REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT
I’ve always loved Impellitteri in all of its incarnations, regardless of whether the singer has been Rob Rock (who is in his third stint as the bands singer), or Graham Bonnet (who has stepped up to the plate twice.) Chris Impellitteri is one of the greatest guitarists around and Rob Rocks vocals have always been perfect for this out-and-out Heavy Metal band.
It’s been six years since the band released ‘The Nature Of The Beast’ and I was interested to see if this outfit still had fire in their bellies after such a long gap between albums. Of course they did, it was never in doubt after hearing the first single from the album ‘Power Grab’ which was a banger of a track and was a portent that good things come to those who wait!
Title track ‘War Machine’ gets things off to a storming start with Rob Rocks vocal at full throttle throughout a thunderous track that really hits the spot and doesn’t sound dissimilar to ‘Painkiller’ era Judas Priest. The renowned Chris Impellitteri fret work is at a primo level here as his fingers dance around the guitar at an impossible speed and it’s a truly great opening.
This is followed by the anthemic ‘Out Of My Mind (Heavy Metal)’ which makes up for a lyrical lack of originality with a bombastic back line and a clear from the heart message that in truth describes those of us who live for this kind of music.
What you need to know is that there’s not a bad track out of the eleven on display here. There are no ballads, no softening of style and no experimentation, we are gifted eleven rock solid pure Heavy Metal tunes of the mayhemic kind and in truth sometimes that’s all you need to have a rollicking good time.
‘Superkingdom’ rattles along and ‘Wrathchild’ reminds me of prime era Fifth Angel and is none the worse for that analogy. ‘What Lies Beneath’ is an absolutely epic beast of a track with a crunching bass line and another epic vocal performance from Rock. ‘Hell On Earth’ again leans towards mid term Judas Priest while ‘Power Grab’ is the most immediate track on this record and is a tune that’s had an insane amount of airplay over the last few weeks.
‘Beware The Hunter’ is my favorite song on the album and is a “heads down and head-banging like your life depends on it” kind of tune. ‘Light It Up’ keeps this train rolling and there’s no sign of any let up, with a song I suspect will become a huge fan favorite at the live shows.
The album closes out with the power packed duo of ‘Gone Insane’ and ‘Just Another Day’ and all too soon we are at the end of a superb album.
“Hold Your Horns Up High” indeed as one of the songs on this album intones, because this is pure guitar driven Heavy Metal at its absolute best
BAND
Rob Rock – Vocals
Chris Impellitteri – Lead Guitar
James Pulli – Bass Guitar
Paul Bostaph – Drums
ALBUM TRACK LIST
1. War Machine
2. Out Of My Mind (Heavy Metal)
3. Superkingdom
4. Wrathchild
5. What Lies Beneath
6. Hell On Earth
7. Power Grab
8. Beware The Hunter
9. Light It Up
10. Gone Insane
11. Just Another Day
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