Nitro reunited in 2016 with original guitarist Michael Angelo Batio, original vocalist Jim Gillette, bassist Victor Wooten (who came along in 2017) and Lamb Of God drummer Chris Adler. The group dropped a new song in 2017 and crowdfunded nearly $27,000 of their proposed $135,000 for a new album. In 2018, Batio announced on the IndieGoGo page his mother passed away and he didn't "have the energy for something as intense as Nitro at this time." Batio said the new material would be converted eventually into a solo album, that all the crowdfunded perks would be honored as he released his album, and that Nitro is on hold.
Jim Gillette is a 7 time Jiu Jitsu champion. I have known Jim for all of his adult life. We have had an incredibly close friendship since we first met. He won 2 of those championships just a few months ago.
In October of [2017] my 83 year old Mom broke her hip and recently passed away. It has been incredibly hard for me to focus on the music. Jim was there to help me through these difficult times.
I just don’t have the energy for something as intense as NITRO at this time. I discussed this with Jim and he has graciously agreed to this – we are putting NITRO on hold. Instead of a new NITRO album, I am going to record a new MAB solo record.
All of the Perks that you pledged for will be sent out – NITRO t shirts, the picks, lessons, the album vinyl copy, posters, being an Executive Producer, everything, 100%. The Perks we can send out and deliver to you right away – lessons, posters, etc… will start to be scheduled and shipped as early as next week.
We are hoping you will support this album like you would a new NITRO record.
If you have any questions, please e mail me at [email protected] and I will personally respond to you.
The new album will be released [in 2018], by Summer, for sure. I will put my heart and soul into this album like I did with all of my other 12 solo records. I will also have some amazing guest Artists on this new release, like I have done in the past.
Thanks again for your patience and support.
Michael Batio
Now in an interview with Shred Talks, Batio says Nitro is done.
“It’s gone. I’m best friends with Jim Gillette — we’re like brothers. We never had an argument, even back in the old days. Nitro didn’t break up [in the early 1990s] ’cause we got mad at each other. It was the grunge era. Young ‘hair metal’ bands, all of us, from L.A. were considered old-fashioned, and it was just timing. And then Jim went on to do fantastic in real estate, and I went on to continue my career. But we just can’t go back. I love Nitro, I love that time, and I’m proud of it, but after we did a few songs [with Adler], we did a tour together, we all realized… But I’m gonna be doing a solo record based on some of those songs. It’s coming out on Rat Pak Records later this year. It’s slated in the fall release schedule. And I’ve got a couple of songs with Chris on there and [bassist] Victor Wooten.”
So really, the news isn't too surprising given Batio and Gillette seemed to have come to consensus that the band would at least be on hold indefinitely a year ago and Batio would use the material they wrote. Still, what could've been had Nitro continued?
