Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio, the Chicago-based ambidextrous virtuoso of heavy metal guitar, has earned acclaim for his exceptionally rapid playing methods as well as his own inventions, most notably the double guitar that appears throughout his recordings and live performances. He has also built a reputation as a guitar educator, issuing multiple instructional videos that illustrate his approach, and magazines including Guitar World and Total Guitar regularly rank him among the all-time greatest shredders. After launching his career in the 1980s as guitarist for the metal band Holland and later achieving wider notice in Nitro, Batio went solo and established his own imprint, M.A.C.E. Music, in 1993; his subsequent output has been dominated by instrumental albums such as 1995’s No Boundaries, alongside occasional vocal releases like the 2009 covers collection Hands Without Shadows, Vol. 2: Voices.

He first took up the guitar in childhood and soon developed an unusually swift picking technique. Following his graduation from Northeastern Illinois University with a degree in music theory and composition, he worked as a session musician, supplying music for various restaurant chains, airlines, and sports teams. His recording career began in earnest when he joined ex-Steppenwolf vocalist Tommy Holland’s heavy metal outfit Holland in 1984; Atlantic Records issued the band’s only album, Little Monsters, in 1985, after which the group dissolved. Batio next formed the Michael Angelo Band, though it never issued any material, and he released his debut instructional video in 1987 as part of Star Licks Productions’ Master Series.

In 1987 he co-founded the glam metal band Nitro with singer Jim Gillette, bassist T.J. Racer, and drummer Bobby Rock; their debut album, O.F.R., appeared on Rampage Records in 1989, and the video for the single “Freight Train” showcased Batio on the quad guitar he had also invented. A revised Nitro lineup featuring Gillette and Batio alongside Johnny Thunder and Ralph Carter delivered H.W.D.W.S. (Hot, Wet, Drippin’ with Sweat) in 1992 before the group split. Batio launched his independent label M.A.C.E. Music in 1993 and inaugurated his solo career two years later with the instrumental album No Boundaries. Planet Gemini followed in 1997, while 1999 brought Tradition, packaged with his second instructional video, Jam with Angelo; the 2000 release Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity was co-credited to drummer Rob Ross.

Batio introduced the Speed Kills instructional DVD series in 2003 and issued the compilation Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity, Pt. 2 the following year. The 2005 studio album Hands Without Shadows contained covers of Deep Purple, Metallica, and Aerosmith, tributes to Randy Rhoads and Led Zeppelin, and guest contributions from members of Creed and Whitesnake. A corresponding Hands Without Shadows DVD series began in 2006, the same year Speed Kills 2 appeared. The 2007 album 2 X Again presented remixed versions of tracks from his first two solo releases, accompanied by three additional DVDs that year. Hands Without Shadows, Vol. 2: Voices, a vocal-oriented set, arrived in 2009 with further tributes to Eric Clapton, Dimebag Darrell, Van Halen, and others; the instrumental Intermezzo followed in 2013, and the career-spanning Shred Force 1 (The Essential MAB) was released on Rat Pak Records in 2015.

Soul in Sight, the debut album by Batio’s band Black Hornets, surfaced in 2016. Later that year Nitro reunited, adding Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler to Gillette and Batio; the group commenced recording with producer Kane Churko and bassist Victor Wooten. The single “It Won’t Die” emerged in 2017, and the band played live dates with Matt DeVries on bass before Batio announced Nitro’s second disbandment in 2019. Material from the group’s unfinished third album was incorporated into Batio’s 2020 solo release, More Machine Than Man.