Angel Vivaldi (born June 13, 1985) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He began his solo career in 2003. Vivaldi has self-released five records, ''Revelations'', ''The Speed of Dark, Universal Language, Away with Words: Part 1'', and ''Synapse''. In 2015, he released a cover of

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...

's "Crystal Planet" single. Vivaldi is known for his

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

guitar playing style and cinematic music videos.

Early life

Born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

to a Puerto Rican family, Vivaldi grew up on

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

freestyle music Freestyle, or Latin freestyleKlanten, Robert (1995). ''Die Gestalten Verlag: Localizer 1.0''. Die-Gestalten-Verlag. . Quote: "The other unavoidable influence n NYC hard housewas latin freestyle. A blend of hip hop, synth pop and salsa, latin fr ...

and Spanish music. He started playing guitar at 15 and is self-taught. He cites

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

and Eric Johnson as early influences. Vivaldi was strongly discouraged from becoming a musician by his family and had little support from them.

Music career

Early career

Vivaldi performed live regionally for four years before recording any music (other than demos). After releasing his debut album, "Revelations", in 2008 (which since then has been removed from all outlets), he joined Black Market Hero. He released his second EP titled ''The Speed of Dark'' in 2009 (which saw a re-recording/re-release in August 2016) and uploaded his first play-through of Acid Reign on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

shortly thereafter. He competed in ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' magazine's "Guitar Superstar Competition" in 2010 with judges George Lynch and Gary Hoey.

Universal Language, Vext

Released in May 2011, Vivaldi recorded Universal Language with producer Will Putney. It became a viral success following the release of two music videos for "A Mercurian Summer" and "A Martian Winter". Despite critical acclaim and success, it would be four years before any extensive touring was done. Shortly after the release of Universal Language, Tommy Vext (ex-

Divine Heresy Divine Heresy is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercia ...

, ex- Snot, ex-

Bad Wolves Bad Wolves is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie (The Cranberries song)#Bad Wolves cover, Zombie ...

) approached Vivaldi about joining his supergroup Vext which featured members of Mutiny Within. Vivaldi recorded and performed on the band's debut EP titled ''Impermanence.'' Vext was offered record deals however Vivaldi left due to not being ready to sign a contract.

''Away with Words'' and present day

2014 would see the release of ''Away with Words: Part 1'' which was also produced by Will Putney. The songs are titled from 1 to 5 in

Morse Code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...

. This album cycle also saw two music video releases for the songs "" (One) and "" (Two). Vivaldi began touring in 2015 with a headlining US/Canada tour with

The Algorithm The Algorithm is the musical project of French musician Rémi Gallego (born 7 October 1989) from Perpignan. His style is characterised by an unusual combination of electronic music with progressive metal. Gallego chose the name The Algorithm t ...

. He continued to tour extensively throughout 2016, ending with co-headlining US tour with

Gus G Konstantinos Karamitroudis (born 12 September 1980), better known as Gus G, is a Greek heavy metal guitarist. He currently plays with his band Firewind. He has also played in Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil and Ozzy ...

(

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

Firewind Firewind is a Greek power metal band formed in Thessaloniki in 1998. The group is currently signed to AFM records and was originally a small project created by guitarist Gus G. to showcase his demo, '' Nocturnal Symphony'', in 1998. Firewind ...

). It was announced in 2015 that ''Away with Words: Part 2'', a primarily acoustic release, would be put on hold to focus instead on a full album called ''Synapse''. Though the album was slated to be released in 2016, its eventual release date was October 6, 2017. In 2017, he released the album ''Synapse''.

Philanthropic work

Vivaldi participated in the annual Jemfest event held in Orlando, Florida. Its aim was to raise money for

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

's Make A Noise Foundation. Vivaldi performed in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 which featured a masterclass from

. Following the events of the 2016

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States before Orlando Police officers fatally shot him after a three-hour standoff. I ...

, Vivaldi broadcast a six-hour live stream to raise funds for the victims and their families. After losing his friend to

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

in 2014, Vivaldi launched a live broadcast with

Chris Letchford Chris Letchford (born October 7, 1984) is an American guitarist. He is the lead guitarist in the instrumental progressive metal band Scale the Summit. His technical ability has been recognized in magazines such as ''Guitar World'', ''Revolver'' ...

Scale the Summit Scale the Summit is an American instrumental progressive metal band formed in Houston, Texas in 2004. The band comprises guitarist Chris Letchford, bassist Kilian Duarte and drummer Charlie Engen. They were signed to Prosthetic Records before t ...

called "Shred for ALS", raising money for ALS research at the

ALS Therapy Development Institute The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is a non-profit biotechnology research organization focused on finding treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With a staff including more than 30 scientists, it operates a research and d ...

. Angel organized the "Shred for Australia" Livestream to raise money for the 2020 fires featuring musicians such as Herman Li, Tosin Abasi,

Nita Strauss Nita Strauss (born December 7, 1986) is an American musician. She is currently a guitarist for Alice Cooper, has also been a touring guitarist for Demi Lovato and has a successful career as a solo artist. Strauss is regularly featured on the cov ...

Michael Angelo Batio Michael Angelo Batio ( ; born June 12, 1956), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal guitarist. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band Nitro (band), Nitro in the late 1980s and ...

Matt Heafy Matthew Kiichi Heafy ( ; born January 26, 1986) is a Japanese-American musician, best known as the guitarist and lead vocalist for heavy metal band Trivium. He was also the lead vocalist for the band Capharnaum, along with Trivium's former pro ...

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...

, Cole Rolland,

and more. He practices meditation stating that it helps with getting focused while on tour or in the studio.

Influences

Vivaldi holds

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

as one of his biggest inspirations to picking up the guitar. Today his influences include

Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...

, Kaki King,

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer. He is considered a pioneer of jazz-rock, particularly for his use of the electric violin starting in the 1970s. He rose to prominence for his colla ...

Evergrey Evergrey is a Swedish progressive metal band from Gothenburg. History Evergrey was formed in 1993 in Gothenburg by guitarist/vocalist Tom S. Englund as a progressive power metal band, in contrast to the melodic death metal that Gothenburg i ...

Misery Signals Misery Signals was an American-Canadian metalcore band formed in Wisconsin in 2002. History Formation (2002–2003) Misery Signals was formed after the disbanding of several bands, including 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Hamartia, and Compromise. Having ...

Parkway Drive Parkway Drive are an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. Parkway Drive have released seven studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled ''Ten Years of Parkway Drive''. The band's la ...

and

Mattias Eklundh Mattias Bernt Johannes Eklundh (born 6 October 1969), also known as IA, is a Swedish guitarist and vocalist. He is known for his work with Freak Kitchen, Jonas Hellborg and Art Metal, and he has also produced several noted solo Freak Guitar ...

Equipment

Vivaldi had been a long-time user of seven string

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki was one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United Stat ...

guitars, primarily an RG7CT called "Dorothy". He can be seen using various Ibanez 7-strings throughout his videos, but he records and performs mainly with "Dorothy". He uses

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

amps, Fractal Audio Axe FX 2 XL and

DiMarzio DiMarzio, Inc. (formerly DiMarzio Musical Instrument Pickups, Inc.) is an American manufacturing company best known for popularizing direct-replacement guitar pickups. The company also produces other accessories, such as hardware, guitar strap ...

pickups. In 2018 Vivaldi was endorsed by guitar manufacturer Charvel, which made him a seven string variant of their "DK-24" as a signature model.https://web.archive.org/web/20190620073622/http://www.charvel.com/blog/tag/angel-vivaldi/

Discography

Angel Vivaldi

* ''Revelations'' (2008) * ''The Speed of Dark'' P(2009) * ''Universal Language'' P(2011) * ''Away with Words: Part 1'' P(2014) * ''Crystal Planet'' (digital single) feat. Dan Sugarman (2015) * ''The Speed of Dark: Revisited'' P(2016) * ''Synapse'' (2017) * ''Wave of Synergy'' (digital single) feat. Andy James (2018) * ''Triple Helix'' (digital single) feat. Cole Rolland (2019) * ''Away with Words: Part 2'' P(2023)

Vext

* ''Impermanence'' P(2012)

Band members

* Angel Vivaldi – lead guitar (2003–present) * Jason Tarantino – rhythm guitar (2009–present) * Bill Fore – drums (2010–present)

Former members

* Jake Skylyr – bass (2007–2017)

Concert tours

* Touring You Apart, 2015 – Angel Vivaldi,

, Save Us from the Archon * The Shape of Color Tour, 2016 – Intervals, Plini, Angel Vivaldi, Save Us from the Archon * Operation Domination, 2016 – Angel Vivaldi, Gus G * The Wave of Synergy European Tour, 2017 – Angel Vivaldi, Andy James, The Fine Constant * The Guitar Collective, 2017 – Angel Vivaldi, Andy James,

* Melodic Decadence Tour, 2018 – Angel Vivaldi, Hyvmine, Day of Reckoning * The Guitar Collective, 2018 – Angel Vivaldi,

Jacky Vincent Jack Casey Vincent (born 23 January 1989) is a British guitarist. He was the lead guitarist of the American post-hardcore band Falling in Reverse from its formation in 2008 until his departure in 2015. After his departure, he founded power metal ...

* Electric Guitarlands, 2024 – Angel Vivaldi, Nick Johnston,

Rowan Robertson Rowan Wingate Robertson (born 22 November 1971) is an English rock guitarist who currently performs in the Las Vegas production show '' Raiding the Rock Vault'' and plays for Bang Tango. He also plays for DC4. Robertson also played guitar for ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vivaldi, Angel 1985 births 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people American gay musicians American heavy metal guitarists American lead guitarists American male guitarists American philanthropists American rock songwriters American LGBTQ songwriters Living people Puerto Rican musicians Puerto Rican people of Italian descent Seven-string guitarists