Pedal to the Metal [IMPORT]

Impellitteri

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 2005)
• Original Release Date: April 26, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Steamhammer Europe
• ASIN: B00079RNKO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,990 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The new Impelliteri release, Pedal To The Metal, is the first to feature vocalist Curtis Skelton. Guitar wizard Chris Impelliteri’s band, which has been active since the mid-Eighties, was manned by US shouter Rob Rock for well over ten years and, for a short time, even fronted by former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet. "At the time I thought it would be interesting to find out how a very young band sounds with an established hard rock vocalist," Chris Impelliteri recalls. "I still consider this period as our attempt to come across as a juvenile Rainbow."

The new result is definitely well worth listening to. Impellitteri – featuring a line-up consisting of Chris Impellitteri (guitar), Curtis Skelton (vocals), James Amelio Pulli (Bass), and Glen Sobel (drums) have come up with ten versatile tracks on the interface between US metal and European hard rock. Impressed with Chris' production technique (he produced all the previous Impellitteri albums), CBS-Sony invited him to open it's 20th anniversary party at the 65,000 seat Tokyo Dome. Now get ready to put the Pedal To The METAL!!!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The difference between diversity and identity, May 14, 2005

By	Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like no other musician - by a new Impelliteri fan, March 2, 2006

By	D. Guilbert "mechakisc" (Winnemucca NV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved the CD, October 2, 2008

By	Daniel Hall (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.