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8. Interviews/Venom

"Venom" Interview with Rob Rock - about entertainment (April 16, 2015)

Impellitteri Interview

A Conversation with Vocalist Rob Rock





Impellitteri.   Frontiers Records

Updated February 08, 2016.


It has been a few years since a new Impellitteri album. The veteran L.A. shredders are back with Venom, their first studio album since 2009. I caught up with frontman Rob Rock, who fills us in on what’s happening with the band.


Chad Bowar: What led to the 6 year gap between albums?

Rob Rock: It basically comes down to a recording budget. JVC in Japan has options and they decided to wait awhile to fund a new record. When they decided to move forward, we had the funds to make a great recording.




By Chad Bowar
Heavy Metal Expert

How did drummer Jon Dette come to join the band?

Jon plays with Chris in Animetal. When Glen Sobel couldn’t do the new album, we called Jon. Glen is out on tour with Alice Cooper and wasn’t available for us.


How did the songwriting process for Venom compare to previous Impellitteri albums?

The process seemed much easier this time. It flowed naturally and came together quite well. We were rehearsing for a Korean tour when the gig was cancelled because of a typhoon hitting the festival site.

Since we were all together, we decided to start jamming on the new songs Chris has been compiling over the last few years. We were able to feel them out in a live situation and I think that made a big difference in our mindset. It felt fresh and exciting and it was a great way to start the recording process.


What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?

I think the way we all went back and forth about the mixes for each song. The whole band was adding their opinions to the first mixes we were hearing from mixer Greg Reely and in the end it came out great!


What inspired your lyrics this time around?

A lot of life issues and world issues. I was collecting ideas and titles over the past few years and when it came time to write the lyrics, I had a pretty good stash to draw from. The most inspiration comes from the music itself. The lyrics need to support the music and the music needs to support the lyric. It’s all about relating the feel of the music to the song lyrics and the lyrics matching the vibe of the song.


What are your expectations for the album?

I expect the album to do well and I am hoping we can follow up with some touring and festival shows in the near future. The band is ready to rock and we all feel really good about the album.


What are your upcoming tour plans?

We will tour Japan in May and we have promoters working on dates for Europe and the US.


Tell me about the Vivaldi Metal Project that you're involved with.

I have worked with Mistheria in the past and he is the head composer for the project. He has asked me to sing a song for him and I agreed to do it. I haven’t heard any tracks yet, but I’m sure later this year it will all come together.


Any plans of another Rob Rock solo album?

No plans are set in concrete, but I do hope to do another solo album in 2016 if the stars align.


What other bands/projects are you currently working on?

Nothing going on right now except for Impellitteri. I am committed to follow up this album with as many tour dates as we can put together. I really think Venom deserves to be heard worldwide and we are doing everything we can to get it out there for all to hear.


Seen any good movies or DVDs lately?

American Sniper was the last movie I saw. Pretty intense and a reminder of how crazy war is.


What's currently in heavy rotation in your MP3 player?

I still do CD’s! It has actually been all Venom lately as we have just shot some videos for about 4 songs and I was preparing for that.


Anything else you'd like to mention?

I want to thank you and all the fans out there for your support. The new album is finally here! Please go enjoy it and I hope to see you at a live show very soon. We send out Facebook updates at Chris Impellitteri and on my Facebook page Rob Rock – The Voice of Melodic Metal.


(interview published April 16, 2015)



인터뷰 원문 : http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/fl/Impellitteri-Interview.htm






Impellitteri - Stand In Line Review




Impellitteri - Stand In Line.

By Dan Marsicano


Impellitteri are named after guitarist Chris Impellitteri, who did what seemed to be the “in” thing to do in the ‘80s and named a band after himself. He got together a lineup, which included former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet, and wrote an album that included a few instrumental, a cover of a cover (more on that in a bit), and just enough cheese to date it back to the ‘80s. It’s true that certain aspects of Stand In Line don’t hold up in 2013, but there’s just something timeless about a guy shredding the crap out of his guitar.


Yes, Impellitteri is a shredder, though Stand In Line is not just some mindless instrumental album. There’s actual songs to fall back on, and not just ones that are placeholders to tie together aimless doodling. There is some of that, though it’s mostly held to quick-styled cuts like the skillful “Secret Lover” and closer “Playing With Fire.” The latter is one of those typical showcase songs, where Chris Impellitteri decides to take the restraints off for a few minutes.


“Playing With Fire” is mundane in its execution; however, an instrumental that does a better job is Impellitteri’s interpretation of the classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It’s a solid jam that has a quaint melodic stance holding it up. However, it goes too long, clocking in as the longest song on the album. Thankfully, the instrumentals are outnumbered three-to-one by songs with lyrics, a smart move with a vocalist like Bonnet involved.


For those unaware, Bonnet replaced Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow after Dio left and joined Black Sabbath. Bonnet would only appear on one Rainbow album, Down to Earth. For some reason, Stand In Line features “Since You’ve Been Gone,” a cover of a Russ Ballard tune. That’s not the odd thing; that would be the fact that this song was also used on Down to Earth. So this would be a cover of a cover, which does nothing unique save for an extra 30 seconds or so of a Chris Impellitteri solo.


A pleasant addition is the ballad-ish “White and Perfect,” complimented by an upbeat tempo and tasteful acoustics. It’s followed by the dreary “Leviathan,” which would have been a far better combo to end the album with than “Goodnight and Goodbye” and “Playing With Fire.” The keyboards, which are never far from the mix, take a prevalent spot on “Tonight I Fly,” an average tune stuck in the center of the album.


It couldn’t have been easy to try to fit in with the evolving musical climate, but Chris Impellitteri stuck with the band through the ‘90s and ‘00s. As of this writing, eight more albums have released under the Impellitteri name. There have been a few lineup changes, and the band now includes vocalist Rob Rock (known for his solo project and, at one time, being a singer for guitarist Axel Rudi Pell).


Chris Impellitteri may not be spoken in the same sentence as a Yngwie J. Malmsteen or Marty Friedman by most listeners, but he is no slouch on the guitar. He proves that with a debut album that is as much about the songs as showing off his technical prowess. For not succumbing to the self-congratulatory stance guitarists can take in releasing an album under their own name, Stand In Line gets the nod for this week’s Retro Recommendation.



리뷰 원문 : http://heavymetal.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/Impellitteri-Stand-In-Line-Review.htm



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