Lords of Black is a Spanish power metal band formed in Madrid in 2014 by guitarist Tony Hernando and singer Ronnie Romero.
History
Founding, early career
Tony Hernando founded, Lords Of Black with Ronnie Romero. They were joined in the project by drummer Andy Cobos who was previously in Saratoga with Hernando and they begin writing and recording their debut album with Tony Hernando and Roland Grapow acting as producers. Their debut, self-titled album, Lords of Black, was released in May 2014. The band received record label attention after Ritchie Blackmore announced that Romero would be fronting the revival of Rainbow. Lords of Black signed with Frontiers Records, with whom they released their new album, Lords of Black II
The debut album of the band, self-titled, has twelve songs and an instrumental introduction. The album was co-produced by band's guitarist and founder Tony Hernando and Roland Grapow, the latter also responsible for mixing and mastering in his Grapow Studios in Slovakia.
''II'' (2016)
In early 2016, the band signed a contract with the Italian label Frontiers Records under which they released their second albumII. Once again, Tony Hernando and Roland Grapow acted as producers and mixing and mastering were done by Roland Grapow at Grapow Studios in Slovakia. "II" featured a combination of classic rock and heavy metal with progressive elements. Guitarist Tony Hernando commented that their live shows had influenced the direction they took in writing the album. The band was able to tour non stop for more than a year, opening for other artists such Axel Rudi Pell in September 2016. Lords Of Black closed 2016 with their first show in Japan at Loud Park Festival and another European Tour as headliners of "Merciless Over Europe Tour" in fall of 2016, with intentions to begin writing and producing a follow up album afterwards.
''Icons Of The New Days'' (2018)
While continuing touring in support of the album "II" and making their first appearances at larger festivals such as Wacken or Prog Power USA, the band was writing and recording demos for the third album. The recordings took over a year to conclude and the album, entitled "Icons Of The New Days" was released on May 11, 2018 with "Icons Of The New Days" and "World Gone Mad" as singles. "Icons Of The New Days" was released in multiple formats. However, the band played only two shows, opening for Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest and no official Tour in support of the album followed. After a few months with almost no public exposure, Ronnie Romero announced his departure from the band on January 4, 2019. On February 13, 2019, Diego Valdez was announced to be replacement for Romero. The band started pre-production for a new album and announced a live performance at "Leyendas del Rock" Festival. The band appeared with Diego Valdez but utilized Dino Jelusic as lead singer for most of the show, along with a temporary drummer. Months followed with very little activity of the band on the social media, until the band an upcoming album along with a video teaser titled "Alchemy Of Souls Pt.I", set for a 2020 release date. On May 11, 2020, Lords of Black announced the return of Ronnie Romero and the conclusion of the production of follow up album "Alchemy of Souls". Later Jo Nunez, who recorded the drums on the album, was announced as the replacement for Cobos.
