Chris Impellitteri (born September 25,1964 in Connecticut) is a guitarist. According to Guitar One Magazine, he is the second fastest shredder in the world, but it is not uncommon for him to be ranked first on other fastest player lists.

He has played in several tributes through his career, has led his own-band, Impellitteri since 1987. In 1988 he worked together with ex-The Marbles, ex-Rainbow, ex-Alcatrazz singer Graham Bonnet. He is now working in a project with a Los Angeles band.

One of his most famous songs is his cover of "Over The Rainbow" on lead guitar.

Chris Impellitteri has earned the utmost respect among the greatest shred guitar players in the world, and became famous in the neo-classical metal scene. He is also widely regarded as a virtuoso by many fan sites.

In 1987 he recorded the Mike Davis-produced CD Impellitteri. Chris took care of the guitar and bass parts, but the CD flopped because of mediocre production and gained very little success for the band.

In 1988 Chris formed a new lineup with Graham Bonnet, Chuck Wright, Phil Wolfe, and Pat Torpey still under the name "Impellitteri" and soon they became big in Japan with Stand in Line, produced by Cliff Cultreri with a guest appearance from bassist Randy Rand. Wright and Torpey left soon after their breakthrough and the band had to look for a new drummer and bassist, respectively Stet Howland and Dave Spitz. In 1990 Bonnet and Wolf also left the band and were replaced by singer Mark Weitz and the French keyboard player Claude Schnell. They tried to record a few tracks known as the Holy Grail but eventually the band fell apart.

In 1996 they recorded Screaming Symphony and in 1997 they recorded Eye of the Hurricane. Both were quite successful, especially Eye of the Hurricane, which was the strongest release yet. Finally they were noticed by the European audience and they launched a European tour. In 2000 Impellitteri recorded Crunch, which was the most experimental record yet with drum loops and samples ricocheting between the shredding guitar sounds Chris is so famous for.

Although their success had never been greater, the band again fell apart when Rock left. Thus they had to cancel their upcoming tour and the return of singer Graham Bonnet. The album didn’t sell well, partly because of a lack of promotion and the experimental hook. Between 2001 and 2002 they recorded System X, a definite fallback to their roots but without the neo-classical elements they were known for. This album had good critical response and sold much better than its predecessors.

In 2003 the band employed singer Curtis Skelton, and in 2004 they released Pedal to the Metal.