Michael Angelo
Hands Without Shadows

I'm sorry to be writing about this character again. Michael Angelo, or rather Michael Angelo Batio, is back to assault our ears with a new album.

It would be pointless to waste more words on him, his guitar technique, or his rather sterile musical proposal and lack of real content: we've already discussed this both in other reviews and in different contexts, and we've said so much that there's nothing more to affirm about him. But this time, he has exaggerated.

Yes, because in his "Hands Without Shadows," there are only two songs that are truly his. The other 6 are dull and mediocre variations of great rock songs, ranging from Deep Purple to Metallica. And I believe this is an assault on the history of rock music. I really don't understand the point of taking 6 rock classics and distorting them in such a way, denaturing riffs and melodies to cater to his technical flourishes. It starts with blaspheming against "Burn," a Deep Purple classic, and Angelo's inevitable solo outbursts begin.
I wonder why such a massacre, instead of striving to improve himself, he strives to degrade the gods of rock. Angelo continues with a piece that appears melancholic given the subject: a tribute to Randy Rhoads... and I believe the poor guy is turning in his grave, as it seems the piece is a medley of some tracks from the "Blizzard of Ozz" album by Ozzy Osbourne. Avoidable.

Angelo now continues insulting the Zeppelin: the track is titled "Zeppelin Forever". It begins softly, calmly, without any initial bragging. But don't worry, it will satisfy your ears still hungry for countless notes. Angelo first ventures into sweet solos, then fast ones, then takes a break to delve into acoustic atmospheres. But nothing changes: in over seven minutes, Angelo offers nothing but boredom and once again demonstrates his lack of substance as an artist. We arrive at his track: "Hands without shadows." Trite to the max. So strange that it ends up being really awful, but it fully respects Angelo's characteristics, the usual scales, the usual sweeps, the usual techniques, and the usual soulless speed.
The fourth massacre follows with a variation on the theme of "Wherever I May Roam," a successful and fairly beautiful song by Metallica. Angelo takes the vocal lines, plays a few fast notes (let's call it a few to not exaggerate) and that's it. I'm beginning to feel disgusted by this album and the total nausea arrives when he literally spits on almost 40 years of rock: redoing "Dream On" by Aerosmith in that way is truly a scandal. Leaving aside the horrible guitar sound, insulting that legendary track is really reckless and incompetent.

"Prey on, prey" is the classic Angelo track, a prelude to the last lash, which is "All Along the Watchtower," a cover of a Bob Dylan song. And I don't want to comment much more. Perhaps Angelo had good intentions... perhaps... but if he had ideas, why not use them for his albums instead of defiling in such an obscene way some gems of the last 50 years of musical history? I'm astonished.

If you don't want to get sick, stay away from Michael Angelo's music.