Victor Entertainment
2009
1. Wicked Maiden
2. Last of A Dying Breed
3. Weapons Of Mass Distortion
4. Garden Of Eden
5. The Vision
6. Eyes of an Angel
7. Hi-Scool Revolution
8. Wonderful Life
9. Holy Man
10. The Battle Rages On
It's been almost a decade since an Impellitteri album came along with the lineup everyone really wanted to hear. Here at long last is an album bringing back together Chris Impellitteri and Rob Rock. Since Rob Rock left the band I have enjoyed his solo albums so I wasn't too disappointed, but an album back with the shred ability of Chris Impellitteri did catch my interest. Certainly, it's what this band needed. I will say I enjoyed Pedal To The Metal, but there's no denying for me that Rob Rock is the voice of this band. Or that Graham Bonnet just plain sucks.
Wicked Maiden starts with a crunch guitar riff that any Impellitteri fan would recognize as one of his and a wail from Rob Rock that leads us into a very classic title track. This is patent Impellitteri and works well. Through track 4 things continue in this familiar, welcome vein and kicks some ass. After this things start to slow a bit into a chug and groove track called The Vision which isn't bad, but gets a little boring. This is pretty much the turning point of the album as after this a couple of throw aways and some just ok tracks dominate the rest of Wicked Maiden. The throw aways comes in the form of Eyes Of An Angel and more particularly Hi-School Revolution which are both like a trip back to the 80s hair metal scene. Eyes Of An Angel isn't completely terrible, but nor is it good as it has a very power ballad sort of feel to the chorus which just makes the track sound rather cheeseball. The true cheddar doesn't show up until Hi-School Revolution though which sounds like it could've been a Motley Crue song (I'm thinking the cover of Smokin In The Boys Room). This one I definitely could've lived without. After that there's a few other songs in the familiar speed and/or crunch styles we've come to be familiar with and they don't stand out much for good or bad.
While it seems like this review may have turned a bit negative, it's really based on two tracks I had to vent about and Eyes Of An Angel is passable if not that great. So What's the final verdict? Wicked Maiden has some good things going for it, especially in the beginning, but it blows it's load early on and the rest is just ok. If the album was as strong as the first 4 tracks than this would be a high rated review. As it stands I'll give this one a 3.5. A good listen, but lacking in highlights after the first few tracks. Almost reaches greatness, but then falls short. I know the band has it in them to release another killer album and I hope the partnership with Rob Rock continues.
Highlights: Wicked Maiden, Last Of A Dying Breed, Garden Of Eden
Rating - 3.5/5
2. Last of A Dying Breed
3. Weapons Of Mass Distortion
4. Garden Of Eden
5. The Vision
6. Eyes of an Angel
7. Hi-Scool Revolution
8. Wonderful Life
9. Holy Man
10. The Battle Rages On
It's been almost a decade since an Impellitteri album came along with the lineup everyone really wanted to hear. Here at long last is an album bringing back together Chris Impellitteri and Rob Rock. Since Rob Rock left the band I have enjoyed his solo albums so I wasn't too disappointed, but an album back with the shred ability of Chris Impellitteri did catch my interest. Certainly, it's what this band needed. I will say I enjoyed Pedal To The Metal, but there's no denying for me that Rob Rock is the voice of this band. Or that Graham Bonnet just plain sucks.
Wicked Maiden starts with a crunch guitar riff that any Impellitteri fan would recognize as one of his and a wail from Rob Rock that leads us into a very classic title track. This is patent Impellitteri and works well. Through track 4 things continue in this familiar, welcome vein and kicks some ass. After this things start to slow a bit into a chug and groove track called The Vision which isn't bad, but gets a little boring. This is pretty much the turning point of the album as after this a couple of throw aways and some just ok tracks dominate the rest of Wicked Maiden. The throw aways comes in the form of Eyes Of An Angel and more particularly Hi-School Revolution which are both like a trip back to the 80s hair metal scene. Eyes Of An Angel isn't completely terrible, but nor is it good as it has a very power ballad sort of feel to the chorus which just makes the track sound rather cheeseball. The true cheddar doesn't show up until Hi-School Revolution though which sounds like it could've been a Motley Crue song (I'm thinking the cover of Smokin In The Boys Room). This one I definitely could've lived without. After that there's a few other songs in the familiar speed and/or crunch styles we've come to be familiar with and they don't stand out much for good or bad.
While it seems like this review may have turned a bit negative, it's really based on two tracks I had to vent about and Eyes Of An Angel is passable if not that great. So What's the final verdict? Wicked Maiden has some good things going for it, especially in the beginning, but it blows it's load early on and the rest is just ok. If the album was as strong as the first 4 tracks than this would be a high rated review. As it stands I'll give this one a 3.5. A good listen, but lacking in highlights after the first few tracks. Almost reaches greatness, but then falls short. I know the band has it in them to release another killer album and I hope the partnership with Rob Rock continues.
Highlights: Wicked Maiden, Last Of A Dying Breed, Garden Of Eden
Rating - 3.5/5
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