Impellitteri - Wicked Maiden
Victor Entertainment
Melodic Heavy Metal
10 songs (43'00")
Release year: 2009
Reviewed by Erik

Well well well, this seems to be the age of reunions. Most of the time, when a long-standing member of a band leaves, it tends to be for good. Rejoining the band years later, especially when either the band or the musician have increased their exposure in the meantime, is a rare feat.

Apparently, the odds are getting better all the time. Legendary wailer Rob Halford got back together with Judas Priest and released Angel Of Retribution, just recently Masterplan’s album Time To Be King featured Jorn Lande on vocals once again, and last year Rob Rock re-united with Impellitteri for their newest feature Wicked Maiden.

Things kick off at full power with a monster riff, piercing scream, and thunderous double-bass kicking leading into the title track, which is a mid-paced Impellitteri-style return to the days of Crunch. In fact, you might almost consider Wicked Maiden a logical progression of Crunch, presented a decade later, with a few cues from Screaming Symphony and Eye Of The Hurricane. The huge, square chords, the fingertapping that seems so effortless it might be faster than electricity, the soaring vocals of Rob Rock, who never seems to put a foot wrong.

Weapons Of Mass Destruction features a great rolling guitar lick through the verse and chorus, while the constant rapid-fire drumming of longtime member Glen Sobel keeps the rhythm section tight and precise. Hi-Scool Revolution, somewhat given away by its spelling, is an almost rollicking, bouncy number that speaks volumes about the educational system. Wonderful Life, possibly the best track here, is a relentless guitar-lick-filled rocker that keeps a constant undercurrent against Rock’s layered singing.

Can’t have an album like this without a ballad of some sort, and Eyes Of An Angel is left footing the bill here. There are certainly worse slow metal songs out there – some performed by Rob Rock, in fact – but this could have been done better. Apart from that, there are no filler songs on this solid metal platter. If you like Chris Impellitteri’s shredding style and Rob Rock’s amazing vocal abilities, you’ll be a fan of Wicked Maiden.

Killing Songs :
Wicked Maiden, Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Wonderful Life
Erik quoted 84 / 100
Other albums by Impellitteri that we have reviewed:
Impellitteri - Pedal To The Metal reviewed by Mike and quoted 63 / 100
Impellitteri - System X reviewed by Mike and quoted 92 / 100
Impellitteri - Crunch reviewed by Chris and quoted 63 / 100
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