Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio (born June 12, 1956 ), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist.

Among his instruments are a Dave Bunker "Touch guitar" (double neck with both bass and guitar, similar to the Chapman Stick), a mint-condition 1968 Fender Mustang, a 1986 Fender 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-grade aluminum, which makes the guitar very light.

For live performances Batio is an exclusive user of Dean Guitars, both electric and acoustic.

He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band Nitro in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

He is currently serving as the touring guitarist for the band Manowar.

He is best known for playing heavy metal and its subgenres such as neoclassical metal and speed metal.

Batio was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, to an Italian father and a German mother.

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.

He started listening to and watching professionals and sitting down and trying to work out riffs and tunes.

He attended Northeastern Illinois University and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition.

After he had graduated, Batio looked to become a session 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.

Batio has an extensive collection of around 170 guitars, which he has accumulated since the 1980s.

Batio began his recording career in 1984 when he joined new Chicago-based heavy metal band Holland, an eponymous project set up by ex-Steppenwolf singer Tommy Holland.

With major label Atlantic Records, the band released their debut studio album in 1985 entitled Little Monsters, which saw moderate success in the United States.

In 1987, after the breakup of Holland, Batio joined glam metal artist Jim Gillette on his solo album "Proud to Be Loud", before founding the band Nitro 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 on MTV, was notable for featuring Batio playing his now famous 'Quad Guitar', a notion which FHM magazine voted one of the "50 most outrageous moments in rock history".

In 1991, Batio's guitar work appeared in the low budget horror film Shock 'Em Dead.

In April 1993, Batio founded his own record label, M.A.C.E. Music, which became one of the first labels online in 1996.

He used this label when he began recording his first album, No Boundaries, which he released in 1995.

Batio's second studio release was Planet Gemini in 1997, which showed a very progressive, experimental side to his playing.

The band split up soon after, and a compilation of material from the Little Monsters sessions, Wake Up the Neighborhood, was released in 1999 through Batio's label M.A.C.E. Music.

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 not Batio's first appearance on the show, having also appeared in 1999 with a band called No Remorse.

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", a TV show self-described as "Chicago's live music venue from your couch".

Batio was voted the "No. 1 Fastest Guitar Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003.

He is ambidextrous.

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

In 2005, Batio released Hands Without Shadows, which featured guest appearances from such musicians as Mark Tremonti, Rudy Sarzo and Bill Peck.

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

In 2007 he designed and developed a signature guitar with Dean, known as the MAB1 Armor Flame.

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 of No Boundaries).