Angel Vivaldi – Synapse
8th October 2017Bouncing around since 2008, Angel Vivaldi has been lighting up the instrumental guitar scene with his magical finger and shreds, even picking up 3rd spot in 2014 for Best Guitarist; the American shredder has produced four EP’s and an LP in that time frame, as well as releasing the cover of Joe Satriani’s Crystal Planet as a single back in 2015. Now, with some collaborations with other like-minded guitar maestros, Angel has released his latest work, Synapse to the world; a full album consisting of nine tracks.
Ever the perfectionist, the influences of iconic giants Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, John Petrucci and Steve Vai blazes across Vivaldi’s style; he brings in the classics of Morse and mixes it with the speed of Vai and the sophistication of Satriani, the futuristic sound of Dopamine and Endorphin smacks of Satriani’s Engines of Creation, yet the high tempo highlights the differences. Vivaldi’s tonal changes blending chugging riffs with complex chord manipulation, then changing it up to a more synthetic over tone like in G.A.B.A, allows you to absorb the music and just drift away into the word of possibilities. Synapse seems to have all the hall marks of a cult classic, it has the pizzazz, the complexity, the suave and sophisticated nature all the greats create, yet it has a modern element, using technology to its fullest capabilities within the field. It hits all the right notes for all the right reasons, and yet something feels missing, that point where madness and genius collides; this is an album that lives on a knifes edge and why similar transitional instrumental albums also suffer the same fate, is it that one step too far on the use of sound manipulation machines? Personally, I think it’s balances on that knifes edge perfectly, it tests the imagination and brings you into the new age of instrumental music, and it could well be the time for such a step to finally be taken.
Score 8/10
Track Listing:
1. Adrenaline (ft. Julian Cifuentes)
2. G.A.B.A
3. Serotonin (ft. Nita Strauss)
4. Dopamine (ft. Oli Herbert)
5. Endorphin
6. Oxytocin (ft. Gus G.)
7. Adenosine
8. Noradrenaline
9. Synapse
Record Label:
Unsigned
Release Date:
October 6th 2017
For Fans Of… Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, G3
