Meet… Sergio Michel
Metal Guitarist Sergio Michel was born in Hoboken, grew up in Hudson County’s West New York and went to college in Paramus. Fresh off appearing at the seventh annual Metal Hall of Fame gala in January, performing two Dio-era Black Sabbath tracks with vocalist Mike Terelli (Riot), keyboardist Eric Ragno (London), bassist Becky Baldwin (Merciful Fate) and drummer Nick Mason (Pretty Boy Floyd), his histrionic over-the-top performance was reviewed by Metal Asylum as being a blueprint for “how you deliver cover tunes” (they “performed the hell out of these classics,” gushed journalist Jack Mangam).
Last year, he was asked to be part of the induction of Armored Saint into the Metal HOF. In February, he performed tracks from his 2021 Tropical Depression album at the Whiskey A Go Go in Hollywood. In 2022, he accompanied Graham Bonnet on a solo tour. Bonnet, 76, back in the day, sang and wrote for Rainbow and the Michael Schenker Group.
Michel’s current band includes a who’s who of metal names who drift in and out of his orbit including members of the bands of Yngwie Malmsteen, Billy Gibbons and Ross The Boss. One metal outlet, Uncivil Revolt, wrote “with Eddie Van Halen now gone, the question is who has the ability to carry the torch…I do not know if anyone can take his place, but I am sure there will be some who can come close like Sergio Michel.” Michel opened for Soulfly in 2020 where his sets were reviewed by Concert Hopper to be “insanely skillful…technically proficient…comparable to Steve Vai or Joe Satriani.”
You can check out Sergio’s website and see how he shredded in New Jersey recently at The Stanhope House in Sussex County here:
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