Intermezzo Question...

[joe]

With the large amount of guest guitarists on the album, all bringing a great amount of impressive solos, did they make you play a bit harder, to try and be the best on the tracks (in particular 8 Pillars of Steel, Juggernaut and Overload) or did you feel more laid back and allow everyone to shine through on their own solos?

[Michael Angelo Batio]

I just wanted to do the absolute best I could. I only felt pressure to be the best MAB I could be. For example, on "8 Pillars," even though Rusty and my solos sound completely different, we are both virtually playing the exact same speed on the single note runs. I played along with Rusty's solo several times to get a feel for his speed before I recorded mine. Jeff Loomis played an amazing solo as well with a lot of sweep arp's. "8 Pillars' is the song where I played the most arp's as well. I wanted each guest Artist to be the best they could be. All of them performed brilliantly. Because I have so many different lead variations on "Intermezzo" the pressure for me was to play solos that worked well with everyone else. One other example is right before Guthrie Govan's solo starts on the song "5 Four Ever" I ended a short solo interlude by playing in the style of Guthrie. He is known for being able to do that with many other guitarists and styles, so I paid tribute to Guthrie by doing the same. I loved recording "Intermezzo" and am 100% happy with the final record. Thanks!

[joe]

Oh thats cool :-) I love 8 Pillars of Steel, the melodies are great and the lead is so fast. Was it hard trying to work your style in with theirs? How about for Overload and Juggernaut as there are quite a few solos on there, how did you approach them? Thanks :-)

[Erikrt123]

I can't wait to hear this new CD! Sounds like it is amazing Just have to wait for the after effects of Christmas to wear off, lol!