To say that a vocalist whose career has been in the spotlight throughout the past decade has finally found their voice may be an odd statement to make. Yet, if they’ve worked with so many bands it’s hard to keep track, it may not be that odd. Ronnie Romero, one of the most active vocalists on the hard rock scene for the past few years, has been singing with legends such as Rainbow and Michael Schenker, as well as The Ferrymen, CoreLeoni, Sunstorm, Elegant Weapons and Intelligent Music Project (to name a few) and his main band Lords Of Black. His versatile talent makes it look like a piece of cake to adapt and melt into different vocal styles, but with so many collaborations underway there is also a risk of losing one’s own identity and gaining the reputation of a guest/tribute act.
As a step in the direction of asserting himself as an all-round musician, Ronnie released two albums in 2022-2023 with cover versions of famous rock and metal tracks. In 2023, his first solo album with original material came out, Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters, which felt like an exploratory project probing into what he is capable of (baby steps perhaps?). He is now ready to make a statement with his second solo album, Blackbone, a long coming evidence that Ronnie is not just a guest vocalist, but a fully fledged musician in his own right.
As someone following Ronnie’s career from the moment he got discovered by Ritchie Blackmore, who has had the honour and pleasure to interview him twice, it has been fascinating to watch this lovely, down-to-earth, almost shy, guy grow strong, bold, and gain a ‘proper’ celebrity status. He has come full circle and is now unquestionably putting his own stamp on rock history.
The style of this project is within the realms of classic hard rock, with strong Deep Purple and Rainbow sound, yet blending in his own take on things and his experience in creating original music with Lords Of Black, to make this a truly original piece of work.
This is an album that definitely grows on you, and the more you listen to it, the more perfect it sounds. It takes off in the beat we remember from ‘Holy Diver’, slow, powerful and steady, changing pace halfway and introducing some curvy riffs. The lyrics set the tone for the album: never refuse to fight and show backbone.
The shadow of Deep Purple is all over the album, strongly felt in ‘Bring The Rock’ (bringing in some Uriah Heep vibes that will later can also be heard in ‘Never Felt This Way’). Though the title track is powerful and carries a strong message, ‘Bring The Rock’ could also be singled out as perhaps the signature song of this project. The old-style Purple sound and catchy, yet epic, tune make this a track to play on repeat. Ronnie comes to tell us that rock is what makes you alive again. Who said rock’n’roll is dead??
The mood changes swiftly with a heartfelt epic ballad whose initial riffs may catch the attention of fans of Queensryche’s (with a reference, whether sought after or not, to their iconic “I Will Remember”). What follows is a beautiful melody making it clear that Romero, alongside his indisputable vocal skills, also holds a serious song-writing talent.
The lyrical mood changes into another dynamic rock track with clear Purple and Heep vibes, ‘Never Felt This Way’. Here is some good old rocking to be enjoyed here, like the one to be heard in ‘Lonely World’ with its strong Purple and Uriah Heep influence. The culmination of this are the last two tracks, with ‘Running Over’ oozing Purple epicness and deploying Yngwie Malmsteen-like guitar curves, while ‘Black Dog’ puts the nail in the coffin with its fast pace, as if to shout out: ‘Here! I can!’
Romero’s strongest point, however, seem to be songs that carry serious hit potential, with a fully developed composition and emotions flooding in with the heart-felt vocals: ‘Hideaway (Run)’, ‘Eternally’ (following the song making scheme perfected by his original band Lords Of Black, and direct reference to their track ‘All I Have Left)’. The latter also boasts a fantastic intro, and a delicious guitar melody underlying the entire track, which are some of Lords Of Black‘s signature moves.
A special mention goes to ‘Keep On Falling’, where some beautiful ballad elements (think Scorpions and, particularly, Deep Purple’s ‘Love Conquers All’) are mixed with Deep Purple’s rock beat.
There is simply no fault to be found in this release. Kudos, Ronnie!!
- Review by Angelina Pelova
● Backbone is released via Frontiers Music srl on 24th October 2025.
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Track List:
1. Backbone
2. Bring The Rock
3. Lost In Time
4. Never Felt This Way
5. Hideaway (Run)
6. Lonely World
7. Keep On Falling
8. Eternally
9. Running Over
10. Black Dog
