Tag Archives: randy rhoads

Is Randy Rhoads The Best Metal Guitarist Ever?

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By Andrew Catania

Rhоаdѕ wаѕ реrfесt аnd рrесіѕе іn еvеrу nоtе but did ѕо wіth a grеаt dерth оf fееlіng. Nоt оnlу соuld hе рlау thе muѕіс, but hе соuld wrіtе іt аlѕо. Evеn thоugh hе dіеd аt 25 аnd оnlу mаdе fоur rесоrdѕ (twо thаt аrе wеll knоwn) Randy Rhоаdѕ іѕ соnѕіdеrеd a guіtаr gоd аnd іѕ ѕееn аѕ thе bеѕt mеtаl guіtаrіѕt еvеr. Nоw іѕ thаt juѕtіfіеd?

Rаndу Rhоаdѕ’ саrееr wаѕ fаr tоо ѕhоrt, hе dіеd іn a рlаnе ассіdеnt іn 1982, аt thе аgе оf 25 – but hіѕ рrесіѕе, аrсhіtесturаl, hуреrѕрееd ѕоlоѕ оn Ozzу Oѕbоurnе’ѕ “Crаzу Trаіn” аnd “Mr. Crоwlеу” hеlреd ѕеt thе tеmрlаtе fоr mеtаl-guіtаr ѕоlоіng for уеаrѕ to fоllоw. “I рrасtісеd еіght hоurѕ a dау bесаuѕе оf hіm,” Tоm Mоrеllо hаѕ ѕаіd, саllіng Rhоаdѕ thе grеаtеѕt hаrd-rосk/hеаvу-mеtаl guіtаr рlауеr оf аll tіmе. Rhоаdѕ hаd со-fоundеd Quіеt Rіоt аѕ a tееnаgеr, аnd jоіnеd Ozzу’ѕ Blіzzаrd оf Ozz bаnd іn 1979 аftеr a fеw уеаrѕ оf wоrkіng аѕ a guіtаr tеасhеr; ассоrdіng tо lеgеnd, Rhoads wоuld соntіnuе tо tаkе guіtаr lеѕѕоnѕ hіmѕеlf іn dіffеrеnt сіtіеѕ whеn hе wаѕ оn tоur wіth Ozzу. Bу thе tіmе hе rесоrdеd hіѕ fіnаl аlbum, Ozzу’ѕ Dіаrу оf a Mаdmаn, Rhоаdѕ wаѕ gеttіng dеереr іntо сlаѕѕісаl muѕіс, аnd еvеn еxрlоrіng jаzz. Hе wаѕ rеасhіng dеер іntо hіmѕеlf аѕ a guitar рlауеr, Nіkkі Sіxx of Mötlеу Crüе ѕаіd. Thаt wаѕ rеаllу thе nеxt ѕtер rіght thеrе.

Rаndу Rhоаdѕ lеаrnt сlаѕѕісаl guіtаr аnd аррlіеd іt tо hіѕ рlауіng оn thе twо Ozzу Oѕbоurnе albums (Blіzzаrd Of Ozz аnd Dіаrу Of A Mаdmаn) thеѕе twо аlbumѕ ѕhоwеd whаt he соuld dо аnd hіѕ fuѕіоn оf a сlаѕѕісаl ѕtуlе аnd mеtаl wоrkеd wеll аѕ hе соuld ѕhrеd аѕ wеll аѕ рlау vеrу mеlоdіс hаrmоnіеѕ аѕ саn bе hеаrd оn thе twо Ozzу аlbumѕ оn trасkѕ lіkе Crаzу Trаіn аnd Mr. Crоwlеу.

Arоund thіѕ tіmе, Rhоаdѕ rеmаrkеd tо Oѕbоurnе, bаndmаtеѕ Aldrіdgе аnd Sаrzо, аnd frіеnd Kеllу Gаrnі thаt hе wаѕ соnѕіdеrіng lеаvіng rосk fоr a fеw уеаrѕ tо еаrn a dеgrее іn сlаѕѕісаl guіtаr аt UCLA. In thе dосumеntаrу ‘’Dоn’t Blаmе Mе’’, Oѕbоurnе confirmed Rhоаdѕ’ dеѕіrе tо еаrn thе dеgrее аnd ѕtаtеd thаt hаd hе lіvеd, hе dіd nоt bеlіеvе Rhоаdѕ wоuld hаvе ѕtауеd іn hіѕ bаnd. Frіеnd аnd еx-Quіеt Rіоt bassist Gаrnі hаѕ ѕресulаtеd іn іntеrvіеwѕ thаt іf Rhоаdѕ hаd соntіnuеd tо рlау rосk, hе mіght hаvе gоnе thе rоutе оf mоrе kеуbоаrd-drіvеn rосk, whісh hаd bесоmе рорulаr thrоugh thе 1980ѕ. It was аt this tіmе thаt Rhоаdѕ wаѕ bеgіnnіng tо rесеіvе rесоgnіtіоn fоr hіѕ рlауіng. Juѕt bеfоrе hіѕ dеаth Jасkѕоn Guіtаrѕ сrеаtеd a ѕіgnаturе mоdеl, thе Jасkѕоn Rаndу Rhоаdѕ (thоugh Rhоаdѕ hаd оrіgіnаllу саllеd hіѕ whіtе ріnѕtrіреd V “thе Cоnсоrdе”). Rhоаdѕ rесеіvеd оnе рrоtоtуре a blасk оffѕеt V hаrdtаіl thаt іѕ thе bаѕіѕ fоr tоdау’ѕ RR lіnе оf Jасkѕоn guіtаrѕ but dіеd bеfоrе thе guіtаr wеnt іntо рrоduсtіоn. Rhоаdѕ аlѕо rесеіvеd thе Best Nеw Tаlеnt аwаrd frоm Guіtаr Plауеr mаgаzіnе. Whіlе оn tоur wіth Oѕbоurnе, Rhoads wоuld ѕееk оut сlаѕѕісаl guіtаr tutоrѕ fоr lеѕѕоnѕ whеnеvеr роѕѕіblе.

Quiet Riot Set To Release Road Rage On August 4th

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By Andrew Catania

Frankie Banali is back reinventing the wheel one more time with ‘Road Rage.’ Quiet Riot has a new singer in James Durbin.  ‘Road Rage‘ was rerecorded with James Durbin after Frankie Banali decided with Durbin’s vocals, it would sound more authentic.

Banali’s actions to slowly kill the band’s name and reputation overshadows ‘Road Rage’s’ decent production.

Perhaps Banali should’ve changed the name of the band.  If a group should ride off into the sunset, It’s Quiet Riot.  Randy Rhoads and Kevin Dubrow would be rolling in their graves the way Banali is making a mockery of a band that had these two legends as members.

Charvel Unveils New Jake E Lee And Warren Demartini Signature Model Guitars

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Charvel continues its long-held partnerships with Warren DeMartini and Jake E Lee with the upcoming release of brand-new signature models. The Warren DeMartini USA Signature Frenchie and the Jake E Lee USA Signature Blue Burst will be unveiled this week at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Tenn., and available to consumers in October 2017.

Warren DeMartini USA Signature Frenchie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fans have long clamored for a replica of Warren DeMartini’s famed and beloved “Frenchie” guitar, as seen live on tour and on a slew of magazine covers throughout Ratt’s reign in the 1980s. Charvel has responded with the Warren DeMartini USA Signature Frenchie, available in a Snow White and a Gloss Black finish. Both are detailed with cross decals and a tribute quote to James Dean in French that translates “too fast to live, too young to die.”

The Frenchie also offers premium features such as a Dinky™ alder body, one-piece bolt-on quartersawn maple neck and a 12″- 16″ compound radius maple fingerboard with 22 jumbo stainless steel frets and black dot inlays.

Custom-made for the legendary lead guitarist, the Seymour Duncan® Warren DeMartini RTM (“Rattus Tonus Maximus”) bridge pickup is a powerful high-output humbucker that naturally compresses for a well-balanced and even tone, perfect for complex chording and precision soloing. The RTM is boosted by an SSL-4 Quarter Pound neck pickup, adding fat, supercharged punch, and extra sustain.

The Frenchie also features a single volume control knob, three-way toggle switching, a Floyd Rose Original locking bridge and Gotoh® tuning machines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jake E Lee USA Signature Blue Burst

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jake E Lee’s original Blue Burst guitar gained notoriety during his stint with Ozzy Osbourne, as he recorded and performed live with the famous instrument throughout the band’s pivotal Bark at the Moon and Ultimate Sin years. Charvel® has recreated an unmistakable replica of Lee’s original model down to the very last detail.

The Jake E Lee USA Signature Blue Burst features a poplar body, one-piece bolt-on quartersawn maple neck and a 12” radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and white dot inlays.

Equipped with a versatile customized Seymour Duncan® JB Alnico II humbucking bridge pickup, this model can handle a diverse range of tones from sweet and warm to aggressive and distorted. It’s also supercharged with two powerful single-coil DiMarzio® SDS-1 pickups in the middle and neck for extra gain with a deeper, darker tone. The pickups are controlled with a five-way blade switch and single volume knob.

Available in a mesmerizing Blue Burst, this signature axe also features a brass Charvel hardtail bridge and output jack plate, and black Gotoh® tuning machines.

Crowdfunding Campaign Launched For Randy Rhoads Museum And Musonia School Of Music Restoration

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 A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to help the Musonia School of Music that was founded by Delores Rhoads in 1948.

Musonia School of Music was founded by Delores Rhoads in 1948, as a place where children and adults in the local community could receive music education at an affordable price. Run today by Delores’ son Kelle Rhoads, Musonia continues to teach local students of all ages piano, drums, and guitar.

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Randy Rhoads, the iconic guitarist of Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot, was the son of Delores Rhoads. He learned how to play guitar at Musonia. After his passing, Musonia now serves a dual role as a music school and the Randy Rhoads museum.

In order for Musonia to continue operating, it needs some small but urgent restoration work. The exterior of the school needs to be repainted to prevent decay of the wood. The guitar room and bathroom also need to be repainted, with some deep cleaning as well.

Most excitingly, the second half of the grand salon, which has previously been closed to tours, will be reopened and cleaned. This space will become the official Randy Rhoads museum. The Randy Rhoads artifacts and memorabilia would now have a dedicated and secure space in the building, preserving them for future generations.

Although the amount for this campaign is $2,000, Musonia actually needs up to $20,000 to restore the surfaces and infrastructure of the building. We are offering some exciting rewards in this campaign to supporters of the school and fans of Randy Rhoads, and we hope that you’ll help us reach our goal.

We hope you’ll consider becoming part of the mission to restore the Musonia school and create a museum for Randy Rhoads fans of the future.

The major challenge in this project is going to be painting and cleaning the school, while still protecting and storing the precious pieces of the Randy Rhoads museum.

The upright pianos and instruments from the second half of the grand salon (currently storage area) will need be moved out to the rear of the school.

The funding from Kickstarter will be used to fund the restoration, such as repainting the ceiling of the lobby and grand salon, and the exterior of the school, which is estimated at $8000. We will need every dollar that can be provided from Kickstarter to get Musonia back into a condition where it can attract new students and visitors in the 21st century.

Paul Gilbert And His Legacy

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By Andrew Catania

A former member of ‘Racer X,’ and the co-founder of ‘Mr. Big’, Paul Gilbert has much more to his stake his claim, that eventually saw him rank 4th, in the Guitar One Magazine’s list of the Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time. He has also made into the Guitar World Magazines, the list of the 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Times.

Paul Gilbert is a prominent, and sound name in the music sphere, specifically in the rock and heavy metal genre. His penchant for veering off from the conventional techniques, trying improvisations and his natural curiosity to experiment outside the prevalent, and well-grounded trends, compels him to test his expertise in a variety of genres.

Having a firm knowledge of the tactics, techniques, and intricacies of a variety of instruments, such as bass, keyboard, harmonica, and percussion, Paul Gilbert eventually settled to play the guitar. His techniques are finely calculated, intricate, have great depth, and utmost attention to detail. It is this precision of his shredding style, that makes even the loudest of tones fall smoothly onto the eardrum, and makes one experience ultimate musical ecstasy.

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Paul Gilbert’s playing style is unique and unbelievably complexed to be true. His one mere shred occurs with such force that few can match. Playing on fretboards, similar to those used by his contemporaries, his exceptional command over the chords sets him a class apart from the rest.

Lightning fast, dense, dynamic and fluctuating with aesthetic and carefully-handled nuances, Paul Gilbert has enchanted millions of rock, and metal enthusiasts worldwide, through his vibrant and addictive tones. His technique is neat and has a ferocious frequency which is squeezed out at an overwhelming speed. Besides that, his immense control over the length, the graduation of tones, and prolonged picking without taking an anchor or bridge is a worthy testament to his incredible and extraordinary skills. No wonder he is ranked among Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Rusty Cooley and other legendary names that have redefined the rock and heavy metal genre.

Paul Gilbert’s signature style has evolved through his self-taught, and experimental approach. He mentions the work of notable legendaries including Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Tony Iommi, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kim Mitchell, Steve Clark, Akira Takasaki, Jimmy Page, Robin Trower, and much more as his inspiration. Being a keen observer and a quick learner, he attempted to learn, and master each’s technique, and improvised to include a fusion of his own. It is because of this, that he’s equally famous among the fandoms of other heavy metal legends, as his style reflects a flavor of his prime influences while maintaining its signature essence, and uniqueness.

While he’s ranked at an unparalleled stature among other heavy metal virtuosos, Paul Gilbert, experiments and composes his music in a variety of genres, including pop, metal, rock, funk, and blues. The speed, versatility, efficiency, timeliness, and seamless control visibly rule over all genres that he plays. His fusion of fast picking, combined with legato, and his precise-to-perfect staccato-picking, is a powerful depiction of his nonpareil excellence and is a sure-tell sign that the milestones he has set in the heavy metal genre, will demand a lot from his predecessors to come close to matching his legacy.

Mr. Big’s new record, Defying Gravity, will be released on July 7th, 2017 via Frontiers Records.

The Talent of John Petrucci

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By Andrew Catania

An excellent lyricist, proficient producer, virtuosic composer, and a master when it comes to playing the chords, John Petrucci is the present age music sensation who is progressively making his way to becoming an institution in his entirety. Primarily known for his co-founding association with Dream Theater, John Petrucci has established a sound fandom over time. Acclaimed by critics and loved by music enthusiasts, John Petrucci is also an inspiration for budding musicians who are magnetically drawn towards his dense, intricate and soulful tones that he so smoothly manages to squeeze out of the chords.

John Petrucci emerged as a promising name on the music scene of the 1980s. Ever since his debut, the maestro has made a significant contribution to the progressive metal genre. John’s professional career is a long journey that is punctuated with constant learning, consistent efforts, and well-crafted improvisations, in pursuit of the musical mastery that he enjoys today. John’s alternate picking is his master forte and is considered as one of the best in the world. Of course, it was not that he mastered the feat overnight and it cost him a considerable amount of time and efforts as well as a ‘strong sense of synchronization between both playing hands’, as he himself states.

Aside from his signature alternate picking, John has also redefined the typical tight rhythm guitar playing. Rhythmic playing is often taken for granted as the most basic and easiest of all playing techniques. However, Petrucci’s style of tight rhythm playing is a smooth rhythmic string that is heavily punctuated with countless intricately infused riffs and nuances that cumulate their melodic essence and fall on the eardrums as a harmonic rhythmic beat.

John Petrucci is also characterized by his use of a variety of instruments, especially his signature seven-stringed guitar that provides him an extended chord to incorporate extension in his riffs and rhythms, as seen in his solos. His heavy riffing is attributed is as one-of-its-kind and the way he fuses this signature shreds with the delicately audacious solo playing techniques. While even the most eminent of his contemporaries establish the seventh string in the lowest pitch frequency with repeated riffing, John utilizes the extended string to uplift the tone and add another dab of creativity and improvisation to the flow of tone. Jon’s primary influences include music luminaries such as Steve Morse, David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson, Steve Vai, Randy Rhoads and Yngwie Malmsteen and his sound knowledge of the individual techniques of his influences is often reflected in his tones.

John Petrucci has tested his fingers on a variety of instruments, including different versions of Music Man, Ibanez, and Acoustic Guitars. He has had a loyal, long-term association with Mesa Boogie Amplifiers has barely changed his original pedal board except for the overdrive pedals. John Petrucci currently plays his signature Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Signature Model and Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty. Jon Petrucci also endorses a number of brands such as Music Man’s signature guitars, Dunlop’s signature guitar picks, and TC Electronics signature fix pedal.

Remembering the Icon Randy Rhoads

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By Andrew Catania

In this world, there are certain personalities that leave their mark in the hearts and lives of others around them. To such personalities doing what makes them happy and good is what matters the most. Such people are not bound by time or place to be liked or loved by others. Some, although, left this world to remain alive in someone’s heart and soul.

There’s such a person who, though, not being among us anymore remains inside us forever. That person is named Randy Rhoads a famous and talented guitarist of all times.

Randall William or commonly known as Randy Rhoads was born on December 6th, 1956. He was a famous heavy metal guitarist. Randy Rhoads is the one who integrated his own heavy metal style with his classical music influences. Although, having short career tenure, Randy Rhoads played a very vital role in neoclassical metal. Apart from this, he was also considered a great influence by many other guitarists, and made on many lists of “Greatest Guitarist”

Randall William, Randy Rhoads, was born in Santa Monica, California. He was the youngest of his two other siblings: a brother named Doug and a sister named Kathy. His brother Doug is also a musician, but he performed under the name Kelle. Rhoads parents, Delores and William, both were music teachers.

When Randy Rhoads was 1 ½, his father had left the family, and Rhoads mother had to take care of all the kids. Delores, Rhoads mother, afterward opened her own music school in 1949 called Musonia. She had opened this school in North Hollywood to support her family financially. Rhodes’s mother had a bachelor’s degree specializing in music; apart from this she also played the piano on a professional level as well.

In 1979, attempting to establish a new band, ex-Black Sabbath vocalist, Ozzy Osbourne came to Los Angeles. Rhoads was contacted by Dana Strum, future Slaughter bassist if he was interested in the offer. Rhoads discussed this offer with his mother to come to a decision, and when his mother asked him if he would accept an offer like this one; his answer was a yes. Rhoads received a call for his auditions, just before he was going to perform in his final show with Quiet Riot in September 1979.

The day before Osbourne’s departure back to England, Rhoads walked right into the hotel room of the vocalist along with his Gibson Les Paul guitar and a practice amp and started to warm up. Osbourne who was feeling quite inebriated that day just listened to Rhoads and immediately gave him the job. Rhoads, Osbourne, Strum and Drummer Frankie Banali spent their couple of days jamming together before Osbourne left back to England.

When Osbourne went back to England, he met and was introduced to ex-Rainbow bassist, Bob Daisley, by Jet Records employee named Arthur Sharpe while in a pub. There he told Daisley that he had met with a talented young man who was a good guitarist. On November 27th, 1979, Rhoads flew to England and met with Osbourne and Daisley at the Jet Records’ Office.

On March 18th, 1982, Rhodes played his last show and was dead on March 19th of 1982 because of his plane crash. To this day, Randy Rhoads is still considered one of the best guitarists of all time.  He left this world but also left a mark in this world.

Check out the New All That Shreds Podcasts!

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By Andrew Catania

 

I’m pleased to announce that All That Shreds now is doing podcasts!  We’ll be playing some kickass music and awesome interviews!  Check us out, follow us and spread the word!  Shred on!

https://www.spreaker.com/user/allthatshreds

Megadeth’s Kiko Loureiro Shredding Across the Globe

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By Andrew Catania

Born on 16th June 1972 in the mesmerizing Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil, Kiko Loureiro is not a new name for the music enthusiast, specifically among the heavy metal aficionados who consider him as an ultimate legend, the ace master of the genre!

Kiko Loureiro has emerged as the present age music sensation due to his heavy metal guitar mastery as his signature forte. Kiko’s professional career incepted at a time when guitar playing was overshadowed in the midst of new, refined, and state-of-art musical instruments.

While the music industry was heavily directed towards improvisations and inventions in instruments and playing techniques, Kiko Loureiro opted to stick to the conventional patterns of guitar playing, something which eventually turned out to be quite a unique feat at that time. The prime motivation behind this decision was the bygone era of rock and roll legends that has always inspired the young Kiko Loureiro ever since his childhood.

Kiko Loureiro started practicing his fingers on a basic acoustic guitar at the tender age of 11, having learned the skills and tactics of Brazil’s legendary musicians, Mozart Mello and Pedro Bueno, and being immensely inspired by maestros such as Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Helen, and Jimi Hendrix.

Having mastered the intricacies of the electric guitar by then, Kiko Loureiro had started gaining prominence in the music spheres. Impressed by his brilliance and the depth of his skills, Kiko Loureiro was welcomed as a core member in ‘The Legalize’ and ‘A Chave’, 2 eminent bands of their time. This is how he kick-started his professional career.

Doing a good job by tackling all opportunities that came his way, Kiko Loureiro progressed, learned, and polished his skills along the way. By the time he turned 19 years of age, he had paired up with Rafael Bittencourt, Andre Linhares, Fabio Lione, Bruno Valverde and Felipe Andreoli at Angra’s platform. He has released 8 studio albums, 5 EPs, and 3 live CDs till date.

Aside from his band associations, Kiko Loureiro also focused on strengthening his personal mastery in the heavy metal genre. His extensive knowledge of the basic intricacies and his penchant to improvise and infuse his own flavor in the music he squeezed out of his instrument led him to produce a number of his own solo records which has resulted in him building an impressive personal portfolio over time.

His solo numbers include ‘No Gravity (2005)’, ‘Universo Inverso (2006)’, ‘Fullblast (2009)’, and ‘Sounds of Innocence (2012)’. Besides that, he has also imparted his personal learning and music knowledge through a number of tutorials, playing lessons, and instructional videos from 1993 until 2010.

A polyglot, being fluent in English, Spanish, French and Finnish, Kiko Loureiro paired up with Dave Rogers to play for his Eurobeat songs. Furthermore, at the platforms of Tribuzy, Tarja, Neural Code and Paco Ventura Black Moon, he has played for an extensive variety of records, EPS, and live jamming sessions.

The news of Kiko Loureiro joining hands with acclaimed American metal band Megadeth came as a great surprise for the music enthusiasts, with Kiko Loureiro replaced Chris Broderick Megadeth. After taking Kiko Loureiro on board on 2nd April 2015, they released their album Dystopia in 2016, one that has received immense applause from the critics and the audience alike.

Follow Kiko @ http://www.kikoloureiro.com

The Passionate Playing of Symphony X’s Michael Romeo

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By Andrew Catania

Michael Romeo is an American guitarist, who was born in New York City on the 6th of March, 1968. He is a musician and songwriter who is known as one of the founding members of the progressive metal group Symphony X. He has been composing and writing music ever since 1994 until now. His music genres include power metal, progressive metal, neoclassical metal and symphonic metal. He was ranked as the 91st out of 100 best heavy metal guitarists of all time.

Michael Romeo fell in love with music as a child. This is why he was encouraged to take piano lessons at the age of 10. He began to play the clarinet as well. It was when he listened to a music album by the band “Kiss” that he decided to take matters into a different turn. He decided to buy a guitar and ended up buying a cheap guitar at a garage sale.

As a young aspiring musician, Michael Romeo was heavily influenced by the musical style of bands like Kiss and Rush. He liked their style and they had a great effect on the music he made later on. He also got influenced by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and progressive rock groups like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

His love for the guitar became a real passion for listening to  Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Ozz. He was also deeply touched by the unique and neoclassical style of Ritchie Blackmore, Randy Rhoads, and Uli Jon Roth.

His work was also influenced by many famous classical composers including Ludwig Van Beethoven, Igor Stravinsky, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach. Their music style and technique is quite obvious in the progressive music he composed later on.

In 1992 Michael Romeo recorded a demo tape that he sent around to various production companies but he didn’t face any luck until a Japanese record label expressed their interest in the tape and asked for further material. Zero, the Japanese label decided to produce Romeo’s album in 1994. Romeo teamed up with a keyboardist called Michael Pinnella to work on the album and together they decided to form the band Symphony X. This album was called the “The Dark Chapter”, an entirely instrumental album. The track titles referred to works by the American poet Edgar Allan Poe, like the “The Masque of The Red Death” and “The Premature Burial”. The album cover even featured a raven in reference to a poem by the famous poet of the same title. 9 of the 10 tracks included were composed by Michael Romeo himself.

The band was originally founded by Michael Romeo and Michael Pinnella in 1994. Today it includes drummer Jason Rullo, bassist Michael Lepond, and lead vocalist Russell Allen. After “The Dark Chapter” became quite popular especially in Japan, Romeo recruited bassist Thomas Miller and vocalist Rod Tyler along with drummer Jason Rullo. They recorded an album to bear the name of the band which was again produced by the Japanese label “Zero”. It was released at the end of the same year. After that album, the lead vocalist left the band and was replaced by the current vocalist Allen. The band produced their third album “The Damnation Game” 6 months later.

Symphony X became popular in metal circles after producing their album “The Divine Wings of Tragedy”. The album took some extra time in preparation with recording beginning in 1996 until it was finally produced in 1997. This album allowed Symphony X to become a success in Europe and at the same time their popularity in Japan kept on growing.

The band recorded “Twilight in the Olympus” in 1998 with a replacement drummer when Rullo had to step away for a while and this gave the band the opportunity to have their first live show in the same year which took place in Japan. It was soon followed by a world tour and the bassist left to be replaced by Michael Lepond.

The band released its fifth album in 2000 with the major progressive music label InsideOut Music, which was their first concept album dealing with the myth of Atlantis. The band then recorded their first live album after a tour in Europe and South America. 2 years later the band released an album called “The Odyssey” and was followed by “Paradise Lost”. The last album had darker musical themes and included a special DVD footage of the band throughout their history. In 2007 the band also released their first music video. Paradise lost was followed by another album called “Iconoclast” that describes the way machines are taking over everything in our lives. It was produced in 2011.

Michael Romeo appeared as a guest guitarist for other bands like Ayreon and Flaud Logic. He still managed to work on a new album with Symphony X in 2014. The album was titled “Underworld” and was finally released in 2015. The first single was released in May 2015 while the second followed in June 2015 and was made available for digital download.