System X (album)

Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide.

History

Chris Impellitteri formed Impellitteri together with vocalist Rob Rock in Los Angeles, California. They first released an EP simply titled ''Impellitteri'' in 1987. The EP features heavy metal with classically influenced shredding guitar solos, screaming vocals, speed metal drumming and aggressive bass. It features songs like "Lost in the Rain" and "Burning" of which quickly gained the attention of heavy metal fans and musicians around the world. During the release of the EP, many major Media outlets began to cover Impellitteri in their magazines including '' Kerrang!'', ''Guitar World'', '' Circus'', and '' Burrn!''.

After the release of the EP, Impellitteri regrouped, this time with British vocalist Graham Bonnet as lead singer, and released an album titled ''Stand in Line'' in 1988. MTV played Impellitteri's music video for "Stand in Line" in its rotation, and Chris Impellitteri was a guest host on MTV's ''Headbangers Ball''. Fans voted Impellitteri a "Smash" on MTV's ''Smash or Trash'' show. The album charted in Billboards Top 100 and remained there for over five months. To date, the song "Stand in Line" has become a fan favorite globally.

After touring in support of the ''Impellitteri'' EP and "Stand in Line", the band returned to the studio and reunited with original vocalist Rob Rock. They quickly recorded and released another EP titled ''Victim of the System'' (1993), which was produced by Mike Tacci who was the assistant engineer on Metallica's Black Album (1991). ''Victim of the System'' was highly influenced by the band Queen. Following ''Victim of the System'', they released '' Answer to the Master'' in late 1994. To date, this album features many fan-favorite songs like "Warrior", "Fly Away", and the album title track "Answer to the Master".

In 1996, Impellitteri released ''Screaming Symphony'', with Chris Impellitteri winning the '' Burrn!'' magazine Readers Poll Award for "Best Rock Guitarist". The record was mixed by Michael Wagener who had produced Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne before. The ''Screaming Symphony'' features songs such as "Rat Race" and "17th Century Chicken Pickin", which are played frequently during live concerts.

In 2000, Impellitteri released the album ''Crunch''. Crunch was the first record where the band started to occasionally use drop tunings in combination with their brand of shred metal. The album featured songs like "Beware of the Devil", "Slay the Dragon", and "Speed Demon". In addition, the band recorded a ballad titled "Forever Yours".

Shortly after ''Crunch'', Rob Rock decided to pursue a solo career. Impellitteri again recruited Graham Bonnet and began working on their next album titled ''System X'', released in 2002. The album was mixed by Andrew Murdock. That year they also released a compilation of hits called ''The Very Best of Impellitteri: Faster Than the Speed of Light'' (2002).

In May 2008, it was announced that Rob Rock was, once again, back with Impellitteri. They collaborated on a new album called '' Wicked Maiden'' (2009) with a working title of ''Good and Evil''. ''Wicked Maiden'' was released in Japan and Europe on February 24, 2009, with the intent of releasing the new album in the United States in 2011, followed by the Impellitteri Shredfest tour.

In 2015, Impellitteri recorded, released, and toured behind their next album '' Venom''. They performed on the headlining stage at Rock Fest Barcelona alongside bands such as Iron Maiden. They also headlined shows such as the Busan Rock Festival in South Korea.

In 2018/2019, Impellitteri released their newest album ''The Nature of the Beast''. The album features songs like "Run for Your Life", "Masquerade", and "Wonderworld", as well as two cover songs ( Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" and Andrew Lloyd Webber's " The Phantom of the Opera").

Beliefs

As far as Christian metal ties, Impellitteri (the band) does not consider themselves to be a Christian band. Rob Rock said the following in an interview:

Band members

Current
* Chris Impellitteri – guitars (1987–90, 1992–present), bass (1987)
*James Amelio Pulli – bass (1992–present)
* Rob Rock – lead vocals (1987–1988, 1992–2000, 2008–present)
*Patrick Johansson – drums (2018-present, touring 2016)

Former

* Graham Bonnet – lead vocals (1988–1990, 2000–2002)
*Mark Weitz – lead vocals (1990)
*Curtis Skelton – lead vocals(2003–2008)
*Ted Days – bass (1987–1988)
*Chuck Wright – bass (1988, 1992)
* Dave Spitz – bass (1988–1990)
*Loni Silva – drums (1987–1988)
* Pat Torpey – drums (1988; died 2018)
* Stet Howland – drums (1988–1990)
* Ken Mary – drums (1992, 1994–1999)
*Mark Bistany – drums (1992–1994)
*Phil Wolfe – keyboards (1988–1990)
* Claude Schnell – keyboards (1990, 1993)
*Ed Roth – keyboards (1995–2007)
* Glen Sobel – drums (1999–2009)
*Brandon Wild – drums (2009–2012)
*Jon Dette – drums (2012–2018)

Timeline

Discography

References

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Footnotes

External links

* Impellitteri biography by Steve Huey, discography, album reviews, credits & releasesat AllMusic.com

Impellitteri discography, album releases & credits
at Discogs.com

Impellitteri albums to be listened
as stream at Play.Spotify.com

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Heavy metal musical groups from California
Musical groups established in 1987
Musical groups disestablished in 1990
Musical groups reestablished in 1992
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical quintets
Frontiers Records artists