Kev Rowland I must confess to not having heard anything by these guys since 2005’s ‘Pedal To The Metal’, but guitarist Chris Impellitteri isn’t showing any signs of relinquishing his title of world’s fastest guitarist any time soon. Long-time members Rob Rock (vocals) and James Pulli (bass) are still by his side, while even ‘new boy’ drummer Jon Dette has been there since 2015. This is a band with an incredibly firm foundation in the rhythm section, who have to keep hitting it hard and fast to be able to provide the support for Chris, a shredder who continues to provide complex riffs and counter-melodies, demanding that others stand alongside and give him the base to be able to keep pounding out a million notes to the bar. Then at the front there is Rob Rock, and while there have been a few singers in the band, this is his third stint and is easily the longest-served, having been there at the very beginning (and actually starting his musical career with Chris in a covers band called Vice).

What I found interesting in this album is not just the sheer force and power of the music, but also the choice of the two covers, as I wouldn’t have really expected either of them, but they fit incredibly well indeed. The first of these is “Phantom Of The Opera”, yes, the Andrew Lloyd-Webber version, although I don’t remember the introduction having quite so many notes as Chris takes the opportunity to show just what he can do while staying within a known melodic structure. The other is “Symptom Of The Universe”, and although he still shreds over the top, this is only slightly speeded up from the original, and somehow seems to contain even more force and drive.

The band has now been going for more than thirty years, and fans will be pleased to know they are not showing any signs at all of slowing down, are still incredibly heavy, and keep producing the goods. Metallic, powerful, over the top, Impellitteri are still all those things and more.