Acclaimed hard rock and heavy metal vocalist Ronnie Romero has made it clear he would not be interested in a collaboration with guitar icon Yngwie Malmsteen if the opportunity ever arose.
In a new interview with Marko Syrjälä of Chaoszine, Romero—who has performed and recorded with some of rock’s most respected names—was asked whether he would seriously consider working with the legendary Swedish guitarist if approached.
Romero didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“I wouldn’t think about it. I wouldn’t wanna do it because of all the stories I’ve heard from people I’ve worked with who have worked with him,” Romero said. “I’ve worked with people like the Johansson brothers [Jens and Anders], Jeff Scott Soto and Mark Boals. I know all those guys, and they’ve told me some stories, and I was, like, ‘I don’t know…’ So, when somebody asks me, ‘What if Yngwie calls you?’ I would say, ‘No.’ I’d hang up the phone. But I would say that the way I discovered Yngwie was actually when [Swedish singer] Mats Levén was in the band. The first Yngwie album I heard was the [1998] live album Live!!, and Mats was singing on it. Then I heard Facing The Animal, which is one of my favorites, together with The Seventh Sign. So yeah, if that ever happened, I’d choose just one song — and that would be ‘Facing The Animal’, for sure.”
Romero also took a moment to praise Mats Levén after Syrjälä mentioned that the vocalist will be performing the Facing The Animal album in full during upcoming shows in Japan this May.
“Yeah, he told me that, and that’s fantastic. He’s a great singer,” Romero said. “As I said in a post the other day, he’s one of my heroes. Together with David Coverdale and later Ian Gillan, he was one of the first singers who really blew me away. I was, like, ‘How can this guy sing like that?’ On that live recording, he’s just killing it.”
Romero has built a reputation over the past decade as one of the most in-demand voices in modern hard rock, steadily carving out a career that bridges classic rock legacy and contemporary metal projects.
His breakthrough on the international stage came when he was chosen by Ritchie Blackmore to front the revived version of Rainbow, marking his live debut with the legendary group in 2016. That performance immediately put him on the radar of the wider rock and metal community.
Since then, Romero has expanded his résumé across multiple collaborations and touring projects, including stints with Michael Schenker Group, Lords of Black, The Ferrymen, Elegant Weapons, Sunstorm, and Vandenberg. His versatility has made him a go-to vocalist for both studio work and live performances, particularly in projects tied to classic hard rock and melodic metal traditions.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.