Impellitteri
Wicked Maiden (2009)
Band
- Rob Rock - Vocals
- Chris Impellitteri - guitars
- James Amelio Puli - bass
- Brandon Wild - drums
- Edward Harris Roth - keyboards
Overview
First of all, I dig the creativity of the person who wrote the description of the album on the band's website:
"Every track on this album is enshrined in metal glory. The album rips right through you with its mega-awesome production and powerful sound. Chris Impellitteri belts out the greatest solos of his career and with the return of Rob Rock on vocals, the sword of heavy metal strikes swift and sure."
If only this description was completely accurate. I have to say up front that I was ready to raise my chalice in salute to a new metal masterpiece by the musical warriors known as Impellitteri (one of the coolest band names in rock history). The album art is excellent, the album title is intriguing, and the song titles drip metal. So far, so good.
The problem is not with the singing or playing on the album. Rob Rock and Chris Impellitteri are bordering on demigods as far as raw talent goes. The problem is not with the production. Wicked Maiden has crystal clear production. You can hear each instrument clearly, and the vocals are mixed perfectly.
So, why am I not raising my sword in honor of the conquering heroes of metal? It's because I have heard these songs before. I've heard the solos before, the sweep picking, the ultra-fast scales, the pinched harmonics, the high pitched screams, and the layered vocals. There is no innovation to be found on this disc. It's a throwback for the faithful.
Here's the real deal. Dragonforce, whether through studio trickery or just incredible talent, re-wrote the speed metal playbook. At one time, Impellitteri were among the fastest, most extreme speed metal bands on the scene. So you can sing high, we can sing higher. You can play fast, we can play faster. That's their hook...or at least it was. Dragonforce owns the speed metal crown, and unfortunately, Wicked Maiden does not reclaim it.
1. WICKED MAIDEN"Every track on this album is enshrined in metal glory. The album rips right through you with its mega-awesome production and powerful sound. Chris Impellitteri belts out the greatest solos of his career and with the return of Rob Rock on vocals, the sword of heavy metal strikes swift and sure."
If only this description was completely accurate. I have to say up front that I was ready to raise my chalice in salute to a new metal masterpiece by the musical warriors known as Impellitteri (one of the coolest band names in rock history). The album art is excellent, the album title is intriguing, and the song titles drip metal. So far, so good.
The problem is not with the singing or playing on the album. Rob Rock and Chris Impellitteri are bordering on demigods as far as raw talent goes. The problem is not with the production. Wicked Maiden has crystal clear production. You can hear each instrument clearly, and the vocals are mixed perfectly.
So, why am I not raising my sword in honor of the conquering heroes of metal? It's because I have heard these songs before. I've heard the solos before, the sweep picking, the ultra-fast scales, the pinched harmonics, the high pitched screams, and the layered vocals. There is no innovation to be found on this disc. It's a throwback for the faithful.
Here's the real deal. Dragonforce, whether through studio trickery or just incredible talent, re-wrote the speed metal playbook. At one time, Impellitteri were among the fastest, most extreme speed metal bands on the scene. So you can sing high, we can sing higher. You can play fast, we can play faster. That's their hook...or at least it was. Dragonforce owns the speed metal crown, and unfortunately, Wicked Maiden does not reclaim it.
The song begins with a nice guitar riff, and except for the double bass drumming, this song could have been on Dokken's Back For The Attack album. In fact, during the verses, this is a fairly generic 80's metal song with a very 80's keyboard sound.
2. LAST OF A DYING BREED
I used to be a big fan of neo-classical metal, and this song is a really good neo-classical song. It's easy to see why it is the lead single from the album. There's a nice call and response vocal in the verse, some high screams, and a nice neo-classical guitar riff. A lot of pinch harmonics on this one. It would have been nice if Impellitteri would have employed a few different tricks, because the constant use of pinch harmonics gets old after awhile.
3. WEAPONS OF MASS DISTORTION
Impellitteri is one of the cleanest guitarists around. This song really highlights his playing and shows the complete mastery he has of his instrument. There is also some nice piano on this track by Roth.
4. GARDEN OF EDEN
Guitarists and lovers of guitar will love Impellitteri's soloing on this track, but other than the solos, this is an uninteresting track.
5. THE VISION
This would have been a really nice instrumental. Rob Rock has one of the greatest voices in metal, but I think I would have rather heard Impellitteri cut loose on guitar here. The song begins strong with some awesome guitar, but I lost interest as soon as Rock's voice kicked in. Also, tiny piano does not = metal.
6. EYES OF AN ANGEL
7. HI-SCOOL REVOLUTION
At this point in the album, the songs begin to sound very similar. Each song begins with a melodic guitar riff with pinched harmonics and a mini-solo. They are all mid-paced songs as well. This band loses my interest at this speed.
8. WONDERFUL LIFE
"Wonderful Life" picks the pace back up. Like on "Weapons Of Mass Distortion" there is some nice interplay between Impellitteri and Roth which reminds me of the Yngwie Malmsteen/Jens Johnansson interplay on Malmsteen's classic albums. Again, the band breaks no new ground here, but the song works to their strengths.
9. HOLY MAN
This song is the keeper for me. There is some nice syncopation here, and I wish they had explored this somewhat proggy sound more on the album. Impellitteri lets the keyboards carry more of the load on this song which gives him a break from having to fill up so much space in the music. Also, there's some cool narration on the track along with some gang vocals. The more I listen to this song, the more I like it.
10. THE BATTLE RAGES ON
This is a cool closing track, and I think it should have been the title track of the release. This track, along with "Holy Man" sounds more current and relevant (at least in the speed metal world) than the rest of the album. Rock sings in a lower register here and sounds ominous. This decision is genius, because it fits the subject matter of the song. Also, the band switches up tempos on this track as they did on "Holy Man." It would have been epic of them, if they would have combined these two tracks into one suite, with a middle section which would have allowed Impellitteri to shred some more.
Lyrics
While the band says that they are not a Christian metal band, the lyrical content is. Rock is a master at writing inspiring metal lyrics, though he uses more than his fair share of cliche. For those times that you are in the midst of intense spiritual warfare, this album will definitely rally your spirit and spur you on to keep fighting.
Conclusion
Some will love the retro vibe of this album. Impellitteri stays true to their heritage sound, and they deliver a solid speed metal album. Fans who have been with the band from the beginning will rejoice like it's 1989 again. I don't know that they will gain new fans though. There are a couple of stand-out tracks that deserve repeated listens, but with bands like Theocracy, Dragonforce, Avantasia, and Blind Guardian pushing the boundaries of speed and power metal, Wicked Maiden falls a little flat.
3 Swords Up (out of 5)!
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