Ronnie Romero has shared the stage with guitar legends like Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker, and Adrian Vandenberg, but there is one iconic virtuoso he absolutely refuses to work with: Yngwie Malmsteen.
During a recent interview with Marko Syrjälä of Chaoszine, the singer was asked if he would seriously consider a collaboration should the Swedish guitarist ever reach out. Relying on the cautionary tales shared by his peers, the vocalist did not mince words.
“I wouldn’t think about it. I wouldn’t wanna do it because of all the stories I’ve heard from people I’ve worked with who have worked with him. I’ve worked with people like the Johansson brothers [Jens and Anders], Jeff Scott Soto and Mark Boals. I know all those guys, and they’ve told me some stories, and I was, like, ‘I don’t know…’ So, when somebody asks me, ‘What if Yngwie calls you?’ I would say, ‘No.’ I’d hang up the phone. But I would say that the way I discovered Yngwie was actually when [Swedish singer] Mats Levén was in the band. The first Yngwie album I heard was the [1998] live album Live!!, and Mats was singing on it. Then I heard Facing The Animal, which is one of my favorites, together with The Seventh Sign. So yeah, if that ever happened, I’d choose just one song — and that would be ‘Facing The Animal‘, for sure,” Ronnie explained.
The conversation then shifted to the news that Mats Levén is scheduled to perform the entire Facing The Animal record during a string of Japanese shows this May. Hearing this, the singer offered high praise for his fellow vocalist.
“Yeah, he told me that, and that’s fantastic. He’s a great singer. As I said in a post the other day, he’s one of my heroes. Together with David Coverdale and later Ian Gillan, he was one of the first singers who really blew me away. I was, like, ‘How can this guy sing like that?’ On that live recording, he’s just killing it.”
Ronnie Romero originally rose to international prominence when he made his live debut with Rainbow in June 2016, tapped by Ritchie Blackmore to front the resurrected act following his departure from Deep Purple. Since then, his impressive resume has expanded to include stints with the Michael Schenker Group, Lords Of Black, The Ferrymen, Elegant Weapons, Sunstorm, and Vandenberg.
Last year, the prolific frontman released his latest solo endeavor, Backbone, through Frontiers Music Srl. Produced by the singer himself and mixed and mastered by his guitarist Jose Rubio Jimenez, the album featured special appearances by former Europe guitarist Kee Marcello and celebrated songwriter Russ Ballard, who contributed the track “Hideaway“.
Backbone serves as the follow-up to his first solo album of original material, Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters, and a pair of well-received cover albums. His 2023 release, Raised On Heavy Radio, honored metal titans like Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Accept, and Metallica, boasting guest spots from Gus G., Chris Caffery, and Roland Grapow. Prior to that, his debut solo outing, Raised On Radio, saw him tackling classic rock anthems from Survivor, Bad Company, Foreigner, Queen, and Led Zeppelin all interpreted through his powerful signature style.
