• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

May 2025

• The Flower Kings: Love
• Maestrick : Espresso Della Vita: Lunare

March 2025

• W.E.T.: Apex
• Alliance: Before Our Eyes
• Ginevra: Beyond Tomorrow
• Phil X & The Drills:
  Pow! Right In The Kisser
• IQ: Dominion
• Heart Line: Falling Heaven
• Gotthard: Stereo Crush
• Defender: Dying To Live
• Streetlight: Night Vision

February 2025

• Robin McAuley: Soulbound
• Perfect Plan: Heart Of A Lion
• Craig Brooks: Desolation Freeway
• Mantric Momentum: Alienized
• Pattern-Seeking Animals: Friend Of All Creatures
• Crazy Lixx: Thrill Of The Bite
• Ginger Evil: The Way It Burns
• Dream Theater: Parasomnia
• Tyran: Tyran's Oath
• Saber: Lost In Flames

January 2025

• Wildness: Avenger
• The Ferrymen: Iron Will
• Labyrinth: In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye
• Bonfire: Higher Ground
• The Big Deal: Electrified
• Landfall: Wide Open Sky

December 2024

• After Lapse: Pathways
• Illusion Force: Halfana
• Powell-Payne: Voilá

November 2024

• Sunstorm: Restless Fight
• Storace: Crossfire
• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

[ More Music Reviews ]

Impellitteri: The Nature Of The Beast

Heavy/Power/Shred Metal

3.0/5.0

Website Facebook
Frontiers Music
Released: 12.10.2018
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 10.10.2018

For fans of neo-classical guitar fireworks, Chris Impellitteri needs no introduction. For the past 30 years, Impellitteri has been consistently dropping solo albums featuring his over-the-top fret wizardry. If my math is correct, his latest album, The Nature Of The Beast is his eleventh long player and once more feature long time sidekick and heavy metal vocalist Rob Rock.

Chris Impellitteri

Since I gave Impellitteri's story and style away in that first paragraph, we can also make a quick summary of The Nature Of The Beast. The album and songs are simply defined: this is heavy power metal, thick with speed and groove, as a stage for Impellitteri's impressive and quintessential neo-classical guitar shredding. If you love guitar work in the vein of Malmsteen or Stump, you will love this album. Most every song barrels along at the mach speed of power metal and then features the guitar line at the core, culminating in Impellitteri ripping off numerous ambitious solos. That's it in a nutshell.

As for my opinion, there's no question that Chris Impellitteri is a creative and proficient master of his craft. But you knew that. But honestly, after several songs, let alone a full spin of the album, I knew exactly expect and in the end it basically became a blur. Alternatively, both his peers and aspiring guitarists can appreciate and learn from Impellitteri's wealth of skill and experience. Ergo, the bottom line is simple: if you dig speedy heavy metal with neo-classical guitar fury, you will love Impellitteri's The Nature Of The Beast.

Hammer King: Poseidon Will Carry Us Home

Power Metal

3.5/5.0

As the saying goes, Third time's the charm. German metal warriors Hammer King are back with their third studio album, Poseidon Will Carry Us Home. As we've come ... [ Read More ]

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

If you dig speedy heavy metal with neo-classical guitar fury, you will love Impellitteri's The Nature Of The Beast.

Alphabetical Index

Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]