I think the discussion is his playing, not his politics. I'm sure we don't know the political views of all the musicians we chose to listen to.
I don't even really consider myself a fan of his, but I was a young player when he arrived on the scene and his impact has been unrivaled since.
He's the guy that defined shred...period. Anyone playing that type of music has been influenced by him in one way or another whether they know it or not.
He took electric guitar to another level.
Jealousy breeds criticism...he has lots of critics. I think any shred player becomes repetitive...that's why I prefer them in a band situation as opposed to these ego stroking solo efforts.
If you don't like shreddy, over the top stuff...listen to his work with Alcatrazz...No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll...IMO the finest example of tasteful, yet jaw dropping guitar, executed with feeling, finesse, great phrasing and dynamics. His first solo effort too...Rising Force...is an absolute classic...many of the songs there have become shred standards such as Black Star and Far Beyond the Sun. And we're talking '81-'83...no one had seen anything like him.
Taken from the SymX website: Michael Romeo quote...
Then there was the 'Alcatrazz' album with Yngwie Malmsteen. To me, he had a classical influence similar to Rhoads, the style and vibrato like Uli Roth and the speed and articulation of DiMeola. That first 'Rising Force' album was another big influence on me. Although I was familiar with some classical music ( Bach, Beethoven and Mozart ) due to my piano playing, Rhoads and Malmsteen led me to investigate applying classical music to the guitar in a rock/metal context.