Michael Romeo

Michael Romeo
Romeo playing live in Novara, Italy in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Michael James Romeo
Born	March 6, 1968 (1968-03-06) (age 43) New York, NY U.S.
Genres	Progressive metal, power metal, symphonic metal Neo-classical metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, bass, keyboards, clarinet, programming
Years active	1994 - present
Associated acts	Symphony X Ayreon Redemption Kotipelto Steve Walsh
Notable instruments
Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom ESP M-II Deluxe

Michael James Romeo (born March 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Symphony X. Michael is one of two members to appear on every Symphony X release (the other being Michael Pinnella).

Romeo was ranked #91 out of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World.^[1]

Early life

Michael Romeo's introduction to formal music training began with piano lessons when he was 10 years old.^[2] 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 Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden,Deep Purple, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer,^[2] 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,^[2] Yngwie Malmsteen, and Uli Jon Roth. Romeo's own influence has rubbed off on younger players, including Dragonforce's Herman Li, who listed Romeo among his Top 10 favorite guitarists in 2010. [2]

Equipment

Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom
Manufacturer	Caparison Guitars
Period	2005–present
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on
Woods
Body	Mahogany
Neck	Hard Maple
Fretboard	Maple
Hardware
Bridge	Schaller S-FRT (Floyd Rose type)
Pickup(s)	2 Humbuckers Neck: DiMarzio Tone Zone Bridge: DiMarzio X2N
Colors available
White

Since 2005, Romeo has taken advantage of a new custom model, Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom, which he used to record the Symphony X album Paradise Lost. Throughout his career, Romeo has 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, he uses an Engl Fireball as well as a recently acquired Engl SE E670 that is used strictly for recording purposes. Live, Romeo makes use of both the Engl Fireball and Powerball models. Recent photographs that have been made available at Symphony X Official Website show him also using other amplifiers from brands such as Marshall and Madison. He has also been known to use a Mesa Triaxis and Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier for recording.

In terms of effects, Romeo pairs his various amplifiers with a TC Electronics G System and a Boss NS2 Noisegate.

Side projects

In 1994, he released a solo album entitled The Dark Chapter.

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 Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator, and on the song "E=MC²", from Ayreon's 2008 release, 01011001. Romeo also did the guitar work for Vitalij Kuprij on his "Piano Overture' song in his album Forward and Beyond. Romeo also played a guest solo on the Eidolon album The Parallel Otherworld on the song Arcturus #9. Romeo also did some orchestration work on 3 songs of Steve Walsh's solo album Shadowman.^[3]

References

1. ^ "Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 23 January 2004. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=18446. Retrieved 11 September 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Symphony X website [1], Michael Romeo tells the story of his influences and musical career.
3. ^ http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=2515

External links

• Biography of Michael Romeo

Persondata
Name	Romeo, Michael
Alternative names
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Date of birth	March 6, 1968
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