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Global Rock Records [Release date: 30.09.22]
New kids on the block, Global Rock Records have recently licensed Impellitteri’s total back catalogue. That is quite a coup for a non-major label.
This 3 CD anthology, Wake The Beast, curated by Chris Impellitteri himself, is the first manifestation of the deal.
The logistics: 32 tracks selected from 10 albums and 2 Eps, plus a compilation track, spread over 3 CDs. Never more than 5 tracks from any one album, and usually only 3 or 4.
The need for speed has never been more apparent than in the finger blurring, neoclassical ‘Secret Lover’, taken from the band’s first studio album, 1988′s Stand In Line.
Impellitteri wields his guitar like an UZI, spitting out a blur of notes that leave no one untouched. Surprisingly for one who is inclined to suffocate the vocals with fast fingers, Impellitteri leaves room on the outstanding title track for Graham Bonnet to show just why he succeeded with Rainbow and Schenker.
Victim Of The System EP went down well with a growing fanbase. Original vocalist Rob Rock was back, helping the band create a perfect mix of interpretive finesse and speed. ‘The Young And the Ruthless’, wrapped in a glorious rush of amplitude and complexity, is perhaps the album standout, and appears here.
And although the full length follow up, Answer To The Master seemed to be treading water (yet still delivering the superb ‘Hungry Days’ and ‘Fly Away’) it also brought with it some controversy over its reputedly “vivid Christian themes”, but that’s another story.
By 1996, the band was attracting premier league producers. Michael (Accept/ Dokken/ Skid Row) Wagener manned the mixing desk for Screaming Symphony. This album is a blast from start to finish, and contains two of the band’s live set list favourites: ’17th Century Chicken’ and ‘Rat Race’, plus the immense ‘Father Forgive Them’.
Eye Of The Hurricane … that centre point at which the maelstrom is still … is an apt title for this 1997 album. The recording takes a moment to illustrate the length and breadth of the band’s rock and metal range, yet only features the title track. Surprising.
Crunch, the album, came in 2000, on the cusp of a major change in just how rock music should sound, and so, drop tunings became part of the band’s musical arrangements. ‘Spanish Fire’ and ‘Texas Nuclear’ successfully claimed the middle ground… a skilful transition from past to present.
A lot can change in 2 years. On 2002′s System X, Bonnet was back, and along with Impellitteri they twin up axe and voice, pushing the needle of the band’s stylistic compass back into the red. Fans loved it, especially ‘Falling In Love’ and ‘Rock’n'Roll Heroes’.
Pedal to The Metal (2005) was an outstanding critical success. It resonates with the sheer joy of running the heavy metal gauntlet, taking the punches, fighting back, weighing up the past and pushing on through the present. The contemporary metal ‘Propaganda Mind’ is the pick, we would guess for very personal reasons.
Apart from melted frets and skyscraping vocals, you can always rely on Impellitteri to serve up a slice or two of social commentary. 2009′s Wicked Maiden doesn’t disappoint. Rob Rock’s sharp, observational lyrics take no prisoners as they condemn mankinds’ propensity for violence. The title track and album standout, ‘Garden Of Eden’, carry the message.
Three CDs of Impellitteri is not easy to get your arms around. Worth it though. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
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