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, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide. History Chris Impellitteri for ...

. In 2003, ''Guitar One Magazine'' 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 – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original arti ...

'' 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 committed 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 released ...

on vocals, James Pulli on Bass and

Jon Dette Jon Dette (born April 19, 1970) is an American heavy metal drummer best known for his time in Slayer and Testament. Over the years, he has also been chosen to fill-in with Anthrax, Heathen (band), Heathen, and Iced Earth. Dette also played wit ...

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 Fender may refer to: Transport * Fender (boating), a bumper used to keep boats from banging into docks or each other * Fender (vehicle) or wing, a part of a motor vehicle that frames a wheel well * Fender, a "cow catcher" on a tram, see Pilot (lo ...

, 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 Titles * ...

. 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 Corporation. H ...

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.

Discography

with Impellitteri

''See: Impellitteri Discography'' *''

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 Amer ...

'' (1992) *''

Answer to the Master ''Answer to the Master'' (1994) is the third full-length studio album by Impellitteri. Track listing *All lyrics by Rob Rock, except where noted. All music by Chris Impellitteri. # "The Future Is Black" — 3:42 # "Fly Away" — 4:03 # "Warrior" ...

'' (1994) *''

Screaming Symphony Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide. History Chris Impellitteri for ...

'' (1996) *'' Eye of the Hurricane'' (1997) *'' Crunch'' (2000) *'' System X'' (2002) *'' Pedal to the Metal'' (2004) *''

Wicked Maiden Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, vocalist Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide. History Chris Impellitteri f ...

'' (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 ...

'' (2015) *'' The Nature of the Beast'' (2018)

with Animetal USA

*''

Animetal USA are 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 ...

'' (2011) *''

Animetal USA W is the second studio album by Japan-based American heavy metal band Animetal USA, formed as a tribute to Eizo Sakamoto's band Animetal. Released through SME Records on June 6, 2012, the album consists of a series of English language covers of pop ...

'' (2012)

Guest appearances

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

– ''

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

'' (1990) * Various artists – '' Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen'' (1997) * Various artists – ''Randy Rhoads Tribute'' (2000) *

Mari Hamada is a Japanese heavy metal and pop rock singer. Since her debut in 1983, Hamada has been known as the "Heavy Metal Queen" of Japan. Throughout her career, she has released 25 singles and 23 studio albums. Biography Early history Mari Ha ...

- '' Gracia'' (2018) *

Alcatrazz Alcatrazz is a heavy metal band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo, and Gary Shea. Following an internal disagreement and split in 2020, there are currently two separate and distinct Alcatrazz line-ups, one featuring Bonnet, and ano ...

- '' Born Innocent'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Impellitteri, Chris Living people American lead guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American people of Italian descent 1964 births American male guitarists Impellitteri members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Animetal USA members —-notes—-