Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Interview By Alison Booth

The last few months have been quite a whirlwind for vocalist Ronnie Romero, following the announcement that he will be fronting the all new Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW, which has catapulted him rather sharply into the limelight.

Originally from Chile and now settled in Madrid, Spain, Ronnie formed his band LORDS OF BLACK with guitarist Tony Hernando following their meeting at a DIO Tribute show in 2013. Completing the line-up are Andy C. on drums and Javi Garcia on bass. The band released their debut album “Lords Of Black” in 2014 and are set to unleash their new album “II” worldwide on 18th March, via Frontiers Music Srl.

RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE fans were delighted last year to hear that guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore was returning to rock after a long absence, during that time preferring to concentrate on his folk band BLACKMORE’S NIGHT. The first two of the exclusive shows to be played in Germany in 2016 by a brand new Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW, were announced in October 2015, closely followed by the UK show announced early in November and the line up was revealed soon afterwards.

Now in Ronnie Romero‘s first ever published spoken interview conducted in English since being announced as RAINBOW‘s vocalist, we are delighted to present this exclusive for the fans who are interested to know more about Ronnie. He apologised for not knowing enough English, but as you will hear, Ronnie did a fine job!

We discussed how Ronnie felt about being given this prestigious role along with his thoughts on Ritchie Blackmore, the forthcoming shows, LORDS OF BLACK and more. A few excerpts from the chat can be read below and the full interview can be heard on the audio player:

On being given the role as RAINBOW vocalist, Ronnie stated:

“It’s fantastic and I’m very excited for this new adventure! It’s really a gift for me because I’m a really really big fan of Ritchie Blackmore, all his work. I’m really excited, it’s like a dream for me.”

Discussing working with Ritchie, Ronnie revealed:

“We had some jamming sessions and some new ideas for the songs. Ritchie is different from what the people think – it’s very easy because Ritchie is a very very nice guy and he’s a legend, he knew everything about rock and roll. So all you can do is learn about it, his history and the way he sees the scene. He always teaches me, he’s like a mentor for me.”

Ronnie told me his thoughts on the forthcoming shows:

“I have the support of my band mates in Lords Of Black and from all the team and crew of Rainbow. Not only Ritchie is a legend, but Jens Johansson is very experienced in the rock and heavy metal world. It’s like my ultimate dream, I’m very excited but it’s a huge responsibility too, ’cause all the people compare me to the other singers. I try to make justice to the songs, that’s it.”

Regarding his very early days, Ronnie told me:

“It was my father who was a big fan of Deep Purple. My first birthday gift wasn’t a toy, it was a Deep Purple album. It was a double tape called ‘Made In Japan’, so it was really my father who showed me the way to like rock and roll and heavy metal.”

As there has been so much comment that this new Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW can’t be like previous versions, I asked Ronnie for his opinion on this:

“I agree! [laughs] Each Rainbow album is different with different musicians, so this time it’s no different. We have the gift that we can play with Ritchie Blackmore and as I said before, we try to make justice from their legacy.

I really deeply love the singers of Rainbow, not only Dio – Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner I love and I really love Doogie White. These guys are legends of rock ‘n’ roll and I love all of them. I don’t know, Ritchie chose me and I only try to do my best.”

Regarding more to come from RAINBOW in the future, Ronnie said:

“Well I hope so. I really hope we’re not only seeing three shows, I hope to make some kind of history with Rainbow. But it’s up to Ritchie, I don’t know what to say, only Ritchie has the power to make these decisions.”

Check out the new LORDS OF BLACK song and video ‘Everything You’re Not’:

To find out more about Ronnie, visit his official Facebook page here. The official LORDS OF BLACK page can be found here and the official website at this location.

The official Ritchie Blackmore Facebook page can be found here and website here.