NITRO (BAND)

'Nitro' was a Glam metal band formed by singer Jim Gillette and guitarist Michael Angelo Batio in Hollywood, California in 1987.

Contents

History

Line-Ups

Discography

Videos

External links

History

Nitro was formed in 1987 by singer Jim Gillette and guitarist Michael Angelo Batio in Hollywood, California. They recruited bassist T.J. Racer, drummer Vinne Saint James, and keyboard player Kevin Jachetta. They then recorded Jim Gillette's solo album called ''Proud To Be Loud''. After it was released Vinne Saint James and Kevin Jachetta left the band. They then changed their name to Nitro, and Vinnie was replaced by Vinnie Vincent Invasion drummer Bobby Rock. They were signed to Rampage (Rhino) after their first show, where Jim smashed 3 wine glasses with his voice. They recorded ''O.F.R.'' and released it in 1989, but when it was done Rock left and went to join Nelson, and was replaced by K.C. Comet, who was in the first two videos for "Freight Train" and "Long Way From Home", and was the drummer on the ''O.F.R.'' tour. T.J. and K.C. then left and were replaced by Ralph Carter and Johny Thunder. Nitro released ''H.W.D.W.S.'' in 1991 and made a video for their cover of Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever". Nitro broke up in 1992. Afterwards Jim Gillette married Lita Ford; Michael Angelo started a solo career as Michael Angelo Batio; and Jim and Michael released a Compilation in 1998 called ''Gunnin' for Glory''. Nitro fit into both the power metal and glam metal camps simultaneously, similar to fellow 80's shred band, Racer X. The bands also shared a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to music and image though Racer X had a little bit more of the neo-classical elements added on.
Nitro's first album "OFR" features the longest "scream" in metal history (done by Jim Gillette), in the song "Machine Gunn Eddie" that lasts for 32 seconds. The band themselves have stated repeatedly that no effects were used to enhance the scream.
Nitro were also groundbreaking for being the first non-extreme metal band (i.e death, thrash, or black metal) to incorporate "blast beats" into their music, (in moments on Machine Gunn Eddie and Fighting Mad respectively), on their album O.F.R.

Line-Ups

'Line-Up #1' (Proud To Be Loud period)


Jim Gillette - Vocals


Michael Angelo Batio - Guitar


T.J. Racer - Bass


Vinne Saint James - Drums


Kevin Jachetta - Keyboards




'Line-Up #2' (O.F.R. album)


Jim Gillette - Vocals


Michael Angelo Batio - Guitar


T.J. Racer - Bass


Bobby Rock - Drums




'Line-Up #3' (O.F.R. tour)


Jim Gillette - Vocals


Michael Angelo Batio - Guitar


T.J. Racer - Bass


K.C. Comet - Drums




'Line-Up #4' (Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S period)


Jim Gillette - Vocals


Michael Angelo Batio - Guitar/Keyboards


Ralph Carter - Bass


Johny Thunder - Drums




'Line-Up #5' (Gunnin' For Glory tracks)


Jim Gillette - Vocals


Michael Angelo Batio - Guitar/Bass


Paul Cammarata - Drums

Discography

★ ''Proud To Be Loud (1987)

★ ''O.F.R. (1989)

★ ''Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S.(1991)

★ ''Gunnin' for Glory (1998)

Videos

★ ''Freight Train''

★ ''Long Way From Home''

★ ''Cat Scratch Fever''

External links

★ Michael Angelo Batio's Website

★ Nitro O.F.R.

★ 70s, 80s, & Early 90s Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Music Videos: Nitro

★ Nitro: The Fastest, The Loudest, The Highest, The Best!

★ Re-U-Nitro

★ Metal-Archives: Nitro