Rusty Eye Proud to be DIY and Love ’70s Italian Horror Flicks

"It has always been difficult to label Rusty Eye's style, because no one else is doing what we are doing," drummer Miss Randall told Noisecreep. "So at this point, 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, which can as well irk followers of Dream Theater or Opeth, who follow a formula and are not used to different sounds. The 'horror' influence has always been there -- sometimes more visible than other times -- but it's a constant in the band's work." So essentially, the band is progressive horror rock, which not many bands can lay claim to being!

Rusty Eye are also illustrating that in 2009, a band can go the viral route and achieve a modicum of attention and buzz. But it's not always the easiest way to go, simply because it does involve a degree of educating people. "Being a completely independent DIY band is pretty much the only thing you can do to reach your audience," Miss Randall said. "The biggest advantage is that when people truly like it, they show it to all their friends and people come to us. Our website merges visual and sound in a never-attempted fashion before.

"Yet, the fact that we do it ourselves isn't completely clear sometimes, and people think we've outsourced the idea and had someone else do it -- like we have a crew of people working for us, which is not true. The fact that we are independent recording artists, without a record label, sometimes deceives people by default into not wanting to see the site, like these kind of people assume that if you don't have a label, you suck. It is definitely tricky." But the nice thing is that everyone can check out Rusty Eye's Web site for a real audio visual experience.

Another thing that sticks out about Rusty Eye is the fact that Miss Randall is the drummer, which is a rarity in rock and metal bands -- to have a female 'manning the kit,' so to speak. Miss Randall said, "It is definitely not a gimmick. I guess the only way to stand out, as either girl or male drummer, is to do things right, hit it hard, be one of the 'guys.' I am proud to be a female drummer, but I am even more proud to always challenge myself to experiment new things like anyone would do."Another way the band stands out is through their love of the Italian horror genre. The most famed movies of that genre are 'Cannibal Holocaust' and 'Cannibal Ferox,' but Rusty Eye dig way deeper into the medium than the 'hits.'

"Horror movies have always played a big role in our music," Miss Randall revealed. "These type of movies -- particularly grindhouse-style Italian horror -- have been as influential as music itself. As a personal gratifying accomplishment, we had the pleasure of working with the legendary Claudio Simonetti from 'Goblin' on our latest record 'Possessor,' who is the best-known film composer in the genre. We love 'Cannibal Holocaust' indeed, the brilliant soundtrack by Riz Ortolani. There's many others we enjoy such as 'Phenomena' and 'Shock,' to name a few."