Chris Impellitteri

" Chris Impellitteri "




Chris Impellitteri (born 1964 in Connecticut) is a guitarist. According to Guitar One Magazine, he is the second greatest shredder in the world. [1]
His influences range from rockers such as Eddie Van Halen, Uli Jon Roth and Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen to fusion players like Al Di Meola.
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 "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on lead guitar.

In American English Impellitteri is almost a synonym for "greatly skilled guitar player." The man has earned the utmost respect among the greatest shred guitar players in the world, and became famous in the neo-classical metal scene.
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 (singer), Chuck Wright (bass), Phil Wolfe (keyboards), and Pat Torpey (drums) 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 1992, Rob Rock, Chris and Chuck Wright resurrected Impellitteri with drummer Ken Mary, they recorded Grin and Bear It with vocalists Michael Shotton and Mike Smith. This album also wasn't a great success because it was a bit too experimental at the time. Wright and Mary left the band immediately, so Impellitteri continued with bassist James Amelio Pulli and drummer Mark Bisteny. In 1994 they recorded Victim of the System with guest appearances from former band members like Claude Schnell. The music was finally developing its own identity yet seemed like a better version of their first production.
In 1995 Ken Mary returned and Bistany had to leave in his favor. They recorded Answer to the Master and this album finally became the great success they had yearned for so long. At this time the band got reinforcement from keyboard player Edward Harris Roth and Glen Sobel.
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.

Michael Angelo

" Michael Angelo "

The Double-Guitar, Dean Double modelRitz Quad GuitarB.C. Rich Double Ironbird, Dean Mach V, various Ritz models, WRC 'Double'

Michael Angelo Batio (pronounced /ˈbætioʊ/) is an American instrumental/heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He attended Northeastern Illinois University and received a bachelor's degree in music theory and composition. Guitar One Magazine named him the fastest guitar player of all time.

Batio began his recording career in the band Holland with vocalist Tommy Holland. Their Atlantic Records album, Little Monsters, met with moderate success in the mid-1980s. He later joined Jim Gillette on Gillette's solo album, Proud to Be Loud. The two metal stars, as well as bassist T.J. Racer and drummer Bobby Rock went on to found the metal band Nitro, releasing two albums. Nitro also filmed a music video for their song Freight Train among others which received air time on MTV.
Batio has been playing guitar since the age of ten, and could play faster than his teacher within two years. He plays as a right-handed person even though he is left-handed. He has stated at guitar clinics that he is ambidextrous teaching himself to play two guitars at the same time — either in synchronized or separate harmonies. He also invented and successfully played the very first 'quad' guitar. However, the instrument was stolen during a Nitro show in El Paso, Texas, and only two of the four parts required for its assembly have ever been recovered. It is because of this that he has not played the quad guitar in many years. However, Dean Guitars recently finished production on a new quad guitar for Batio. [2] The Double Guitar [3] is another of his innovations, which he commonly uses live, but never in studio recordings. Another innovation of his is a type of string dampener (specifically "The MAB String Dampener"), a guitar accessory attachable behind the nut of the guitar and flipped into active position during performance. The string dampener eliminates unnecessary buzz and noise from the guitar's strings, allowing the player to easily use legato techniques and finger-tapping techniques without any unwanted sounds. He is also noted for his "MAB Over-Under technique", which he invented, where he flips his hand over and under the neck, approaching the strings from above, then below, instead of from under the neck like other guitar players.
He has also had a long-term relationship with Dean Guitars, promoting their equipment and leading Dean-sponsored guitar clinics around the world to teach his techniques. Batio has released two popular instructional DVDs, entitled Speed Lives and Speed Kills. The other one was intended to teach fellow guitarists how to play his pieces of music. Furthermore, he is releasing a DVD featuring his Double Guitar Solo, which can now be seen on the Dean Guitars website[4]. It features tribute covers of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze and Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train, with Batio's full backing band.
Batio mentions on his official website ,"I am left handed so my right or "picking" hand was overall, the weakest part of my playing. I worked for 2 years in my early teens to master alternate picking while later working on tapping. Basically, anything and everything I could to strengthen my right hand. I started out being a purely legato player. You would never know that now. I concentrated on my 2 weakest areas- Alternate picking and tapping and perfected those. I am a firm believer in working on something you are deficient in. Once you master a technique that gives you "trouble", other areas of your playing improve dramatically."
Batio taught guitarist Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame) while Batio was attending college. Tom has credited MAB with teaching him in a feature article in Guitar World Magazine in 2005.
Batio currently writes "Time To Burn," a monthly column for Guitar World Magazine.
Batio has a Dean signature 6 string model tentatively due for release in Winter 2008 and has released a signature overdrive pedal from T-Rex of Denmark seen here.