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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2015 22:52:44 GMT
"It's time to rock— let's tear it up!" With their tenth album, IMPELLITTERI raises a fist high and throws down the gauntlet. How does a band that has been around for almost 30 years—and has not released an album in nearly six years—produce an album with this intensity? Their 2009 release Wicked Maiden set the bar high, but IMPELLITTERI is back with a vengeance; Venom tops Wicked Maiden and then shreds the competition.  In case you aren't aware of who this band is, let me just describe them like this: they are the masters at what they do. Vocalist Rob Rock has sung on over 30 albums since 1986. His work has been consistently great. His lyrics on Venom are uplifting yet downright venomous at times. He is known as “The Voice of Melodic Metal” for a good reason. Guitarist Chris Impellitteri has laid down quality shred-work for his band on all their releases, and he refuses to slow down his playing. To that end, he spent the last three years developing a new picking technique that allowed him to play with even greater clarity and speed. James Pulli is a monster on the bass; his skills are on full display here. Drummer Glen Sobel does not play on Venom. (He is currently kicking ass for Alice Cooper). Fortunately, drum god Jon Dette stepped in to replace Glen. Who's he? Well, he has played drums for SLAYER, ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, HEATHEN and ICED EARTH, to name a few, and he also played with Chris in ANIMETAL USA. They let a thrash metal drummer loose and his playing is phenomenal on this album! From the opening countdown and scream of "Venom!!!!", this album grips you by the throat and does not let go. It begs to be cranked to the heavens, and beyond. My stereo simply would not go loud enough. The title track is an instant classic, featuring Rob’s howling vitriol over Chris’ insane riff and blistering solo. "Empire Of Lies" features the trademark IMPELLITTERI chorus. Check out the solo on this track as well. "We Own The Night" is a standout track; the statement this song makes cannot be refuted. “Nightmare” features some of Rob’s best vocal work on the album. “Face The Enemy” is a great track, which probably has the most potential as a single. "Domino Theory" is one of the heaviest songs and features one of Chris' nastiest riffs and solos. Rob also hits his highest note on this song. “Jehova”, “Holding On” and “Time Machine” all keep the tempo way up and your head banging. “Rise” is another standout track, and a solid anthem; it is probably my favorite track on the entire album. The songs are all in the three to four minute range in length. The production is clean, crisp and well done. The incredible album artwork is the cherry on top. Without a doubt, Venom is a true winner. Fans of real Heavy Metal, who love up-tempo melodic vocals and shredding guitar work, will no doubt find what they desire on Venom. This album is a masterstroke, it will easily contend for my favorite album of 2015. Venom will be released on Frontiers Records with two bonus tracks, so be sure to look for that release. 5.0 Out Of 5.0 |
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Post by Admin on Apr 3, 2015 22:42:13 GMT
Frontiers Music Srl will release the brand new IMPELLITTERI studio album, titled "Venom", on April 17 in Europe and April 21 in North America. The official video for the CD's title track can be seen below. "Venom" is described in a press release as "a record filled with addictive and memorable riffs, guitar solos that feature Chris Impellitteri's blistering shredding technique coupled with strong melody and taste. Rob Rock's vocals are mesmerizing, melodic, and will make the listener sing along with each song long after the record is over. Lastly, the band boggles the mind with brutal drumming (featuring John Dette, formerly of TESTAMENT, SLAYER, etc.) filled with speed and groove and beastly bass playing (curtesy of James Pulli) that supports IMPELLITTERI's sonic madness! The result is a record that excites and musically satisfy every Metal and Rock fan, and every musician around the world. To add to their quest, IMPELLITTERI also wanted to create music that would take the listener on a musical journey thru different time periods of metal and rock."  Chris Impellitteri is heralded as one of the world's greatest guitar shredders. He has won "Best Rock Guitarist" awards in several magazines during the years for his guitar soloing. He is the first guitarist to be called the fastest guitarist in the world by the international media. Impellitteri was recently officially voted second fastest guitarist in the world by Guitar One magazine; and Guitar World magazine listed Impellitteri within its top 50 fastest guitarists of all time! Chris Impellitteri formed IMPELLITTERI in 1987, along with vocalist Rob Rock. That year, they released an EP called the "Black Album" which was well-received, and IMPELLITTERI went on to release the full-length album "Stand In Line" in 1988. To date, IMPELLITTERI has released a total of nine acclaimed studio albums and "Venom" follows after 2009's "Wicked Maiden". |
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Post by Admin on May 26, 2015 21:42:25 GMT
With the release of Venom, IMPELLITTERI deliver a record filled with addictive and memorable riffs, guitar solos that feature Chris Impellitteri’s blistering shredding technique coupled with strong melody and taste. Rob Rock’s vocals are mesmerizing, melodic, and will make the listener sing along with each song long after the record is over. Lastly, the band boggles the mind with brutal drumming (featuring John Dette, ex-TESTAMENT, SLAYER, etc) filled with speed and groove and beastly bass playing (courtesy of James Pulli) that supports Impellitteri’s sonic madness. The result is a record that excites and musically satisfy every metal and rock fan, and every musician around the world. To add to their quest, Impellitteri also wanted to create music that would take the listener on a musical journey thru different time periods of metal and rock. Chris Impellitteri is heralded as one of the world’s greatest guitar shredders. He has won Best Rock Guitarist Awards on several magazines during the years for his guitar soloing. He is the first guitarist to be branded as the fastest guitarist in the world by the international media. Recently and without any promotion, Impellitteri was officially voted second fastest guitarist in the world by “Guitar One” magazine; and “Guitar World” magazine recently listed Chris Impellitteri within their top 50 fastest guitarists of all time. Chris Impellitteri formed IMPELLITTERI in 1987, together with Rob Rock as vocalist. That year, they released an EP called the Black Album which was well-received, and IMPELLITTERI went on to release the full-length album Stand In Line in 1988. As of today IMPELLITTERI have released a total of nine studio albums and the new record, Venom, follows after 2009’s Wicked Maiden.  |
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Post by Admin on Aug 16, 2019 19:27:14 GMT
"Phantom Of The Opera" is one of the highlights of The Nature of the Beast, the band's recently released 11th album. Featuring plenty of six-string pyrotechnics and air-tight interplay between Impellitteri and his band, the album shows that the guitarist can still bring it, three decades into his career. "'The Phantom of the Opera' is a song I have wanted to remake since I was a kid," Impellitteri told Guitar World. "Yes I realize that other bands like Nightwish have also covered it, as well as Iron Maiden having a song with the same title, and I respect both artists immensely, but our version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece is very much Impellitteri." "When we created our musical arrangement for this song our collective band vision was to basically take the Phantom on a wild musical ride through Hell! We wanted to turn the song into a speed/power metal type song. I will say our version can seem fairly challenging to play as a guitarist due to the various complex scale sequences, modes and speed at which we are playing. At the same time the lead vocals are quite brutal on our singer, Rob Rock, as he had to sing both the male tenor part as well as the female vocal part, which resides in the alto and soprano ranges.  "I am very pleased with the outcome of this song, especially my solos and tone. I used my Charvel custom shop Stratocaster and various vintage modified Marshall amps, pedals, and speaker cabs, while bassist James Pulli got a great growly bass tone with his Spector bass and vintage Ampeg SVT rigs." |
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Post by Admin on Feb 8, 2021 20:27:06 GMT
In a brand new interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, neo-classical guitarist Chris Impellitteri was asked if he has ever been approached, over the course of his three-and-a-half-decade career, about joining a big band. He responded (see video below): "The answer is yes, I have been offered multiple times to join big bands. I'm not gonna say who they are, 'cause of their guitar players still exist in their bands. So I certainly had that opportunity.
"I have to be honest — I feel really blessed," he continued. "There's something about doing your own thing. If I was to join an established band, which I would be open to it if it was something I was really passionate about — about their music, about the artist — but I also have to recognize, would I be happy kind of playing covers? 'Cause, really, that's what you're doing — you're playing someone else's creation. And there's nothing wrong with that. But, for me, I like to be able to express myself.
"The one thing I really love about being an artist is that you get to start with a blank canvas and create something that comes from our soul," he added. "And so joining a band, I don't know how I'd feel about that."
Chris also talked about the time he was contacted by Ozzy Osbourne's camp about playing guitar for the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer. He said: "That's where I go, 'Do I exaggerate the truth?' I don't know. What I remember, and forgive me, this was long even before Zakk [Wylde joined Ozzy]. I get my years confused, 'cause it was so long ago — maybe it was '86 or '87… I think [Jake E. Lee] was still in the band, to be honest. I remember coming back, 'cause at that time I lived in Hollywood, and I remember I had roommates at that time. I remember coming home, and my roommate goes, 'Hey, you've gotta listen.' I was, like, 'What?' And he goes over to our answering machine, and he hit 'Play' on it, and it was Sharon Osbourne. And Sharon basically said, I guess her and Ozzy were checking me out and wanted to know if I'd be interested in playing guitar for him.
"I remember thinking about it, and it was around that time, I believe, [the band IMPELLITTERI] had signed with Relativity and Sony, which was [before the release of the] 'Stand In Line' [album], so we had a record deal. And I wanted to do it, because Randy [Rhoads], he was like a hero to me — he's one of those guys where, yeah, I would bite the bullet and say, 'Oh, yeah, I wanna play this music.' 'Cause, again, I'm playing someone else's creation, but I loved him so much, I'd be into it. And I remember they called me a few times — I probably talked to them four or five times. But I know, legally speaking, I had a deal, so I really couldn't go much further with it. And that was it — it was about five or six calls, and that was the end of it.
"Looking back, in hindsight, I'd be an idiot not to have done it, but the reality is, who knows how serious they really were, because after five or six conversations, it didn't go anywhere. The Jake thing, as far as I know, kept going.
"My memory is distorted about the whole thing too, so I try not to sit there and say, 'Yeah, they [had] a million-dollar check waiting for me,'" Chris added. "It was nothing like that — there was no commitments whatsoever. I guess they had an interest in me. And I think it was initiated originally by some A&R guy at Atlantic Records, who, I guess, was friends with them and turned them on to me and they started listening to some of my music. And at that time, I think the only thing we had out was the IMPELLITTERI [self-titled] EP."
Asked if he would record an album with Ozzy today if he was approached to join Osbourne's band and contribute to the songwriting process, Chris said: "I guess the answer would be yes. I'd be a fool not to… Let's be honest — yeah, I would probably do it. But I would wanna do a record like 'Diary Of A Madman'… But would they allow it?... I listened to Ozzy's newest record ['Ordinary Man'], I've heard some of the solo material, and, look, Ozzy sounds great. A lot of it sounds very Pro Tooled. I listen to it as a guitar player, and — I'm sorry — it doesn't do a lot for me. It's good music — don't get me wrong.
"With someone like me, believe me, I'm hard headed," he continued. "So let's pretend, in my fantasy example, if he called me again and said, 'Hey, we want you to be in the band,' if he would allow me to do another record like 'Diary Of A Madman' or first solo record — where I could do stuff like 'Revelation (Mother Earth)', 'Mr. Crowley'; stuff like that — 'Diary Of A Madman', 'Flying High Again', I'd be there in a heartbeat."
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