Chris (Impellitteri) has found his band in a an unfortunate similar situation to fellow American’s Vicious Rumors, and related speed/power metalers Helstar, Jag Panzer, and Riot. Impellitteri never quite breaking into the mainstream aside from some success with the album/video “Stand In Line”/ single ‘Since You've Been Gone’ , receiving A-lister level airplay on MTV, or graduating to arena status. Regardless, Impellitteri the band has been active on and off since the 80s, releasing ten albums to date, featuring the six string talents of Chris, plus the vocals of Graham Bonnet, and Rob Rock who returns on “Venom”.

“Venom” lives up to its title out the door with the deadly title track and ‘Empire Of Lies’ blazing with those Yngwie style aggressive neoclassical riffs and Rob’s firey melodic vocals. And those solos are head spinning in nature, complete with excellent runs with plenty of purpose incorporating the song’s melody. ‘We Own The Night’ maintains a solid beat with splashes of a double kick in the drums, an anthemic chorus, and one of the tastiest solos I’ve heard in years. Love all the little inflections, pinches and tapping.

Chris is on fire from the first to last song. A nice gallop kicks off ‘Nightmare’ for this darker tune. Again, cool solo. ‘Face The Enemy’ keeps with the ominous vibe given the riff with slower tempo. ‘Domino Theory’, ‘Jehova’, and ‘Rise’ maintain the high level of energy.

Ten tracks that don’t let up. Chris has delivered some excellent venomous speed metal.