THE DARK CHAPTER

Solo debut album by Michael Romeo and currently his only one, released back in 1994 along with Symphony X' first one. This one is entirely instrumental and deals with power/shred metal only with slight classical influences as well as being quite proggy. Except for the programmed drums and the keyboards on track 8 (which are played by SymX keyboardist Michael Pinnela), Michael Romeo plays all the instruments himself and shows not only that he is a great guitarist, but a steady keyboardist and bassist as well. The music is much in the style of the earlier SymX material only more shredding and less keyboards, but it's not bad, not at all.

This one is, in my opinion, much better than SymX's debut, considering it's better produced and more balanced. However, this is more for the power/shred metal or SymX fan than people who want Dream Theater or Fates Warning-ish stuff. But fans of Romeo should really get this one if they can find it! The overal album mood is pretty dark, so play it at night for the best effect.