Michael J. Romeo

Michael James Romeo is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group "Symphony X".

Michael Romeo's introduction to formal music training began with piano lessons when he was 10 years old. 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 and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, he became serious about the guitar after listening to the albums Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman by Ozzy Osbourne. He was also heavily influenced by the neoclassical technique and style of Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen and Uli Jon Roth. Romeo's own influence has rubbed off on younger players, including Dragonforce's Herman Li, who, in 2010 listed Romeo among his Top 10 favorite guitarists.

Since 2005, Romeo has taken advantage of a custom model, Caparison Dellinger-MJR, which he used to record the Symphony X album Paradise Lost.