Customer Reviews

Pedal to the Metal

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll state this first and foremost, I love Rob Rock's voice. The guy was an amazing part of this band and I was sorry to see him go after Crunch. In my opinion, System X was terrible. Musically it was fine but Graham Bonnet sounded bad and his lyrics were often shameful. Even if they would have been written in the 80s that would have been the case. In other words, I was glad to see him gone even if he was replaced by an unknown.

So, how is the new guy? Basically the guy sounds like a mix of Russel Allen of Symphony X and Corey Brown of Magnitude 9 (if you don't know those bands get buying their stuff chop, chop!). In other words he's awesome! For those of you still lost, he's got a smooth mid range voice with plenty of power and some higher range to boot. I'd actually say he's better than Rob in that he's more diverse. Now, with the vocal spot filled to perfection, how is the music?

Well, Pedal to the Metal is typical Impellitteri, shredding solos, super speedy riffs, and some awesome groove. If you don't know what that equates to, I always consider them like Dokken at their most metal with even more shredding solos. As for this album, I'd say it takes the heaviness of Crunch and some more 80's sounding stuff and finishes out being quite diverse. No recycled riffs like a few times in the past and no crappy keyboards but tasteful and actually cool keys used sparingly. Outside of the song I'll mention a bit later this whole album is awesome and the production is again flawlessly clear and powerful. Pedal to the Metal is one of the best Impellitteri albums and the bonus track The Fall of Titus is very good. Buy it if you like'em and try it if you never heard'em before.

Now for the asterisk. The song Punk is terrible! Remember the days when Metal bands shamelessly threw rap in their songs? You thought that was over didn't you? Well it isn't. It's not nu-metal but the classic embarrasing style hair bands tried their hand at as they passed into obscurity. I gotta admit that they give it their all but it's horrible, the chorus being "Come on get up, P.U.N.K. Punk, Heavy Metal Punk." The miracle of CDRs will allow me to burn this disc without that track but still, it's crap. Two other small things, the sound effects on Hurricane suck and the F-word is said twice. I don't want to hear lightning crashes or lasers being shot in the chorus. It was bad in the 80s but it's really bad now. The f-word is pointless too but isn't a distraction at all. Depends on how offended you are I guess.

There is a difference between diversity and identity. Diversity is about the growth a band shows in their musical evolution without forgetting who they are and where they are coming from. It's about progressing, moving forward and adding new ideas to your music without distorting the classic sound of your band. However, when too many 'influences' work their way into your compositions, you may end up in an identity crisis and some fans may question the validity of your work.

Impellitteri is a very good band. Their earlier albums with Rob Rock and Graham Bonnet remain as classics in their genres and I still play them on a regular basis. Pedal to the Metal, their new one, however, is a tad too mixed. It does have some of the classical Impellitteri stuff marked by great neoclassical guitar runs, fierce drum and bass combination and powerful vocals and is perfectly exemplified on the closing track "The Writing's on the Wall" featuring classical piano in its breakdown and awesome Malmsteen-like guitars. There are also satisfying works of power metal in the forms of "Dance with the Devil" and "Judgement Day" with slow guitars in the beginning giving way to speedy double drum bass and dark guitar riffs backing Curtis Skelton's singing. Sadly though, Skelton tends to over-scream on songs like "The Iceman Cometh" or sounds more like Layne Staley than himself on the Sabbath-y "Hurricane" marked by heavy riffing and solid lyrics.

The more modern songs are what prevent this album from rocking as hard as most of its predecessors. The two-minute "Crushing Daze" is the band's attempt at going more 'commercial' as it displays meaningless down-tuned guitars and mixes them up with weird, inappropriate processed vocals. "Punk", another song I detest, is obviously meant to be funny and a song written to ridicule the current state of the music business. However, it is very irritating to hear the singer doing rap-ish vocals and, aside from Chris' guitar solo, it is hard to tell the difference between this one and a Linkin Park track. I simply don't like to see all those amazing bands treading 'new' musical territory in the name of progression. The band continues to experiment with modern style songwriting on "Propaganda Mind", a song with numerous Linkin Park references except for the uplifting guitar solo. That said, Chris Impellitteri's guitar playing doesn't come close to his earlier stuff either. His tone is screechy in places ("Destruction") and the solos are more simplistic than his work with Rob Rock. Apparently he wanted to mix old with new and see what happens - hopefully he'll go back to doing what he can do best on the next album.

This my first complete listen of Chris Impelliteri. I have heard bits and pieces of his neoclassical playing in previous releases, and I could say then that he sounded like every other neoclassical shredder. I can understand fans of his prior works of "the shred" will not like this. I do. Though I can't take an album's worth of shredding (how much monotony can one take?), I appreciate it in small doses, where it applies to the musical art form within the structure of a song. This album has a perfect smattering of the different abilities of this guitar great.

To classify "Pedal..." as any one form of metal would be a severe disservice to the release. The vocals are outstanding, I am not sure what the naysayers are talking about. The range is excellent, and the delivery gritty. The lyrical subject matter patterns Chris' typical good v. evil take, and the writing is stellar. The accompanying music has some speedy thrash elements in parts, some classic heavy rock hooks throughout, the rhythm section is steadily heavy and rock solid, and of course there is the phenominal, oppropriate soloing by Chris.

I have to say something about Chris' guitar tone and sustain. It is exquisite on this release. I dislike it when shredders cut back on sustain and distortion to make them sound faster and cleaner. Chris throws caution to the wind, and opts for the metal guitar artist overdrive and sustain, and it works to perfection. Some of the solos are jaw dropping, as he mixes tone, mode and key. What an amazing talent. I hope this is the shape of things to come for the band.

In closing, the song "Punk" is a hilariously perfect take on the evanescent "rap metal" industry. Impelliteri is not "trying" to do rap metal........you guys missed the point. They are making a parody on how much of an "artless" form of music it was. Listen closely. The song, music, and lyrical content hit the nail on the head, as well as being a kick ass metal song! This album is a pure treat for the thrash based metalhead!

Ive been a fan since the begining,I never really got over the Rob,Chris split,system x was ok the vocals did me in.So here we come to this project,"well" done He has found a vocalist that can play the part,the music could be the best yet,the songs are well constructed,catchy,they stick with ya,and best yet even though they have plenty of melody they are heavy,you can sing along or bang your head.I have seen some flack on his song called punk,I think its great, its better than most of the stuff that you here on the radio,and besides that its about time sombody makes a statement like that.This song could be a hit if record companies would take a chance,this whole album could top the charts,Anyway it deserves a rating of 5 but,I wonderd about some language and the love song,but most people wont even notice.

Awsome! I've been a fan of Chris Impellitteri his whole career and I can honestly say this is his best album by far, which is surprising considering it comes 20 years into his career. The production is magnificent, and the songs grab you and don't let go. Thanks Chris for an incredible album.

I have no idea what the other reviewers are on about. This cd is by far Chris' best yet and this is amazing considering his first cd was released back in 1987! Great songs,great production,great singing and as always killer guitar playing. Well done Chris!

Chris is like noone else you've ever listened to. He is serious about having fun with his music. One reviewer who I read regularly said that this album seems to be about entertaining himself and his fans, and has no interest in gaining new ones. He also said that this is a CD that you will either get or not, and that there isn't going to be a lot of middle ground. Growth? This is my first Impelliteri CD (give me a couple weeks though), so I don't know about that. Please note that In Flames and Opeth are the only two acts that I've ever watched grow successfully, and contrasting their "growth" to that of Metallica leaves me unsure what precisely the word means.

Listening to this album it feels like Chris took what he's been hearing on the radio and made a song like it, only better. Some of it is tribute, some of it is satire, and some of it comes close to being a ripoff of other works. This is almost like a "Best of metal" with Impelliteri's own indelible stamp on it. You'll hear old school influences like Priest, Pantera, and there was a moment when I'd have sworn I heard echos of Europe (The Final Countdown) in there somewhere. You'll hear things that make you think of Blind Guardian, and Hammerfall. Punk will call to mind the work of Fred Durst, but this is clearly a sendup as well as a statement that "rap metal doesn't have to suck".

As to vocals, Curtis is no Graham, but then who is? Yet Curtis serves the music well, and there are songs here that Graham might have seemed out of place on - Punk springs instantly to mind in that regard. As to drumming and bass, all I can say so far is that I've found no seams on this disc.

When you listen to this album, remember one thing: music can be fun, even while being the other things that you want it to be. This is metal, no question, and there is no shortage of rage on this CD, if you choose to tap into it. Yet Chris doesn't force you to do so. It is there if you want it. This album is all over the map. As a listener, I find myself gasping for breath as I try to keep up with the changes, the genre-hopping, and the sheer excitement of it all.

Impelliteri is a versatile song-writer on top of being a stunning guitar player, and nowhere is that more obvious than on Pedal to the Metal.

Well, this Impellitteri album was both a little different and a little the same good old. With a different singer, Curtis Skelton, this album adds a tiny little bit of scream into the mix which I like. The darker guitar tones makes me think technical Sepultura doing shred. Nice! The opening cut "The Iceman Cometh" and "Punk" were my favourites. I just love how they take the piss out of the rappers and teenyboppers in the latter. Who said standard three chords or none at all was all there was? Being an old Malmsteen fan I've really taken to Impellitteri and I totally disagree with those who diss Chris Impellitteri because his shredding is so old hat. What a bunch of whiners! Chris does what he enjoys and is entertaining to boot. Good vocals aren't everything, although I admit they often add an extra dimension provided the singer can actually sing. And Curtis Skelton can sing even if he's not up there with Rob Rock or Graham Bonnet. Already looking forward to the next Impellitteri album after their latest "Wicked Maiden".

As I haven't been listening to Imp. I can't really compare them to themselves. I had a friend who was into them but even though I love most metal guitar it is hard to listen to a whole album at once of neo-classical work. (as another reviewer said) So I didn't. But I heard this album was more diverse so I took a chance anddddddddddd............wow. I,I like it. There is still some neo, never fear but this has a whole lot of power metal stylings going on.And I like a singer with some grit. (if he could get Doug Pinnick of King's X to sing, ohhhh yeah!) But this guy is good. I didn't give it five stars 'cause the album isn't even forty minutes. But for fans of old school metal, mixed with some new, this rocks. No really, it rocks!!!!!!! And I bet if this was a first album everyone would be saying that the guitar was awesome. And dudes, the punks song is a joke. Sigh!!! Some people just don't get it. My wife got it right off and she couldn't care less. Peace!

I personally loved the CD. This is my favorite Metal type music CD. I liked "Punk" but would not want too much of that on a CD. But I have heard a bunch of other metal bands and did not think they came close to this, there mainly all stick stuck back in the 80's-90's. This CD though I would say is over all one of my favorite to listen to I love "Judgement day" and "Destruction". I cant find anyone as good or even Similar to this new CD. Everything else sounds like it did in the 80's with weak sound (like the recorded it in there moms basement.) this CD has strong clear sound and get my blood pumping. I would recommend this CD to anyone that likes rock/metal.