Michael James Romeo (born March 6, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, founding member, and main songwriter of the progressive metal group Symphony X. He is one of two members to appear on every Symphony X release (the other being Michael Pinnella).
Romeo is known for his speed and precision on the guitar, having been praised for his "pyrotechnic displays" on the instrument.[1] He is also known for his unique style of tapping.[2]
Romeo was ranked #91 out of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World,[3] and has influenced a number of younger players, including DragonForce's Herman Li, who listed Romeo among his favorite guitarists in 2011.[4]
Upon hearing his first Kiss album, Romeo purchased a cheap acoustic guitar at a garage sale and began practicing.[5] He became serious about the guitar around the age of 12, after listening to the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman by Ozzy Osbourne, and would subsequently be heavily influenced by the neoclassical technique and style of Randy Rhoads.[5] In a 2022 interview with Sea of Tranquility, Romeo would recall practicing daily at that point in his life, by playing along to the Ozzy Osbourne albums and others.[7]
Romeo's first serious guitar was a white Kramer Pacer, and he has also used FenderStratocasters.[7] Romeo began his career with Symphony X using ESP M-II Deluxe guitars with EMG Active pickups, and later switching to the DiMarzio Tone Zone and X2N pickups.[9] In 2005, Romeo was introduced to Caparison by Henrik Danhage of Evergrey.[10] Caparison developed a custom model Dellinger Prominence-MJR,[11] which Romeo has since used as his primary guitar. The guitar was used to record the 2007 Symphony X album Paradise Lost, and all subsequent releases from the band.[12] Romeo has also played a Dellinger Prominence 7, which can be heard on War of the Worlds, Pt. 2.[7]
In the studio Romeo has used Mesa Boogie Triaxis amplifiers, before switching to the ENGL Fireball around the time of Symphony X's The Odyssey.[9] Romeo has continued to use ENGL's Fireball and Powerball amplifiers in the studio and for live performances.[13] Throughout his career, Romeo has also used various Line 6 and Marshall amplifiers.[13]
In terms of effects for live performances, Romeo pairs his various amplifiers with a TC Electronic "G System",[13] a Boss NS2 Noisegate, an IbanezTube Screamer and a Boss Acoustic Simulator.[14]
In 1995, Long Island Records of Germany released the self-titled debut Phantom's Opera album featuring Romeo on lead guitar, Colie Brice on vocals, Bob Nelson on drums, Eric Walz on bass, and founding member Jack Young on keyboard and piano.[15] The album was reissued with bonus tracks by Rewind in the US in 1999.[15]
In 1999, Romeo provided all guitar and bass parts on The Last Viking, the third studio album from Johansson brothers Jens and Anders.
In 2002, Romeo provided guitar parts for five songs from Kotipelto's Waiting for the Dawn. He would go on to provide guitar work on seven songs from their 2004 followup, Coldness.
In 2004, Romeo contributed guitar work for Vitalij Kuprij on his song "Piano Overture" from the album Forward and Beyond.[19]
In 2005, Romeo provided guitar, bass and orchestration for eight songs from Symphony X bandmate Russell Allen's solo debut, Atomic Soul. Romeo also recorded and served as engineer on the record. The same year, Romeo provided orchestration work on three songs of Steve Walsh's solo album Shadowman,[20] and on all songs from The Bronx Casket Co.'s Hellectric. Romeo would work with The Bronx Casket Co. again in 2011, providing lead guitar work on Antihero.
In 2009, Romeo composed and recorded orchestral parts for "The Discovery" and "Gaia (The Vultures)" on God Forbid's album Earthsblood. Symphony X bandmate Michael Pinnella also contributed to two songs on the release.
In 2013, Romeo recorded some solos and guitar work for the self-titled debut album of Michael Kaplan's progressive rock project Flaud Logic.[21][22] He also made a guest appearance on the new Pat Gesualdo album, Iceland.[23]
In 2014, Romeo engineered and provided drum programming and some guitar work for Symphony X bandmate Michael LePond's project Mike LePond's Silent Assassins. Romeo would provide the same for Pawn and Prophecy and Whore of Babylon, released by Mike LePond's Silent Assassins in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
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