finish, and a customised 1997 American Fender Stratocaster in Teal Green Metallic finish and white pearloid pickguard. In February 2020, Brooks became an endorsing artist for

Charvel Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. H ...

Guitars.

Discography

*'' The Master Plan'' (2002) *'' The Axis of All Things'' (2011)

Bibliography

* Neoclassical Speed Strategies for Guitar (2017) * Sweep Picking Speed Strategies for Guitar (2018) * Advanced Arpeggio Soloing for Guitar (2018) * Sweep Picking Speed Strategies for 7-string Guitar (2019) * Legato Guitar Technique Mastery (2019) * 100 Arpeggio Licks for Shred Guitar (2020) * The Complete Guitar Technique Speed Strategies Collection (2020) * Alternate Picking Guitar Technique (August 23, 2021) * Economy Picking Guitar Technique (November 3, 2021)

References

;Citations ;Notes
BiographyInterview

External links

*
Interview at Instrumental Case website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Chris Australian rock guitarists Living people Australian heavy metal guitarists 1974 births Australian Institute of Music alumni 21st-century guitarists