Chris Brooks

Chris Brooks is a guitarist, educator and recording artist based in Sydney, Australia. He has played with members of Yngwie Malmsteen and DIO as well as collaborating and recording with the bands LORD, Artesia Black, Brett Garsed, Rick Graham and more.

What began as an obsession with 80s high octane lead guitar has resulted in Brooks being one of the most prolific authors of guitar resources in recent times.

A former student of the Australian Institute of Music, Brooks exhibited an early penchant for guitar-driven music, whether it was the sideman shredding of Kee Marcello and Brett Garsed, or the solo-artist career paths of Vinnie Moore, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen. The obligatory eight-hour practice sessions would be fuelled by lesson material from Hot Licks and REH videos as Brooks followed the trajectory to making his own guitar music and instructional content.

Releasing two solo albums, 2002’s The Master Plan and 2011’s The Axis of All Things, Chris has received acclaim from print and online media worldwide, including Japan where The Master Plan was included in Young Guitar magazine’s 500 Essential Guitar Albums special issue, and back home in Australia where Australian Guitar magazine rated him one of the top underground guitarists.

Brooks has also recorded with Yngwie Malmsteen’s former vocalist Mark Boals, Australian melodic metal band LORD, toured with major label band Feeding the Addiction, and appeared on compilation albums for labels including Frontiers (Europe), Marquee Inc. (Japan) and Liquid Note Records (UK).

As founder of education site Guitar 21, Brooks has created popular guitar courses including Sweep Picking Systems for Arpeggios, Picking Systems for Pentatonic, and his most popular to date – Viking Shred Guitar Suite: a 20-hour deep dive into the secrets, strategies and styling of neoclassical rock pioneer Yngwie Malmsteen.

With a keen eye for the details of what makes things work on the guitar and an aversion to sleeping, Brooks is working towards a large body of educational resources and musical output.