Michael Romeo of Symphony X performs on Day 2 of the Heavy Montreal Festival on August 10, 2014 in Montreal, Canada. (Image credit: Mark Horton/Getty Images)
Symphony X guitarist Michael Romeo has announced his first solo album, War of the Worlds, Pt. 1.
Recorded mostly at Romeo's home studio, the album features Rick Castellano on vocals, plus Black Label Society's John “JD” DeServio on bass and John Macaluso on drums. It is set for a July 27 release via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group.
“It’s me putting all the things I love about music in a blender,” Romeo said about the album in a press release. “Somebody might listen to it and say, ‘What is this guy thinking?’ But it's all about being creative and having a good time with it." You can hear the album's first single, "Black," below.
Inspired by the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, and film score giants Bernard Hermann and John Williams, War of the Worlds, Pt. 1 features everything from classic metal textures to, according to a press release, touches of EDM and dubstep. On top of all that, Romeo is also preparing a second War of the Worlds album.
“Most of Part II is already finished,” Romeo said. “It just needs a few vocals, a couple solos, a few tweaks here and there. I want people to absorb the first one for a while, and then we’ll put out the second record. They’ll complement each other, but they’ll also be a bit different.”
You can preorder War of the Worlds, Pt. 1 right here, and check out its tracklist below.
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