Chris Impellitteri (born September 25, 1964) is an American guitarist and songwriter, who is the
lead guitarist
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...
and founder of the heavy metal band
Impellitteri
Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, singer Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide.
History
Chris Impellitteri for ...
.
In 2003, ''
Guitar One Magazine
''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original ar ...
'' voted Chris Impellitteri the second-fastest guitar shredder of all time. In 2008, ''
Guitar World
''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...
'' magazine named him as one of the fastest guitarists of all time. In 2023, Impellitteri was inducted into the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame.
Biography
On The Blairing Out Show, he said that both his parents died by suicide when he was nine years old, and that the guitar provided a path for him to express his anger and feelings.
Impellitteri's first music release was a black EP titled ''Impellitteri''. It was filled with music featuring shredding guitar solos, screaming vocals, and a fast rhythm section. The Impellitteri Black EP established the band's sound in the metal world and was well received by their fans, critics, and respected musicians. Chris Impellitteri was instantly branded a guitar hero after this recording was released. The following Impellitteri record was titled Stand in Line and propelled the band into stardom. The music video Stand in Line was played often on MTV and VH1. The Stand in Line album featured Lead vocalist Graham Bonnet who formerly sang with the legendary rock band Rainbow. Impellitteri has recently released two new critically acclaimed records titled Venom and The Nature of the Beast. The band Impellitteri currently features
Rob Rock
Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also release ...
on vocals, James Pulli on Bass and
Jon Dette
Jonathan Dette (born April 19, 1970) is an American musician best known for his time in Slayer and Testament. Over the years, he has also been chosen to fill-in with Anthrax, Heathen, Iced Earth, and Volbeat. Dette also played with Evildead an ...
on drums. The band has become very popular globally and has performed to over 30,000 people at a single show.
Equipment
Over the course of his career, Impelliterri has used a wide variety of different guitar brands and models, including Fender, Gibson, and
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
* Dean Sw ...
. He is currently endorsed by
Charvel
Charvel ( ) is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporat ...
guitars with whom he has a custom model. In addition, he also used ENGL amplifiers and Seymour Duncan pickups. Chris Impellitteri is currently using Charvel and Gibson guitars and Vintage Marshall and Mesa Boogie amplification.
Stand in Line
''Stand in Line'' is the first studio album by heavy metal band Impellitteri, released in 1988 through Relativity Records;Gomes, Whitney Z"Stand in Line - Impellitteri" ''AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved August 7, 2020. a remastered edition was ...
'' (1988)
*''
Grin and Bear It
''Grin and Bear It'' is a former daily comic panel created by George Lichtenstein under the pen name George Lichty. Lichty created ''Grin and Bear it'' in 1932 and it ran 83 years until 2015, making it the 10th-longest-running comic strip in Am ...
'' (1992)
*''
Answer to the Master
Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, singer Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide.
History
Chris Impellitteri for ...
Wicked Maiden
Impellitteri is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, singer Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide.
History
Chris ...
'' (2009)
*''
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
Animetal USA
is a Japan-based American heavy metal band formed as a tribute to Eizo Sakamoto's band Animetal. They made their world debut at the 2011 Loud Park Festival, where they performed on stage with Momoiro Clover Z.
The band's original members c ...
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
– ''
Sahara
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
Mari Hamada
is a Japanese rock singer and songwriter. Having performed in bands since high school, Hamada made her professional debut as a solo act in 1983. She quickly became known as the . In 2019, Hamada become the first Japanese musician to top the vo ...
Alcatrazz
Alcatrazz is an American rock band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo, and Gary Shea. They are best known for their songs "Island in the Sun", "Hiroshima Mon Amour", and "God Blessed Video". They are also notable for featuring a pre ...