Michael Romeo

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Michael James Romeo (born March 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Symphony X.

[edit] Early life

Michael Romeo's introduction to formal music training began with piano lessons at age 10. During this time he also took up the 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, but upgraded to an electric at age 12.

Influenced by Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC and Black Sabbath, 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.

[edit] Style

Romeo takes his influences from a wide range of sources including Randy Rhoads, Steve Vai, Marty Friedman, 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 Egyptian scale), non-standard rhythms, and time signatures. An element of jazz is also present in his music.

Although he has received coverage in many guitar magazines around the world, he is best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive power 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 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 sweep-tapping licks. 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.

[edit] Equipment

In the studio, Romeo mostly uses ESP M-II Custom guitars and Fender Stratocasters. In live performances, he is also known for using ESP M-II Custom guitars, but has recently taken advantage of a new custom model, Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom.

In terms of amplification in the studio he uses a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, but switches to the Line6 Vetta Head for live performances. Recent photographs that have been made available at Symphony X Official Website sees him also using other amplifiers from brands such as Marshall and Madison.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Romeo is also known as a devout Star Wars fan and has proven this with his performance of the Star Wars Suite on the Symphony X Rarities and Demos fanclub CD. He has also stated that his favorite Star Wars character is Darth Vader.

[edit] References

• Biography of Michael Romeo