Heavy metal band Lords Of Black may have gotten Chilean vocalist/songwriter Ronnie Romero off the ground, but being handpicked by Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore to front a rebooted Rainbow catapulted him onto the world’s stage.

It’s a position he’s held alongside the “Smoke On The Water” soloist since 2015 and one that continues to open doors singing for fellow axe aces Adrian Vandenberg (formerly of Whitesnake) and Michael Schenker (ex-UFO and Scorpions).

As if all those opportunities, several other supergroups and side projects weren’t enough to keep this burgeoning star from seemingly never sleeping, he joined revered melodic rockers Sunstorm just in time for its sixth studio album, “Afterlife.”

Romero reached Chicago Concert Reviews with an insider’s perspective on that latest scorcher, becoming the go-to-guy for so many guitar gods and what it takes to juggle the entire head-banging enterprise.

How exactly did you connect with Sunstorm?

Ronnie Romero: Well, there are two ways to connect me with Sunstorm. First of all, I’m a huge fan of Sunstorm since the first [self-titled] album they did [in 2006]. It’s interesting and it’s funny at the same time how everything happens because there was a period of time during the lockdown when my fiancé and I we were listening to a lot of Sunstorm, actually, every day when we were cooking and that kind of thing. Then one day she told me, “you can make this kind of music because your vocals could sound really good in this melodic, hard rock music.” Then suddenly, I got a call from [record label founder] Serafino [Perugino] from Frontiers [laughs] to join the project at the same time, so it was really interesting how it happened. They were looking for a singer and they offered me the job. Obviously, I said, “yes” because I love Sunstorm.

What do you hope to bring to the group’s sound while keeping its history in mind?

Romero: It was a little bit difficult to handle how to approach the recording because, on one hand, you have all this previous Sunstorm history with one of the best melodic, hard rock singers, Joe Lynn Turner [also from Rainbow and Deep Purple]. You don’t want to disappoint Sunstorm fans with your performance, but on the other hand, you really want to sound different from the previous releases. But I think, as the title “Afterlife” says, this is a new, reborn [version] of the band. Even when we were trying to sound like the first record, which was a little bit more melodic [than] the other ones, I really want to put my own style on the music. I don’t want people to say that I’m just trying to copy the other singer, but to show a respect of what Joe did before…[Producer/songwriter/keyboardist] Alessandro [Del Vecchio] did a great job with the songwriting, so it was really easy for me to get the ideas and put my performance on the stories.

What does the “Afterlife” title mean to you personally?

Romero: This project came to my life in a specific period that [had] hard times because I was moving to another country, I was getting divorced and those kind of things. I can say there was a new beginning for me as well. I take it not just as a rebirth of the band, but myself, like I was trying to also make something different out of my comfort zone. People mostly know me because I’m a heavy metal singer, less melodic than other singers, and I was trying to prove that I can do something different.

Do you have plans to perform this material live or at least virtually?

Romero: Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that I liked the most when they offered me to record was a chance to go live with the band after the pandemic. We actually have some offers already on the table to join a couple festivals, so we’re gonna think about it. We’re gonna wait until things get back to normal and then we’re going to try to make it.

Have you ever performed in Chicago at any point thus far?

Romero: No, I’ve never been there. I did just one show in the States and it was in Atlanta. That was a ProgPower festival. I’m always waiting to go there with a proper tour cause I know it’s a huge country. You can play a lot of shows in a lot of cities and there’s a lot of history on the rock side. I’m really looking forward to have the chance to go there and to play with any project that I work with.

Most footage we’ve seen in America is of you fronting Rainbow. How did that occur?

Romero: At the time, I was playing in a Rainbow cover band in Spain and we became very successful. We were playing some festivals and some shows around the country. We put videos on YouTube and Ritchie was looking for a singer. It’s pretty similar to the story from Arnel Pineda and Journey. They were looking for a singer, they checked YouTube, they saw one of my videos playing a Rainbow song and they just called me.

What was it like when you joined compared to now after several years in this position?

Romero: At the beginning, it was a little bit difficult in the way that the Rainbow fans are really hardcore fans. I’m a Rainbow fan, so I can say the same for myself [laughs]. When the news about the first Rainbow shows in 2016 came out, obviously, the people were waiting for Joe Lynn Turner, Graham Bonnet or Doogie White. It was a little bit difficult to handle that an unknown musician was joining Rainbow to play with Ritchie Blackmore. There was a lot of criticism there was not any [other] starting members playing the shows, blah, blah, blah. But then when the people and the fans saw me playing live with Ritchie, everything changed and they accept me like a Rainbow member.

And as you say, if you think about it, I am the singer of the band that’s been there and spent more years than any other singer. It’s been six years playing with Rainbow, so I can say that I’m the proper Rainbow singer, you know? [laughs]. Yeah, now it’s cool. At the beginning, you need to know each other in the band to play the songs and how the dynamic is on the shows, mostly with Ritchie because Ritchie’s a force of nature. He’s always improvising everything and he’s always changing the set list. It’s really cool and exciting to play with him. Now we know each other really well. It’s really enjoyable to play the shows with Rainbow.

Are there any studio plans beyond the numerous singles and live recordings?

Romero: I’m not the right guy to answer that question because everything with Rainbow is about Ritchie Blackmore. He decides what to do all the time. I think it depends on the day. If he has a good day, he wants to play music. If he’s not in a good mood, he doesn’t want to meet anybody, so, you know, it’s like that. It always depends on what he wants to do. We were planning some shows before the lockdown, but everything stopped and now he’s focused with the Blackmore’s Night thing. No plans so far until, at least, we get back to normal.

You also became the singer for Vandenberg on the “2020” album. Tell us a bit about working with him and how that came about.

Romero: Yeah, it was super cool. Actually, he’s related with the Rainbow story because I met Adrian after the first tour I did with Rainbow. He just sent me a message because he was watching some videos on YouTube about the shows. He was curious about the Rainbow reunion and he just sent me a message like, “well done and congratulations. I wish you luck for the future.” We kept in contact, we were talking a lot and then one day he told me, “I’m writing new music. I want to bring this Vandenberg brand back to life and I think you are the perfect singer to do it.” It was really easy. There was a lot of chemistry. We just met, worked on the demos, and then two months after, I was recording the album in L.A. and that’s it. The people liked it a lot and it’s great music. It was an honor to play with Adrian.

Then there’s Michael Schenker Group and early 2021’s “Immortal.” What the story?

Romero: I have a good to do list, right? I met Michael’s producer, [Michael Voss], before. We were working together, and then one day he calls me to make a guest appearance on the previous album of Michael Schenker, [2019’s “Revelation”]. I did one song, [“We Are The Voice”], they liked it and then they invited me to sing that song on the tour. I was rehearsing with them, but the pandemic happened, they canceled the tour and started working on an album. Then Michael told me, “I want you to be on the album again, to play more songs than just one” and that’s it. He’s super cool. He’s a great guy and we have a good chemistry too. We’re the same kind of musician. We’re very methodic and hard workers, so it’s really easy to understand each other.

How do you feel about basically becoming rock’s all-around go to guy?

Romero: I feel grateful. That’s the only thing that I can say. Ten years ago, I was trying to make a life in Europe, not even related with the music industry. Then suddenly, I was playing with all my guitar heroes and heroes from music. I think I keep going like this because [I’m a] down to earth guy. In this music business, one day you’re on the top, and the day after, you’re just done with it. You need to handle it carefully, just do what you want and do what you love. In my case, it’s just to sing and try to make the people happy with your work… It’s cool this is your life. I feel lucky to have the chance to work in the thing that I love, which is the music, so it’s perfect.

Are we missing anything at the moment when it comes to your creative pursuits?

Romero: [Intelligent Music Project] just released the new album, [“The Creation”], at the beginning of March. It’s great because its progressive music with [drummer] Bobby Rondinelli from Rainbow [and Black Sabbath], [fellow drummer] Todd Sucherman from Styx, [bassist/vocalist] John Payne from Asia and [singer] Carl Sentence from Nazareth, so it’s kind of an all-star band with some Bulgarian musicians. Now we’re going to do a tour of the Balkans, mostly Bulgaria and Romania. Then we’re gonna play Greece.

There are a lot of plans with all the projects that I’m currently working on. We can say, for example, Lords Of Black just finished the second part of “Alchemy Of Souls,” which is gonna be released next year. Next week, I’m going to start to record the third album of The Ferrymen, which is a side project with Frontiers with [guitarist] Magnus Karlsson [Primal Fear, Free Fall] and [drummer] Mike Terrana [Rage, Axel Rudi Pell]. After that, we’re going to start to work on possible songs for another Sunstorm album for the next year.

This sounds like a full plate of projects. How in the world do you balance them all?

Romero: You just need to be organized. I know people most of the time think that I don’t even sleep [laughs], but no, it’s really easy if you’re organized. Normally for me, it takes a couple of weeks to go to the studio to record an album. Now since the pandemic, we’re not able to go on tour, so you have a lot of time to do a lot of things. Most of my time now is not doing music, but doing different things with my fiancé. We go to the mountains, get the bikes to get on the road or whatever.

You sing so many styles now with progressive, hard rock and metal. Does each require a special headspace or are they related enough to easily bounce around?

Romero: To me, it’s great, it’s really fun to do it…and it keeps your mindset really fresh. People ask, “are you thinking to make a solo album?” No, I don’t need to because I’m really happy with everything that I’m doing and my creativity is fulfilled. It’s not just this boring thing that you do every day. You work with a lot of different musicians and you learn a lot. You get a lot of experience working with different personalities, with different approaches, so it’s cool.

What’s the best lesson you learned during this entire path from obscurity to stardom?

Romero: I think to just be professional in your job. There is no time just to play and to pretend to be a rock star. Rock stars don’t exist anymore. Rock stars are the guys who play soccer, basketball or even the hip-hop musicians. Do your job, respect people you’re working with and respect the fans. That’s what I learned from Blackmore, that’s what I’ve learned from Michael Schenker, that’s what I learned from Vandenberg, so I think it’s the right way to do it [laughs].

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