Impellitteri - System X
Steamhammer/SPV  Horst: This band around guitarist Chris Impellitteri has been active for about fifteen years by now, but I have to admit I have never heard even a single song from these blokes. That’s probably because one way or the other I have always associated the name Impellitteri with the more melodic forms of Hardrock, and that is something I never had much interest for whatsoever. So I have pretty much ignored the band throughout the years, up until the moment their new album ‘System X’ found its way to my mailbox. Usually I listen to every promo that hits the desk here, so this one also rapidly found its way to my CD-player. ‘Let’s have a listen’, I thought, ‘maybe I can make one of my reviewers happy with this.’…
Some forty minutes later. I’m still staring in disbelief to the cover. ‘Fuck me! This is Impellitteri? Holy Christ on a donkey! This is no melodic Hardrock or AOR. This is furious Metal like Hardrock which from moment zero goes for the throat never to let go. Ten songs worth of heavy pounding mostly up-tempo tunes which are all so incredibly good that there hardly is time left to recover after a song.
Bass player James Pulli and drummer Glen Sobel lay the perfect foundation with their sober, yet effective play, and I must say that Glen really knows how to hit it hard. Especially his frequent use the double bass gives the music that extra kick. Ed Roth knocks himself out on the keyboards, but lucky enough his participation stays limited to a few intros and some background noises. For the vocals Chris hired ex-Rainbow and Alcatraz singer Graham Bonnett again. Well, that was brilliant idea, for what this old man (he turned 55 this year) gets out of his vocal chords is really unbelievable. He sings like a creature possessed, passionate and with the drive you expect from a guy in his twenties who is allowed to make his first recording in a big studio. I mean, this is the same classy stuff he showed in his Rainbow days more then twenty years ago (‘Lost In Hollywood’, ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, ‘All Night Long’, sweet memories, right?). Chris himself, of course, is responsible for all guitar parts, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Fast riffing, shredding guitar solo’s, more sensitive stuff, Chris does it all, but everything in the same majestic way. Yeah, he can easily be put next to the likes of Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, Gilbert and other guitar masturbators, no problem.
You should have noticed by now that the music and vocals are in capable hands, but what about the song-material then? Well, that is just as good I’m afraid. Like I said furious Hardrock/Metal which every now and then reminds me of Rainbow. And that is not just because of the presence of Graham, but also because Chris uses some riffs that reveal he has listened a lot to Ritchie Blackmore in the past. Just listen to ‘Falling In Love With A Stranger’, this song’s intro sounds pretty much the same as that from the Rainbow tune ‘All Night Long’, not to mention the lyrics. Both songs are about picking up a girl in a see-through dress… Coincidence? But it can be different as well. Take the intro of ‘End Of The World’ for example. If that ain’t a sleazy dead ringer for Slayer’s ‘South Of Heaven’ I’m willing to eat my very own shoes for breakfast.
In essence ‘System X’ for me is the perfect mix between Hardrock and Heavy Metal, where the melody lines, keyboards and harmonics reflect the first style, but where the shredding riffs, the great amount of blistering guitarsolos and the very tight but loud drumming represent the Metal. The songs can also be divided along those lines. Tracks like ‘Rock N’ Roll Heroes’, ‘She’s A Nightime Lover’, ‘Slow Kill’ and ‘Gotta Get Home’ literary blow you away (Metal all the way!!!), while in songs like ‘What Kind Of Sanity’, ‘Perfect Crime’, ‘Why Do They Do That’ and ‘United We Stand’ the band gets out of the overdrive and things are a bit more laid-back, for as far that is possible when Chris does one shredsolo after the other.
To make a long story short, this is one hell of an album. A must buy for the Impellitteri fans, lovers of Rainbow and Hardrock and Metal fans who carry a torch for the better shredding and riffing. In the meantime I will go and search for other Impellitteri stuff. I am impressed!
Rating: 94/100
http://www.spv.de
Bestel nu bij 
<<
previous next >>
|
Maak home
Bookmark