The past decade has seen Ronnie Romero go from virtually unknown to one of the most recognizable voices in classic metal and hard rock. He spent the better part of the early ’10s fronting various Spanish metal bands, before getting the call from none other than Ritchie Blackmore. And everyone knows, when Ritchie Blackmore calls, you answer. This led to a handful of euro festival dates fronting a rebooted version of Rainbow, but perhaps even more importantly, subsequent stints with Vandenberg, Michael Schenker Group, CoreLeoni, and more. To put it bluntly, he’s become the go-to voice for veteran metal/hard rock acts of yesteryear.
As enjoyable as these gigs are (or aren’t), at the end of the day, they’re simply that: gigs. Romero gets hired to sing and perform live for these bands/projects, before its on to the next one. While that definitely pays the bills, I also don’t blame Romero for wanting to branch out on his own. Frontiers is definitely the label to facilitate such a move. After 2 cover albums of AOR/hard rock songs (Raised on Radio) and classic metal songs respectively (Raised on Heavy Radio), it’s now time for Romero to cement himself in the metal arena as a proper solo artist with his original music debut, Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters.
While most certainly a solo exploration, fear not old schoolers. There’s nothing about Too Many that deviates off the course of what you’d come to expect from Romero musically. Matter of fact, in many ways this album comes off as what could possibly be if Romero and Blackmore ever collaborated on a proper Rainbow studio album in 2023, but I’m not holding my breath on that one. In the meantime, guitarist José Rubio does a phenomenal job accompanying Romero, laying down Blackmore flavored riffage and solos on Rainbow inspired cuts like “Mountain of Light”, “Not Just a Nightmare”, and the title track.
When they aren’t trying to “Catch the Rainbow”, Romero and his band run through the usual retro stylings expected from a release of this nature. Whether it be passionate Whitesnake derived blues rock “Crossroad”, neon lit ’80s AOR (“I’ve Been Losing You”), or high speed euro steel (“Vengeance”), Romero executes his vocals with force and fury, giving his fans a performance for the ages. There’s also no shortage of no frills, meat and potatoes metal anthems, my favorite of the bunch being the cryptic, Last in Line era Dio tinged “Chased by Shadows”. One could only imagine what would ensue if he ever united with Vivian Campbell for an album of this nature.
In true Frontiers fashion, Too Many appeases both sides of the aisle. It’s heavy and pummeling enough to appeal to the metal crowd, but hook-laden and accessible enough to appeal to the hard rock/AOR crowd. I guess that makes everyone a winner, especially Romero who can now officially add “solo artist” to his ever-growing resume. By the time this review comes out, I’m sure he’ll be singing for 3 other bands, but until then, I commend Romero and his disdain for lies and masters.
7 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
For fans of: Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Yngwie Malmsteen