NEWS ALERT 1-16-2012

Hello Friends, Animetal will be appearing at Dean Guitars on January 21, 2012 at 1:45 p.m. for Dean's live webcast at NAMM. I will be with my bandmates Rudy Sarzo, Mike Vescera, and Jon Dette.
The location will be at Dean Guitars Hall B, Booth # 5466
You can also watch this on Deanguitars.com/webcast.

I am also scheduled to be at Engl amplification from 12:30 -1:30 p.m. along with Def Leppards Vivian Cambell. Engl's location is Hall B # 5824.

Cheers,
Chris Impellitteri



News update 12-10-11
 
Hello Friends,
I want to thank Young Guitar Magazine for putting me on the cover of their upcoming January 2012 issue!
I am honored to be on the cover once again. I think this is like the 7th or 8th time which is really cool!
Young Guitar Magazine always have fantastic coverage of many of my personal favorite guitarists like Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Blackmore, Yngwie, Michael Schenker, John Sykes, Paul Gilbert, Uli Roth,  etc... including each players technique, live rig, and instruments. Definitely a very cool Magazine!!
 
The cover story is going to feature both IMPELLITTERI and a new band I play guitar in called ANIMETAL usa! which also features Rudy Sarzo on Bass, Mike Vescera on Vocals, and Scott Travis on drums. The Young Guitar cover is going to be split in to two sections which will feature me as Chris Impellitteri on the right side ,and then me in my Animetal character on the left side.
 
For the Impellitteri section Young Guitar will be covering the  Impellitteri Black EP I recorded with vocalist Rob Rock and Loni Silva, and features songs like Burning, Lost in the Rain, and Playing with Fire! This record was our very first recording and me and the band obviously took everything too the limit musically. I actually have fond memories of this time period, especially since we were so into pushing the boundaries of shredding, screaming, and musical aggression. I think Sony will be re-releasing this EP around April 2012.
 
For the Animetal USA section Sony is currently promoting our new record which just go released in October.
We entered the charts at #1 for metal and #2 for international artists which shocked all of us. So, thanks for the support friends! We also premiered the band live at Loud Park this year in front of 11000 fans... It rocked!!!
Animetal USA is definitely the strangest band I have been involved with, but it is really insane sounding especially since we are crossing original music with classic Anime themes.
I am also very impressed with how well the band plays together. Definitely a lot of energy when the four of us play!
 
See you guys soon on tour!
 
Cheers,
Chris Impellitteri



NEWS UPDATE:
10-30-11
Hi Friends,
Here is a brand new ANIMETAL USA music video!
The Song is titled Thesis of a Cruel Angel. The footage was shot by a fan at the private release party for ANIMETAL USA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv3YhRW4ZGQ
 
( And yes that is definitely the classic Temples of Syrinx riff under the intro solo for those of you that know your rock history!)
 
 I also should clarify what ANIMETAL USA are doing musically for those of you that are saying WTF??
 ANIMETAL USA is taking this music very seriously by mixing dark thematic and classic anime songs with our own original metal riffs, screaming vocals, shredding guitar solos, and intense drum and bass section. On a few songs we even used some short but iconic metal riffs written by some of our own favorite legends of metal in order to further excite the listener. It is definitely interesting to bring all of these forms of metal to the ANIME world, which is an amazing and intense culture in itself! ( Did you know there is even ANIME Porn???  WTF....??)
 And no this band is not a comedy band like steel panther. We are taking this very seriously and putting in a lot of time and effort with Sony to create a mix of intense metal music, ANIME, and theatrics! Plus we are working very hard to build an international fan base!
     Currently ANIMETAL USA is reaching a mass audience and exposing a brand new generation to metal that would not have been possible if we would have taken the traditional route. I think we have been exposed to over 25,000,000 people by playing live shows and tv specials during the month of October alone. So we are definitely bringing metal to a very wide audience that may not have embraced it otherwise.
 
Lastly, since we had to create so much original music for ANIMETAL, we are considering releasing an extension of this band called Death Star which musically will be 100% original. Either way, there will probably be two forms of music released by the 4 of us in the future! Animetal and Death Star!
 
Happy Halloween Friends,
Chris Impellitteri

News Update 10-26-11

Hello Friends,
The ANIMETAL USA official website is now playing our first music video from the brand new record ANIMETAL USA!
You can see the video at the following link!
http://animetalusa.com/
 
Animetal USA just played our first live show at Loud Park and it was totally insane.
Here is a link to ANIMETAL playing Pegaus live at loud park!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlX6_1zb7as&feature=related
Our equipment was blowing up before the show, and my amps where shocking the shit out of me, but we still rocked the house! ha ha!!
I want to thank all of the 10000 fans that showed up for our set. Especially since we decided to open the show really early in the day!.
It is crazy to think 10000 people got out of bed to see us play at 11 in the morning. The promoter told us they have never had so many people that early.
We also recorded some live performances the following day on major tv shows that will be aired around the world in November.
I can honestly say I had no idea what we were doing was going to be this crazy. Metal meets cartoons and fantasy! Definitely the craziest thing I have done.
And musically this fucking thing is insane to play. We pulled evey influence from Bach, Mozart, Rhandy Rhoads,Heaven and Hell, and Queen!
 
I know the critics are going to kick our ass, but this band and music is a blast to play, and its really musically challenging!
So check out this record, as I know the musicians will have fun with this thing.
Also, the band will be doing 100% original music in the near future as an off shoot to our Animetal usa band! Probably under our alias name Death Star!
Have a great Halloween!
Cheers,


NEWS UPDATE 10-1-11


Hello Friends,
IMPELLITTERI is now officially previewing the WICKED MAIDEN music video!
We will be releasing the IMPELLITTERI  back catalog in the United States in the near future. So, in support of this adventure I thought it was time to officially bring this music video to our friends, fans, critics, and american idol fans.. ha ha!
 Since the band has mainly focused its efforts on Japan and some European territories I thought it was about time to bring IMPELLITTERI to the U.S., especially since I live here in Southern California..!. We will also finally hit all of the digital sites like itunes, etc....
Also, as many of you know I have teamed up with Rudy Sarzo, Mike Vescera, and Scott Travis for the new metal band ANIMETAL usa!
This band is a blast to play with, and definitely crosses the line between musical insanity and spinal tap.
For ANIMETAL, this new band is mixing classic Anime music with our own original metal riffs, screaming vocals, shredding guitar solos, a fast bass section with lots of 16th note fingerings, and speed metal drumming that will blow your mind. On a few songs, the band has even incorporated some very well known classic metal riffs by some of your favorite metal icons! (And yes the icons and their publishers gave their blessing!) Themetically, the music is exciting, adventurous, intense, humorous, and extremely technical. (Saturday morning cartoons are about to get a lot heavier musically....ha ha!)
For my guitar parts, I personally tapped into alot of my childhood influences from Randy Rhoads, Van Halen, Al Dimeola, Bach, Mozart, and even Blackmore! Interestingly, it seems Randy's had the biggest impact on me lately. In fact, at rehearsal the other day I started smiling as I looked over to my stage right and realized I am now playing with Randy's bass player. And to top that off, Rudy Sarzo told me Randy Rhoads would have really loved my playing! That totally humbled me..!!
Umh... I wonder what Randy would be doing musically today... Definitely an amazing player and composer!
I can tell you guys this band is really awesome to play with. Sarzo is truly a monster bass player who can play everything from metal to funk. Mike Vescera is an incredible singer with the range of a Rob Halford. And during the recording of this record I was truly impressed with Scott Travis's playing. The man can hit hard, play fast dbl kick, and still create a nice pocket to play in!
We will play our first show at LoudPark festival, with Whitesnake, Limp Biscit (What!), Arch Enemy, Trivium, and a few others.
Then we will prepare for a world tour! It is going to be fun and musically insane!
Cheers,
Chris Impellitteri





NEWS UPDATE  9-30-11



Dear Friends,
LoudPark has just officially announced that ANIMETAL will perform on  October 15, 2011.
The festival main lineup is listed below.
http://www.loudpark.com/11/lineup/
 
ANIMETAL will be in Japan from October 11th thru the 19th to kick this thing off.
 
For those of you that are interested in this new musical adventure here is some information:
ANIMETAL usa official release date will be October 12, 2011 in Japan. (USA and Europe release to come shortly!)
 
ANIMETAL usa features Mike Vescera (Vocals), Rudy Sarzo(Bass), Chris Impellitteri (Guitar),Scott Travis(Drums)
For ANIMETAL, this new band is mixing classic Anime music with our own original metal riffs, screaming vocals, shredding guitar solos, a fast bass section with lots of 16th note fingerings, and speed metal drumming that will blow your mind. On a few songs, the band has even incorporated some very well known classic metal riffs by some of your favorite metal icons! (And yes the icons and their publishers gave their blessing!) Themetically, the music is exciting, adventurous, intense, humorous, and extremely technical. (Saturday morning cartoons are about to get a lot heavier musically....ha ha!)
 
For my guitar parts, I personally tapped into alot of my childhood influences from Randy Rhoads, Van Halen, Al Dimeola, Bach, Mozart, and even Blackmore! Interestingly, it seems Rhandy's had the biggest impact on me lately. In fact, at rehearsal the other day I started smiling as I looked over to my stage right and realized I am now playing with Rhandy's bass player. And to top that off, Rudy Sarzo told me Rhandy Rhoads would have really loved my playing! That totally humbled me..!!
Umh... I wonder what Rhandy would be doing musically today... Definitely an amazing player and composer!
 
I can tell you guys this band is really awesome to play with. Sarzo is truly a monster bass player who can play everything from metal to funk. Mike Vescera is an incredible singer with the range of a Rob Halford. And during the recording of this record I was truly impressed with Scott Travis's playing. The man can hit hard, play fast dbl kick, and still create a nice pocket to play in!
 
Greg Reely who has mixed records for Fear Factory, Devil Driver, and Impellitter, mixed the record and did a great job bringing this to life sonically!
 
Marty Friedman from Megadeth created alot of the original demos for Animetal before Sony gave them to me and the band to finish.
And, although I played all of the guitar solos and guitar parts on this record, Marty certainly deserves credit for creating some very cool riffs and vibes for me to shred over.
 
Brent and Bob from office studios also captured some great recordings of this band!
 
It is pretty amazing the amount of metal people that are involved with this new band, and that Sony is behind us 100%!
 
ANIME + METAL     SEEMS TO ROCK!
 
Thanks again for your support friends, now I am off to rehearsal for a day of shredding!


Chris I









NEWS UPDATE 9-19-11



Hi Friends,
As you may have seen from Rudy Sarzo's previous twitter, and according to our Sony A+R team, "our new band and record ANIMETAL USA has gone to #1 on AMAZON Hard Rock Heavy Metal chart in Japan.
 
Sony told us we went straight to #1 in the first 24 hours of  the announcement of ANIMETAL USA!,  and the record does not even come out until October 12! Pretty strange, but very cool! So thanks for the support and interest my friends!
 
I am told we will release the record in the United States, Europe, and other major countries after Japan!
 
For those of you that are interested, ANIMETAL USA takes up where the original japanese Animetal band left off in 1996.
We are combining famous classic anime music with our own original metal riffs, solos, vocals, bass and drums, as well as some very cool surprises. In fact, you will definitely hear a few familiar legendary metal riffs mixed with our own, and from some of your favorite legendary metal bands that gave us there blessing.
 
This is definitely the strangest band I have joined, but it is a blast, and I look forward to touring and making many records with these guys in the future.
 
We just filmed a major budget music video that will be released shortly for the song Yamato.
We will also be releasing some sample songs that I think are the best on the record such as Thesis of a Cruel Angel, Gachaman, and Animetal Medley. 
 
I can tell you guys that although this music is based on Anime, it has lots of original screaming vocals, shredding guitar solos, and a mean bad ass rhthym section.  Definitely lots of fun to play!
 
The ANIMETAL USA band lineup is Mike Vescera on vocals, Rudy Sarzo on Bass, Chris Impellitteri on guitar, and Scott Travis on Drums.
 
Lastly, I know a few people have asked whats up with the name, but Sony made the decision since they are blending Anime with us four metal heads from the U.S.A.   
 
Thanks again for your support my metal friends,,,, we are humbled by your interest in us!

Chris Impellitteri