Angel Vivaldi

Angel Vivaldi (born June 13, 1985) is an American guitarist, songwriter, producer, philanthropist and environmentalist. Voted 3rd "Best Guitarist in 2014 by Prog-Sphere, he began his solo career in 2003. Vivaldi has self-released 5 records, Revelations, The Speed of Dark, Universal Language, Away With Words- Part 1, and The Speed of Dark: Revisited. In 2015, he released a cover of Joe Satriani's Crystal Planet single. He's known for his virtuoso guitar playing style and cinematic music videos.

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, it is now tentatively due sometime in 2017.

Early life

Born in New Jersey, Vivaldi grew up on dance music, freestyle music and Spanish music. He started playing guitar at 15 and is self-taught. He cites Nirvana, Megadeth, Yngwie Malmsteen and Eric Johnson as early influences. Vivaldi was strongly discouraged from becoming a musician by his family and had little support from them.

Early career

Vivaldi performed live regionally for 4 years before recording any music (sans 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-release in August 2016) and uploaded his first play-through of Acid Reign on YouTube shortly thereafter.

He competed in Guitar Player 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 4 years before any extensive touring was done.

Shortly after the release of Universal Language, Tommy Vext (Divine Heresy, SNOT, Westfield Massacre) 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

2014 would see the release of Away With Words, Part 1 which was also produced by Will Putney. The song are titeld from 1 to 5 in Morse Code. 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. He continued to tour extensively throughout 2016, ending with co-headlining US tour with Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind).

Vivaldi participated in the annual Jemfest event held in Orlando, FL. Its aim was to raise money for Steve Vai's Make A Noise Foundation. Vivaldi performed in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 which featured a masterclass from Steve Vai.

Following the events of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Vivaldi broadcast a 6-hour live stream to raise funds for the victims and their families.

After losing his friend to ALS in 2014, Vivaldi launched a live broadcast with Chris Letchford of Scale the Summit called "Shred for ALS," raising money for ALS research.

He has also spoken out as a gay man in support of the LGBT community.

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

Vivaldi holds Kurt Cobain as one his biggest inspirations to picking up the guitar. Today his influences include Carmen Miranda, Kaki King, Jean Luc Ponty, Evergrey, Misery Signals, Parkway Drive and Mattias Eklundh.

Vivaldi has been a long-time user of 7 string Ibanez guitars, primarily his "Dorothy" RG7. He can be seen using various Ibanez 7 strings throughout his videos, but records and performs mainly with "Dorothy".

He uses Mesa Boogie amps, Fractal Audio Axe FX 2 XL and Dimarzio pickups.

Angel Vivaldi

• Revelations (2008)
• The Speed of Dark (2009)
• Universal Language (2011)
• Away With Words, Part 1 (2014)
• Crystal Planet (Digital Single) (2015)
• The Speed of Dark: Revisited (2016)

Vext

• Impermanence (2012)

• Angel Vivaldi - Guitars (2003–present)
• Jake Skylyr - Bass (2007–present)
• Jason Tarantino - Guitar (2009–present)
• Bill Fore - Drums (2010–present)

• Touring You Apart, 2015 - Angel Vivaldi, The Algorithm, Save Us From The Archon
• The Shape of Color Tour, 2015 - Intervals, Plini, Angel Vivaldi, Save Us From The Archon
• Operation Domination, 2016 - Angel Vivaldi, Gus G