Luca Turilli

Italian heavy metal guitarist Luca Turilli is quite an anomaly. Born in Trieste, Italy on March 5, 1972, Turilli is right in the Gen-X demographic but is totally untouched by alternative metal trends of ?90s and 2000s. Turilli's specialty is ?70s/'80s-style fantasy metal with a strong progressive rock influence; bands like Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche and Savatage are primary influences, and he hasn't hesitated to incorporate elements of Rush, Yes and Genesis as well as European classical music. Turilli's fantasy-based lyrics--which thrive on dungeons-and-dragons imagery--are right out of the Jimmie Carter and Ronald Reagan years. Clearly, Turilli is a Gen-X-er with very Baby Boomer tastes--and he does all this without the least bit of irony. The guitarist comes across as someone who lives and breathes classic fantasy metal and progressive rock; his age puts him in metal's Ministry/Soundgarden/Monster Magnet demographic, but his rock tastes are pure Baby Boomer all the way.

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