Metal Contraband’s Chelsea recently spoke with Chris Impellitteri about the making of the new Impellitteri album, War Machine, Impellitteri’s international reach, Chris’ origins as a guitarist, and the deeper meaning behind the naming of the band. Check it out below:
Chelsea here on the phone with the legendary Chris Impellitteri, thank you so much for joining me today.
Well, thank you for having me, Chelsea. When you said “legendary”, I’m looking over my shoulder going, “Who’s she talking about?”
*laughs* Very humble on top of that, that’s great. Well, let’s start off with the fact that you just dropped a new music video a couple of days ago for the song “Hell on Earth”. It’s an absolutely killer song, it’s also a great look inside the studio with you guys, plus a little touch of comedy thrown into the video too. So tell me what went into this track and making the music video.
Sure, well, the song began with this riff. I don’t know how the riff started, it was probably…I was probably practicing guitar scales and doing music theory and shredding and all that fun stuff, and a lot of times I make a mistake, and that mistake turns into this beautiful creation. It was like, “Whoa, what were those combinations of notes? I’ve got to do that again”. And I did, and then quickly grabbed an iPhone and recorded the riff, and went, “Oh, this is really cool”, at least, I thought it was really cool. So it began from there, I basically within about ten minutes of creating that riff, had a verse, bridge, chorus, into a solo, and I immediately played it to Rob Rock, the singer, and James Pulli, the bass player, and they really dug the song. So I’d probably say within a couple of days, we had that thing from start to finish, at least written, not recorded yet, you know. And then from there obviously, when we brought the band together to actually rehearse and work on all the parts, now Paul Bostaph was involved, who’s an amazing drummer. We tracked a lot of that at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, and the really cool fun part about the music videos – at least the last two music videos released – it’s actually, we had a camera crew in there recording us as we were recording the record. So in some ways, it was extremely irritating, *laughs* like while you’re playing, but at the same time it was really cool to document the band live inside the studio.
Definitely, that’s great. So it’s not even just shot as a special music video in a sense that it was staged, I mean, it was naturally you guys just in there doing your thing, and they were capturing it in the moment.
Exactly, and you know, we figured since a lot of times the critics think we’re trash, what better way than just Rob pulling me out of the trash to start the video?!
*laughs* No, I’m hearing nothing but good things about this record. I mean, you’re topping the radio charts and everything, so it’s definitely not “trash”, but still a fun little quip that you threw in there.
*laughs* And then, of course, our Spinal Tap behavior, because we’re very much like Spinal Tap with our drummers, at the end, it was a skeleton.
Yes, what is it about drummers? It’s such a tricky thing to keep them around. I don’t know what it is.
*laughs*
So, now also, Chris, you were inducted into the 2023 Metal Hall of Fame last year and we had a very quick brief chat on the red carpet just beforehand, but can you talk to me a little more about how that whole experience was for you that night?
It’s always extremely humbling, and the whole time you’re doing it, you’re kind of why, “Well, why me?”, right? And the one thing I really loved about being inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame, it really shows testament to our fans around the world. I live in America, so everybody is very close-minded like to think, “Well, if your band’s successful or popular, it only can be in America”, which is just not true. Places like Japan are the second-biggest music market in the world. And to me, getting that accolade was really like an acknowledgment to our fans who like this type of music, who have embraced Impellitteri for 30-plus years. To me, it was really a nod to them. And so it was really…I don’t know, it was just rewarding to know that their voice is heard as well in the metal community.
Aw, definitely. There’s especially a great international reach for your band as well. What have been some of your favorite countries and cities to visit and tour over the years? Where are some places that you feel like you have a strong connection with?
Anybody that knows anything about the band Impellitteri, they know that Japan is our bread and butter. And I would say there’s probably no better country to have success than Japan, because Japan treat you like kings. The best hotels, the treatment, the food, the loyalty, all of that, it’s incredible. And Tokyo is like…for people that have never been there, it’s very westernized. You’re going to see people from Sweden, Germany, the US, people all over the world, and I don’t know if I’m being accurate, but it feels like it’s about a hundred times bigger than New York City, way more modern and clean. And it’s the same thing when you go to the city Osaka, another massive city. Then to a little smaller city, you start going to places like Nagoya or Kyoto, or places like that. And it’s just an amazing world, and they just love heavy metal. They love music, period. But they love heavy metal, so it’s just so rewarding and inspirational to play in Japan. Other countries we’ve visited, a couple years back we did Sweden Rock Fest. I love Sweden. Really was a blast, I think my older daughter came with us. Loved Sweden. We played, I think it was three, four years ago, we also did Spain. We did Rock Fest Barcelona, I think Iron Maiden were headlining, but you know, we had this massive turnout to see Impellitteri, so it’s an amazing time there. Oh, Germany, that’s another biggie, love Germany…I mean, I just love everywhere.
That’s awesome, you have great positivity too, to hear you talk about your great experiences around the world. Have you happened to pick up any Japanese all the times you’ve been to Japan?
Konnichiwa, genki desu ka? Boku wa Chris Impellitteri desu (“Hello, how are you? I’m Chris Impellitteri).
Totemo jouzu da yo! (“That’s very good!”)
*laughs* A success! Or when they’re like, “can you speak fluent Japanese?” Iie (“No”).
Iie, so no. *laughs* But you can get by in it at least, that’s good, especially being there a lot, you need to pick up a little bit, right?
Absolutely, I should be far more fluent than I am, but most of the people we interact with in Japan, most everyone we speak with, even the fans, second language, I think generally is English.
That’s true, yeah, I feel like a lot of other countries put a lot of emphasis on English as a second language for the most part.
I think I know why. If you think about it, we live in the United States, think about the term “United” States. We’re not like, I don’t know, some white boy from Middle America’s the whole country, wrong. This country has immigrants, like my Great-Grandparents came from Italy and Russia. And on my father’s side, England. We are a melting pot of different cultures, so I think when you start going to different countries, you realize they have probably family – some could be a distant relative – but they probably have family members here, so they always know English, it’s probably the best second language to learn for that reason.
Good point! So now also, you’ve always said that you like the setting and connection of being in a band. Of course, you’ve always had Impellitteri, and you don’t necessarily view yourself as the solo shredder type, but so many musicians do look up to you for your incredible guitar and shredding skills, so what I’d like to ask, is how do you find that balance of being such a standout soloist while still connecting within a band?
Well first of all, that’s extremely flattering and humbling to hear, so thank you for that kindness. To be honest, look…the guitar to me, is my voice. It’s nothing more, nothing less. If someone loves me, I’m flattered, I’m humbled, and if they think I suck, I understand. Because when I play the guitar, I’m expressing what I’m feeling internally. Sometimes maybe it’s really technical and really difficult for most people to play, and maybe I’m excelling and that pleases them or excites them. Other times, I might be reckless and sloppy because I feel like the song calls for that. So for more, I’ve always viewed the band, hence the word, “band”, as four or five individuals coming together collectively to create this music equally, right? So sure, I might write the riff and the body of the song. But I promise you, Rob Rock, he writes all the lyrics and the majority of his vocal melodies, and James Pulli writes his own bass lines, and on this record, Paul Bostaph came in and played like Paul Bostaph, not like us telling him what to play, right? And so at the end of it, especially on a record like War Machine, you hear the collective collaboration of four individuals. So it’s really all for one, one for all, and I’ve always loved that about being in a band, versus I never aspired ever to be some instrumental shred guy. Even though yes, they have lumped me in with that…I hate it. I get it, yes, I can play fast and I can play technical if I decide to, right? But this has always been about a band. And to be fair, I brought this on myself. I know we named the band Impellitteri, that immediately as soon as you do that, you’re gonna get locked into the Yngwies and all of that, right? But the reality is, there were two reasons why it became Impellitteri. One, it was an homage to my grandparents. Because my parents died when I was nine years old, so I had an option, I could go to an orphanage, into a homeless shelter, and they loved me. And they said, we want you to stay with us, and they did that, and my grandmother knew because I had lost my parents at nine, that I needed an outlet. I needed something that was gonna save my life because I was probably gonna be down the wrong road just out of anger and frustration. And because of that tragedy, she bought me this guitar, which allowed me to have a voice and express myself. And so as an homage to her saving my life, my grandparents, I always jokingly said I’ll call the band Impellitteri after them. Now having said that, in hindsight, it’s probably the worst name for a band in the world because no one can spell it, including myself. *laughs* But that’s how it became Impellitteri, and why people I think always lumped us into this…you know, these instrumental guitar players, and albeit I love these. I love the Yngwies, I love the Vais and Satrianis, but I never wanted to be any of them. I wanted us to be more like a band like Van Halen, or Ozzy’s band with Randy Rhodes, that version of Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman. I always wanted that, that’s what we’ve always aspired to be, but there’s been a battle historically to escape that comparative of, “Oh, he’s just another one of those shredders”. It’s like, listen, I’m flattered you put me in that group, I mean, I respect those guitar players immensely, but we’re a band. So stop doing that.
No, I get that and I actually did not know your origin story of the band name. That’s a very touching tribute to your family who took such good care of you and everything and I feel like that’s…you know, that’s worth having to correct people once in a while about how the band name is pronounced, or what it means, or anything like that is to pay tribute to them. Because I mean, you really are very humble about it, but you definitely are an international success of a musician, and a lot of aspiring musicians do look up to you, so I think that’s the best way that you could pay tribute to your whole family, really.
Well, thanks!
And I mean, I get it. You definitely are often cited on lists, and things that people mention about the whole Neoclassical guitar movement. There was a lot of that coming out in the 80’s metal scene and a sort of movement of similar styles of guitarists. But you genuinely do come from a bit of a classical background, too, though, right? You had learned music in probably a more formal way than a lot of other guitarists get started, I think.
Yeah, well, remember, when I started playing guitar, I had to take lessons, I had to take music theory, there was no YouTube. So you had to go to instructors, and usually the instructors were classically trained. A lot of the instructors came from music conservatories, so you had to understand how to use modes, scales, and learn how to read music, and play in certain time signatures. You had to learn all of that stuff. You didn’t have to like it as a kid, because it was hard! You’re learning, and it’s like doing quantitative math, it was challenging. But I’m really glad I was exposed to that, because the more knowledge you have, the more music theory you gain, it allows you to take what you hear inside your head, and somehow distribute that through your hands and for me, through my guitar playing, to the audience’s ears. And you know, obviously, as we evolve, I still learn stuff. I see some of these kids on YouTube now that are mind-boggling, and I bite the bullet, which means you bite your pride, and I’ll sit down for hours and try to learn what they’re doing. Then I somehow incorporate that into my playing.
Well yeah, of course a musician’s always learning too, and there’s always something new. New sparks of ideas to be found, and you guys are always coming up with new and different tracks and sounds, it’s good to draw inspiration from everywhere.
You know, I learned that when you have collaborative musicians, there’s always a benefit. Like drummers I noticed, drummers get along really well together. Where guitar players can be much more egotistical, right? They want to be opinionated and put down the other guy, where drummers always want to share what they’re doing with the other drummer. I’ve always loved that and embraced that.
That’s very true, yes! Being such an iconic guitarist yourself, aspiring musicians are always curious about what you’re doing. I mean, do you like to talk gear and reveal tips and tricks or do you keep some secrets too?
I’ve learned, especially on this record, people have been asking me how I’m doing things, like the guitar solo on “Out Of My Mind”, I’m realizing now that yeah, I think I’m getting to that point now where I learn something I’m really comfortable with and people really dig…I’m trying to keep that a little bit more secretive. Because in this day and age, people know everything about what you’re doing. I remember, listen, I’m a huge Van Halen fan, anybody in my age group, whoever read Van Halen interviews have all heard the same story. But there was always this story about, I guess, David Lee Roth telling Eddie Van Halen to turn his back to the audience when he was doing the two-handed tapping, or the hammering. In some ways, it would have been great if he did. As soon as he showed everybody what he was doing, everybody and their brother did it. Now, yes, eventually it evolves and goes somewhere, which is good, that’s how we evolve as the human race, and as musicians. But it would have been nice to have a little bit of that secrecy, you know? So I am doing that with a couple of my picking techniques and two-handed techniques. I’ve been far more secretive on this record when they’re asking me.
Fair enough, can’t blame you! That’s great. War Machine is full of amazing tracks, it’s impossible to pick a favorite, but one track that really stood out to me on this album that I wanted to ask you about is “Beware the Hunter”. I just absolutely love the riff, the tone, the rhythm, the chord progression, everything about that song is just perfectly put together to me, so can you tell me a little of what went into that one?
I can tell you as a guitar player. Lyrically, I can’t, that’s Rob. Musically, that is very traditional 80’s kind of sounding Impellitteri. Because on this record, we wanted to have a really diverse palette of music. Where you have something like “Hell On Earth”, which is one of my favorite songs on this record, that is like something Metallica may have done on Master of Puppets or Ride The Lightning. You’ve got something like that, but then you go to an extreme, like “Out Of My Mind” sounds more like that would be if Deep Purple did a song like that in the year 2024 with Richie Blackmore, you’d probably hear something like that. And “Beware The Hunter”, it reminded me a bit of…obviously, it’s very heavy, it’s got a lot of technical shredding and Rob sounds amazing on that track, but the riff reminds me of something that John Sykes when he was in the band Whitesnake for the 1987 record, he may have written something like that. It just feels that way to me, you know? So that’s kind of what I can tell you about “Beware the Hunter”. It’s a blast to play.
Definitely a blast to listen to, too. Well, it’s been amazing getting to know more about you and what you’ve been up to lately, and the new record of course. So can you help us wrap it up with just a little outlook on what’s coming up for you and the band right now?
Right now, we just got an offer to do a full Japan tour, so I was just talking to Paul Bostaph. They’ve offered Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and now we’re slowly hopefully starting to get some dates coming in for Europe, and I pray to God we tour the United States for this record, we need to. So that’s really our emphasis and our focus right now. I mean, we’ve got all the music videos out, all the people can see behind the scenes of us making this record, at least on “Hell on Earth” and “Wrath Child”, those two music videos. It’s like coming into world, you’ll see what we’re doing, right? And so that’s kind of our focus right now.
Taking all this new music and material out on the road, that’s what we like to see and hear, and hopefully we do get you in the US very soon! But that’ll be fun to go to one of your favorite places, Japan, too.
*laughs* Of course.
Well, thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate it, and best of luck with all the touring, stay safe out there.
Thank you, Chelsea. I really do appreciate your time.