On his second solo album, Symphony X guitarist MICHAEL ROMEO combines film music and prog metal

28. August 2018

Michael Romeo Symphony X

Auf seinem zweiten Soloalbum bringt Symphony-X-Gitarrist MICHAEL ROMEO Filmmusik und Progmetal zusammen

Actually, the time was ripe for a new Symphony X album. But last year, the progmetallers from New Jersey took time out. Almost all band members then jumped into other projects. In summer, Russell Allen's band Adrenaline Mob had a terrible touring bus accident in which two people died and Allen has not yet fully recovered from its consequences. For guitarist Michael Romeo there was inevitably a window of opportunity to try something new with "War Of The Worlds".

eclipsed: Michael, could"War Of The Worlds" also display the Symphony X logo?

Yes and no. Of course I can't deny my style, but due to the electronic elements and the strong focus on orchestral passages the album has a very own character.

eclipsed: Were there differences in songwriting?

Romeo: With Symphony X I have to keep the live situation in mind. Then simply not everything is possible. But I definitely had more space here. There are a lot more guitar parts. The guitars fit into the orchestra, for example when I add the violin runs double or all sorts of melody lines.

eclipsed: How strongly do you orient yourself in your lyrics to H.G. Wells' model "The War of the Worlds"?

Romeo: I knew from the beginning: Not every song should be about Martians, ray guns and flying saucers. "War of the Worlds" could also be the worlds of religions or the worlds of politics. Our planet currently offers enough explosives from these areas. But for me it's not a political album.

eclipsed: Musically, the song "Fucking Robots" with its electrical elements stands out above all.

Romeo: I became aware of the EDM/Dubstep genre through my children. I had never heard anything like it before, but I liked it, because I could already feel a good portion of hardness and aggressiveness. I wanted to throw these beats and sounds together with some guitars and an orchestra and see what happens. When the song was done, I thought to myself,"Man, that sounds like a bunch of transformers having sex.

Michael Romeo - F*cking Robots (War Of The Worlds Pt. 1) 2018

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