Chris Impellitteri’s ‘Venom’ album from 2015 (his first for Frontiers Records) represented a career low point. Impellitteri had always championed a traditional metal style – very 80s riffs, played at speed – and a world of overly macho lyrical concerns, but that record took his baser instincts to extremes. He hoped it would be a “metal album that everyone could enjoy”, but it was little more than a stuck in the past embarrassment. The follow up ‘Unleash The Beast’ was an improvement thanks to a couple more melodic elements, but still felt half-arsed compared to the best bits of 1988’s ‘Stand In Line’ and the punchy but accessible ‘Grin & Bear It’ from 1992.

Could his 2024 release ‘War Machine’ prove that old maxim that the “third time’s the charm” and actually deliver a decent album for Frontiers? It certainly wouldn’t be difficult to improve on those previous records. Moreover, could it be a long overdue return to form?

Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding “no”. It’s possibly better than the previous two records, but – being generous – it only features four or five half-decent tracks. Most of ‘War Machine’ is bombastic for the sake of it, and most of the songs are loaded with laughably bad lyrics that act as too much of a reminder of ‘Venom’s pure awfulness. Chris’s guitar work is often impressive, of course, and he kick starts the title cut with a piercing squeal, some lightning fast arpeggios and a blisteringly intense chopping rhythm that sounds like an old Malmsteen performance on overdrive. The featured solo is equally sharp, with a world of fretboard antics smothered with a dirty tone, before switching to include a twin lead sound for a massive melodic jolt. There’s an extra blast of heaviness when everything slows down for the middle eight and Chris shares a huge doom riff that shows off his impressive tone in a very different way. Unfortunately, his best intents are offset by his regular right hand man, vocalist Rob Rock, bellowing as loudly as he can muster. That might be fine in itself if he had the all round talent of someone like Dio, or came armed a lyric that actually meant something. Instead, he’s there, like an omnipresent foghorn, warning us that “the War Machine is here” and confirming that we should “live our lives in fear”. He also says “there’s no place to go home” and tells us we need to prepare for the “ruthless raiders” who’ll “raze to the ground” in a mind-bogglingly outdated world of 80s metal clichés. If you’re a long time Impellitteri fan, this approach will not be surprising, but for even the slightly more casual listener, it’s laughably bad.

…But not as bad as ‘Out of My Mind (Heavy Metal)’ which takes a riff that’s obviously inspired by Dio’s ‘Stand Up & Shout’ and aims for a similar lyrical rallying cry, only to sound rather silly. Rob wails about how he “wants to feel it loud and pounding in [his] chest” and champions the old style mosh pits and riffs that’ll drive him “out of his mind”. Most songs of this ilk written after 1989 are out of step with changing tastes – Saxon’s ‘Back in ’79 is about the only one that passes muster – but this sets a new low bar. It’s briefly rescued by a genuinely fantastic instrumental interlude where Chris mixes elements of classic metal with melodic thrash, before dropping in a neo-classical solo that’s almost a note for note rip of Ritchie Blackmore’s solo from ‘Burn’ delivered at a faster tempo. All the great soloing in the world will never make up for the lyrics, unfortunately, even if the outdated sentiment comes with an intent that is clearly heartfelt.

So, with some glaringly painful negatives out of the way, what’s good about Impellitteri’s twelfth studio album? Aside from some absolutely blinding solos, there are a few tracks where the whole package comes together strongly, at least in trad metal terms. ‘Just Another Day’ is an obvious throwback to those late 80s albums from the Shrapnel label, presenting some razor sharp rhythm guitar work and a drum performance to match. The track’s instrumental bridges present this line up of the Impellitteri band at their absolute tightest, musically, and even though Rob’s vocal is still really full on, there are moments here where his wanton bombast sounds better than usual, particularly on a slower, slightly sludgy sounding interlude that values force over speed. ‘Power Grab’ shares some impressive speed metal moments – placing ex-Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph even more in the spotlight – whilst a heavier guitar riff never feels a million miles away from Judas Priest’s ‘Jugulator’ with Ripper Owens. There’s plenty to be found within this bustling four minutes to entertain fans of very retro metal, and with Chris’s always impressive lead work joined by a couple of huge bass fills, the band sounds bigger than ever – even big enough to contain Rock’s ridiculously huge vocal, and his second pitch of “the war machine”. If you came looking for old school metal turned up to eleven (or probably further), this track should more than hit the mark, even if listening to it more than once on the trot will likely lead to fatigue.

Also worth checking out, ‘Wrathchild’ kicks off with a great thrash-based riff, interspersed with descending lead notes, before thundering forth with a power metal workout where Paul and Chris seem intent on blasting each other off of the record. Unlike some of the tracks here, though, the sheer force works in the band’s favour, with a pleasingly dirty tone bolstering the rhythm guitar work throughout. There’s room enough for a little variety, too: just when you think the track has no more to give, the tempo drops and Chris teases with a melodic solo that’s clearly inspired by Yngwie circa 1988, having already absorbed Blackmore by osmosis. Supplying a lot more melody, ‘Gone Insane’ begins with a rather unfortunate and clichéd doomy melody, before bursting into a very impressive riff that plays like the ultimate Judas Priest tribute (circa ‘Painkiller’). Boosting a very punchy sound – still fast, but much slower than Impellitteri’s more typical approach – a deep chug that sits at the heart of the main riff recalls the best material from 1992’s ‘Grin & Bear It’ (an album finally given a UK release in 2023), which shows off a genuine power within this band, whilst Rock delivers a vocal that’s rather theatrical. Thankfully it comes with fewer histrionics than usual, which is unexpected for a’ track concerning insanity…but the bigger concession to melody from everyone is certainly welcome, whilst a few well placed harmonies on a simple hook shows off a huge love for a bygone era of trad metal.

‘What Lies Beneath’ provides another welcome throwback to ‘Grin & Bear It’ with some pleasingly dirty riffs set against the speed driven thrills, and a couple of massively melodic passages are a reminder that Chris’s abilities can be a little more varied, but as for the rest of ‘War Machine’s fare? It never rises much beyond Impellitteri by numbers, with ‘Light It Up’ attacking with a power metal force and another huge vocal, sounding like an 80s throwback, ‘Superkingdom’ delivering arpeggios at speed while Rock assaults people’s ears with the worst macho metal lyrics imaginable, and ‘Hell On Earth’ promising something great with a deep toned intro, before reverting to type with Chris and company thrashing their way through a bog standard power metal blast. Rob, meanwhile, more than labours a point about war atrocities, never really expanding on this album’s core lyrical thrust. Thankfully, there’s nothing within the mid-tier material that’s quite as gut-bustingly awful as ‘Out of My Mind’, but there have certainly been more enjoyable offerings from the band in the past.

Of making ‘War Machine’, Chris states that he and the band were not swayed by musical fashion; they merely made music they “were moved by emotionally without chasing any trends”. That makes it cut from pretty much the same cloth as all Impellitteri work, of course, and from an old school, no-nonsense standpoint, there are a lot of superb riffs here. Maybe a few too many on occasion, but that’s to be expected with any Impellitteri album, good or bad. Fantastic guitar work is not enough alone to create a wholly enjoyable listen, though, and between Impellitteri’s insistence on delivering almost everything at a breakneck pace and Rob’s voice being at full roar ninety percent of the time, this record can be tiring. There are worse Impellitteri records out there – this certainly isn’t as bad as ‘Venom’, the album by which all terrible power metal albums should be judged – but, even with a handful of good tracks, ‘War Machine’ is far from the man’s very best. Absolutely loaded with faintly ridiculous metallic bluster, this is a record purely for fans only. Impellitteri clearly has good intentions here, but a lot of those fans will feel like they’ve heard this all before.

October/November 2024