Everything about Michael Romeo totally explained
Michael James Romeo (born
March 6,
1968) is an
American guitarist and a founding member of the
progressive metal group
Symphony X.
Early life
Michael Romeo's introduction to formal music training began with
piano lessons at a young age. He also played
clarinet. However, it wasn't until after hearing his first
KISS album that he seriously considered switching to the
guitar. He ended up purchasing a cheap
acoustic guitar at a garage sale.
Influenced by
Led Zeppelin,
Rush,
AC/DC,
Black Sabbath,
Iron Maiden, and
Emerson Lake & Palmer, he became serious about the guitar after listening to the albums
Blizzard of Ozz and
Diary of a Madman from
Ozzy Osbourne. He was also heavily influenced by the neoclassical technique and style of
Randy Rhoads. At this time, he began classical guitar lessons.
Romeo currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, Christina Romeo, and his children.
Style
Romeo takes his influences from a wide range of sources including
Randy Rhoads,
Yngwie Malmsteen,
Shawn Lane,
Al Di Meola,
Uli Jon Roth,
J.S. Bach,
Mozart,
John Williams and
Frank Zappa, although he draws most heavily from a
neo-classical style reminiscent of
Yngwie Malmsteen. Despite this, Michael manages to maintain an identifiable signature that sets him apart from other players in this genre by fusing exotic
scales and
arpeggios (such as the
half-diminished,
whole tone and
Mohammedan scale), non-standard
rhythms, and
time signatures.
Although he's received coverage in many guitar magazines around the world, he's best known for his role as lead guitarist in the
progressive metal band Symphony X which he founded in
1994 after a request by Zero Corporation, a Japanese record label who were impressed by his demo tape. This would eventually become his first and only solo album
The Dark Chapter.
A technical player, Romeo is most famous for lightning-fast
alternate picking,
sweep picking and
tapping though he also uses the economy picking technique, despite the fact that his style relies more on a softer
legato attack and his trademark tapped string-skipping arpeggios. He is regarded as not only an exceptional
soloist, but also for his complex
rhythm guitar parts that make heavy use of
artificial harmonics. These playing techniques have been demonstrated on the instructional guitar video, The Guitar Chapter, viewed
here.
Equipment
Since 2005, Romeo has taken advantage of a new custom model,
Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom, which he used to record
Symphony X last album,
Paradise Lost. Throughout his career,Michael has also also used
ESP M-II Deluxe guitars with EMG Active pickups and
Fender Stratocasters to perform and record other albums from the band.
In terms of amplification in the studio, Michael uses an
Engl Fireball as well as a recently acquired
Engl SE E670 that's used strictly for recording purposes. Live, Michael uses both the
Engl Fireball and Powerball models. Recent photographs that have been made available at
Symphony X Official Website show Michael also using other
amplifiers from brands such as
Marshall and Madison. He has also been known to use a Mesa Triaxis for recording.
In terms of effects, Michael pairs his various amplifiers with a TC Electronics G System and a Boss NS2 Noisegate.
Side Projects
As a guest musician for
Ayreon, Romeo has played guitar solos on the song Dawn of a Million Souls (featuring lead vocals by
Russell Allen), from Ayreon's 2000 album, and on the song E=MC², from Ayreon's 2008 release,
01011001.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Michael Romeo'.
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