A New Storm On The Horizon
Whether you love it or hate it, Joe Lynn Turner is out as the vocalist of Sunstorm after 5 albums. Frontiers Music President Serafino Perugino originally conceived the AOR project in 2006 to showcase the former Deep Purple/Rainbow front man’s ’80s style roots. Even with Turner gone from the project, Frontiers still saw value in the brand. Rather than let Sunstorm die off, in-house producer/songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio was brought on board to help recapture the AOR magic of the first album, that slowly started to fade with each future release.
Chilean-born singer Ronnie Romero was the label’s first and only choice to lead Sunstorm into its new era. Romero more than proved his vocal prowess when Ritchie Blackmore recruited him for his Rainbow revival in 2015. Romero also shines on his other Frontiers Music projects, Lords of Black and The Ferrymen.
This contributor had the chance to listen to an advance of the new Sunstorm album Afterlife [review]. Those that are quick to dismiss it because of the vocalist change are really missing out. If you give it a chance and listen with an open mind, you will realize that Afterlife is a powerful, melodic, and edgy AOR album. When you consider that Romero is known as a “Metal guy,” and he delivers just as well when he ‘softens up’, you’ll realize just how versatile of a talent Ronnie is.
I had the chance to speak with Ronnie Romero about his involvement in latest version of Sunstorm.
Highlights Include
Discussion of the new Sunstorm album Afterlife- Transitioning from Heavy Metal to AOR
- Working with producer/songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio
- Keeping the Sunstorm name after changing vocalists
- Dealing with social media criticism
- The future of Lords of Black, The Ferrymen, and Vanderberg
- Will there be a Ronnie Romero solo album
Sunstorm is
Ronnie Romero – Vocals
Simone Mularoni – Guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards
Nik Mazzucconi – Bass
Michele Sanna – Drums
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