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Michael Angelo Batio
Batio in 2010
Background information
Also known as	Mike Batio, MAB
Born	(1956-06-12)June 12, 1956 (age 69) Chicago,Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Instrumental rock neoclassical metal heavy metal glam metal speed metal progressive metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, producer, columnist, guitar teacher
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1984–present
Labels	M.A.C.E.
Member of	Manowar
Formerly of	Nitro
Website	michaelangelobatio.com

Michael Angelo Batio (/ˈbeɪtioʊ/BAY-tee-oh; born June 12, 1956^[1]), also known asMichael Angelo,Mike Batio orMAB, is an Americanheavy metal guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for theglam metal bandNitro in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is currently the permanent guitarist for the bandManowar.

He is best known for playingheavy metal and its subgenres such asneoclassical metal andspeed metal.

Batio was born and raised inChicago,Illinois, to an Italian father and a German mother.^[2] He started playing the piano and composing music at the age of five, and first played guitar at the age of ten. By twelve he was playing in bands in youth clubs, churches, and shows, playing for 10–12 hours on the weekends.^[3] He started listening to and watching professionals and sitting down and trying to work out riffs and tunes.^[3]

He attendedNortheastern Illinois University and achieved aBachelor of Arts degree inMusic Theory andComposition. After he had graduated, Batio looked to become asession guitarist in his hometown. When he asked for a job at a nearby studio, he was given a piece of music and simply asked to play it. He managed to play it adding his own improvisations and fills, making him the studio's primary call-out guitarist.^[4]

Batio began his recording career in 1984 when he joined new Chicago-basedheavy metal band Holland, an eponymous project set up by ex-Steppenwolf singer Tommy Holland. With major labelAtlantic Records, the band released their debut studio album in 1985 entitledLittle Monsters, which saw moderate success in the United States. The band split up soon after, and a compilation of material from theLittle Monsters sessions,Wake Up the Neighborhood, was released in 1999 through Batio's labelM.A.C.E. Music.

In 1987, after the breakup of Holland, Batio joinedglam metal artistJim Gillette on his solo album "Proud to Be Loud", before founding the bandNitro with bassist T.J. Racer and drummer Bobby Rock. In 1989 Nitro released their first studio album,O.F.R., from which they released two singles, "Freight Train" and "Long Way From Home". The music video for "Freight Train", which received much airplay onMTV, was notable for featuring Batio playing his now famous 'Quad Guitar', a notion whichFHM magazine voted one of the "50 most outrageous moments in rock history".^[5]

In April 1993, Batio founded his own record label,M.A.C.E. Music, which became one of the first labels online in 1996.^[6] He used this label when he began recording his first album,No Boundaries, which he released in 1995. Batio's second studio release wasPlanet Gemini in 1997, which showed a very progressive, experimental side to his playing. In 1999, Batio released his second instructional video,Jam With Angelo, which came with his third studio album as a companion CD:Tradition. This was quickly followed by a fourth full-length album in 2000,Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity, which was credited to "Mike Batio and Rob Ross", the latter being the drummer.

In 2001, Batio released a CD with his band "C4," covering songs from his Holland years and including the original "Call to Arms." It was his 1st all vocal CD since recording with Nitro. Batio and C4 were featured on "Rock My Ass",^[7] a TV show self-described as "Chicago's live music venue from your couch". This was not Batio's first appearance on the show, having also appeared in 1999 with a band called No Remorse.^[8]

In 2004, Batio released a compilation album,Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity Part 2.

In 2005, Batio releasedHands Without Shadows, which featured guest appearances from such musicians asMark Tremonti,Rudy Sarzo andBill Peck.

On September 2, 2022, Manowar announced that Batio will join the band for their 2023 world tour.^[9]

In 1991, Batio's guitar work appeared in the low budget horror filmShock 'Em Dead.^[10]

Batio was voted the "No. 1 Fastest Guitar Shredder of All Time" byGuitar One Magazine in 2003.^[11][12]

He isambidextrous.^[13]

Batio has an extensive collection of around 170 guitars,^[14] which he has accumulated since the 1980s. Among his instruments are a Dave Bunker "Touch guitar" (double neck with both bass and guitar, similar to theChapman Stick), a near mint-condition 2014 Fender Squire Stratocaster, a 1986Fender Stratocaster 1962 re-issue and several other vintage and custom-built guitars. Among his custom-made guitars is a 29-fret guitar made of military-gradealuminum, which makes the guitar very light. For live performances Batio is an exclusive user ofDean Guitars, both electric and acoustic.^[15] In 2007 he designed and developed a signature guitar with Dean, known as theMAB1 Armor Flame.^[16]

Earlier in his career when he was first endorsed by Dean guitars he also embraced Dean's tradition of popularizing Dimarzio pickups and had used Dimarzios in his guitars. These include the Dimarzio PAF, Super Distortion (sometimes using the Super Distortion both in the neck and bridge position, as he did in his Gibson Charvel Circuit Board double guitar. This was the main setup during the recording ofNo Boundaries). Batio has also used pickups of other brands includingSeymour Duncan, namely the Pearly Gates and JB models and alsoBill Lawrence pickups. Currently other than using EMGs in his signature guitar he also has a collection of the other brand pickups in his Dean limited edition collectors' models, such as Dimarzio Custom Super Distortions (based on the Super 2 and Super Distortion) in his USA Dean Time capsule Blue Burst ML and the Seymour Duncan pair he used (refer to above) in his USA Dean Collectors edition Hardtail.^[17]

Batio plays a Double Guitar, a V-shaped, twin-neck guitar which can be played both right- and left-handed. The first version of this instrument was actually two separate guitars simply played together, as opposed to being one entity. AFlying V was fastened to asnare drum in a left-handed position, while another one was strapped around his shoulder. The next version of the guitar, as designed by Batio and guitar technician Kenny Breit, featured a flight case latch attached to the back of each guitar, which could reportedly be assembled in five seconds. By far his most famous and definitely his most photographed double guitar is his USA Dean Mach 7 Jet Double Guitar along with its custom Anvil flight case.^[18] One of his inspirations for the radical design was jazz saxophonistRahsaan Roland Kirk, who was known for playing two or three instruments simultaneously. Batio saw Kirk in concert during his teens, and said the jazz musician "blew his mind."^[19]

When the Double Guitar was first used in concert, Batio noticed that the guitars created a lot of feedback when played together. He decided that he needed to invent a way to dampen the strings when both guitars were played at the same time, hence the invention of the "MAB String Dampener", which is now available to buy from M.A.C.E. Music.^[20]

The Double Guitar was named as the 8th "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazineGigwise.^[21]

As well as the Double Guitar, Michael Angelo also invented and designed the Quad Guitar.^[22] The guitar was originally built in conjunction withGibson, and built by Wayne Charvel inCalifornia. The top two guitars have seven strings, while the bottom two have the regular six. The first Quad, as used in the video for Nitro's "Freight Train", was stolen inEl Paso, Texas, after the second show of Nitro'sO.F.R. tour. When Batio was performing in November 2004, a young fan named Simon Jones and his father turned up with a guitar case which held inside the two top guitars of the Quad, as found by Mick Seymour. Dean designed and hadMike Lipe build a new Quad Guitar in 2008.

The Quad Guitar was recently named as the second-"coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazineGigwise.^[23]

Some of the mentioned guitars appears onRob Scallon'svideo with Michael Angelo Batio on his Youtube Channel.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMichael Angelo Batio.

• American heavy metal guitarists
• Living people
• Nitro (band) members
• Northeastern Illinois University alumni
• American lead guitarists
• American people of Italian descent
• American people of German descent
• American music educators
• Guitarists from Chicago
• 20th-century American guitarists
• Shout (band) members
• Educators from Illinois
• 21st-century American guitarists
• 1956 births
• Electric guitarists

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