VINDICTIV – Ground Zero (review) July 26th, 2009 by rockersbasement vindictiv The second installment from the Swedish progressive metal act with a pedigree to die for and an envious list of friends to boot. The Band Stefan Lindholm – Guitars, Keyboards Pontus Larsson – keyboards Goran Edman – Vocals Zoltan Csorsz – Drums Nalle Pahlsson – Bass Additional Musicians: Mark Boals – Vocals (Venom) Oliver Hartmann – Vocals (Reach Out, I’m Back Home, The Sacrifice) Alex Argento – Keyboard Leif Karlsson – Percussion Ann Wallström – Baroque violin Katarina Widell – Flute, Recorders Patrik Karlsson – Baroque guitar Jonna Inge – Viola Caroline Valdemarsson – Violin Modern World blasts in with a killer run on the guitar. Pahlsson bass loads the song with power while keys and guitar intertwine in an orgy of love and hate. I simply love Edmans’ vocals, wow what a ****in’ rockin song. Dazzling from the start Ground Zero is an animal. Steady beats from Csorsz then a tempered disciplined attack that sets the scene for guitar work that will give Petrucci a run for his money. It’s only the second track and I am overwhelmed by how big the sound is. Reach Out allows Pahlsson to pull of some of the best bass playing I have ever heard on the backdrop of melodic guitar work until the beast runs for the light. Hidden in the depths of Reach Out is the soul of the song that carries you through the light. Golden Gate is a plethora of exuberance from VINDICTIV with a vocal duet of opposing ranges. It’s a perfect combination of operatic vocals, a power ballad and progressive metal. The dark side of VINDICTIC is Venom. Csorsz highlights the changes with his persistent beats and ability to change gear at a whim. It’s this that keeps the song on track. Ok, there is more to this song but when immersed in an overload of metal bliss you try and put it into words. If there were one title that is going to catch your attention it would be Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Unadulterated fantasy that picks you up and shakes hard before bringing you down. Don’t let the dark power riffs fool you as the door opens up into an orchestral delight. Hartmann is on vocal duties on I’m Back Home that gives the song a feel good factor as they emphasize the trial and tribulations of life. Explosions of riffs are subdued by Edmans performance on Martha’s Song. Lindholm shows his creative ability is not limited to power metal. Refreshing, light and vocally creative. Listen to guitar in the background on the opening of Overshoot Day and tell me that is not pure metal. What other band do you know that can add flute to their song without it sounding out of place. Then there are the stings into ugly guitars, VINDICTIV creative juices simply gush. No Matter What builds to a crescendo from a humble beginning but then a twist. Melodic, chilled and sophisticated The Sacrifice illustrate that VINDICTIV have no boundaries. Track List: Modern World Ground Zero Reach Out Golden Gate Venom Tweedledum and Tweedledee I’m Back Home Martha’s Song Overshoot Day No Matter What The Sacrifice A true masterpiece, that takes you on a trip of a lifetime. VINDICTIC have one hell of an imagination. But the true skill is forming their mental image and concepts into sound and that sound is immense. GROUND ZERO GOES BEYOND 10 / 10. Rating: 4.25/5.0 Escape Music /www.vindictiv.com www.myspace.com/vindictivmusic Review: Craig Hartranft Added: 05.31.2009 Vindictiv, formed and led by Swedish guitar sensation Stefan Lindholm, returns with another major platter of melodic metal, Ground Zero. Again Lindholm is joined by Pontus Larsson (k), Goran Edman (v), and Nalle Pahlsson (b), with addition of new drummer, Zoltan Csorsz. Also, Lindholm recruited Marc Boals and Oliver Hartmann as additional vocalists on several tracks. Expect more of the same from Vindictiv: well-crafted compositions of melodic progressive heavy metal and tag team virtuoso keyboard and guitar solos, all under girded by a definitive and steady rhythm section. Besides the addition of two other lead vocalists, you will also find the songs longer (most clocking in over 6 minutes) and some often heavier than their debut album. The heavier sound begins early with the first three songs. Generally, all three are fine songs and you will find some variation within each: 'In A Modern World' brings lots of movement, subtle piano work, and a symphonic foundation; on 'Ground Zero' the arrangement isn't as expansive, but the vocal arrangements are better; and, on 'Reach Out,' with Hartmann's first appearance, the sound is deeper and darker. Unfortunately, by this time you realize this thread of heaviness has become monotonous, pounding you mercilessly and unnecessarily. Thankfully, a reprieve is granted beginning with 'Golden Gate,' a more melodic piece with a sweet groove, excellent bass, and phenomenal vocal work. This less heavy trend continues through the remainder of the disc. With the exception of the desperately dull 'I'm Back Home,' the heavy feature appears as part of the composition rather than the formidable glue. Even better is the fact that the latter two-thirds of Ground Zero tends more towards the melodic and progressive side where 'Tweedledum and Tweedledee,' 'Overshoot Day,' and the epics 'Martha's Song' and 'No Matter' show impressive and pleasing results. Finally, and to my own surprise, I found the most disappointing songs to be those with Oliver Hartmann on vocals. With the exception of 'The Sacrifice,' Hartmann's voice made the songs bottom out. In the End, Vindictiv's Ground Zero is worthy sophomore effort and successor to last year's debut. Though sometimes heavier in parts, Vindictiv succeeds in merging melodic and intricate elements into excellent and entertaining progressive heavy metal arrangements. Very recommended! Swedish progressive metallers Vindictiv return with the follow-up to their excellent self-titled debut. Fronted by former Yngwie vocalist Goran Edman, band founder and album producer Stefan Lindholm is sensational handling the guitar duties, while rounding things out we have Pontus Larsson (keys), Nalie Pahlson (bass) and Zoltan Csorsz (drums). As an added variation, Edman shares his vocal duties with guest appearances by Oliver Hartmann (At Vance) and Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ring of Fire). Lindholm's Yngwie-influenced guitar playing serves as the album's chief highlight, but the sound and music is by no means plagiarism in relation to Yngwie's style because Lindholm displays a technique that is individual in nature The album springs from the gate with the heavy opener "Modern World", featuring a sweet, catchy chorus, which adequately paves the way for the remainder of the album. Now back to the vocals, Goran Edman handles the singing duties on seven of the eleven songs, while Oliver Hartmann is stellar relative to his guest performances on "Reach Out", "I'm Back Home" and "The Sacrifice". The same holds true for Mark Boals on "Venom". The use of alternating vocalists adds exponentially to the overall feel and quality of the album. Adding further to an overall winning formula is the quality songwriting and an epic production job. Those familiar with the debut will immediately notice that the songs are all lengthier and that the heaviness factor has been dialed up a fair amount. However, none of this derails the catchiness of the songwriting, or the superb musicianship on display. In a nutshell, with Ground Zero Vindictiv deliver to their fans a heaping platter of well crafted Progressive Power Metal enriched with heavy riffs, alternating tag team solos between the guitar and keys, all of which is buoyed by a solid, steady rhythm section. A definite winner! Highly Recommended Vindictiv may not be a band name that resonates with many listeners, yet the group boasts some notable credentials. As such, their self-titled debut album, released some months back on the Escape Music label, warrants a closer look. On lead vocals is former Yngwie Malmsteen and Brazon Abbot singer, Goran Edman. This first release from Vindictiv captures Edman, who appeared on Malmsteen’s Eclipse album, in excellent form. This connection is further carried forward by some highly impressive Yngwie-style guitar from Stefan Lindholm. Vindictiv date back to early 2004 when Swedish guitarist Stefan Lindholm joined forces with keyboard maestro Pontus Larsson. After several line up changes, Vindictiv emerged with Edman, bassist Nalle Pahlsson of Treat, drummer Mikael Wikman of Planet Waves, Larsson, and, of course Lindholm. This debut album, Vindictiv, delivers with striking musicianship, powerful vocals, and well-written and arranged tracks. Stefan Lindholm’s guitar work is of the highest quality whilst Edman's vocals are superb throughout, both musicians adding an extra dimension that lifts the band to another level. Breathtaking solos delivered with incredible speed drive the album forward at a relentless pace, which is quite evident on “David’s House” as well as on the opener, “Fool’s Paradise.” There is definitely a lot going on here; so much so, actually, that Vindictiv may require a few listens before its full scope is revealed. The intriguingly named “Caesar’s Commentaries” again has Lindholm leading off on an inspiring solo. He then soars through “The Royal Loo,” “Dreams Of A Demon’s Head,” “A Quiet Life,” and “David’s House” before exploding on the standout track, “Living Colours.” “Hymn To Desdemona” provides a nicely paced breather with some exceptional vocals. “A Second Life” and the memorable “Fata Morgana” — the latter evoking subtle shades of Bowie — again feature dauntingly fast guitar solos as they bring the album to a close. Vindictiv contains some intriguing tracks that attest to the band's distinctiveness while, at the same time, paying homage to some strong influences. As well, Lindholm has found the perfect band with which to showcase his extraordinary guitar skills. All in all, Vindictiv will please those who like their melodic metal with heavy neo-classical touches. At turns compelling, stimulating and breathtaking, it's a remarkable debut album and one worth exploring. Vindictiv’s debut album from last year not only appealed to me, but to a lot of our members as well. I called it a splendid mix of melodic hard rock and neo-classical metal and the good news is that its follow-up, “Ground Zero”, is at least as impressive. What attracted my attention is that not all of the eleven songs on offer are sung by the great Göran Edman. He took care of seven songs and left the four others for Mark Boals (“Venom”) and Oliver Hartmann (“Reach Out”, “I’m Back Home” and “The Sacrifice”), which was a clever move and certainly adds to the end result of the album. My congratulations also go out to the guitar work of Stefan Lindholm. It’s obvious he has been influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen, but at the same time he has a technique all of his own. Also worth mentioning is the keyboard magic of Pontus Larsson. Admitted, the keyboards are not dominating, but you can find them whenever needed. Add to this all the quality of the (rather long) songs on offer as well as the overall production and I can only conclude that Vindictiv is here to stay. “Ground Zero” is an excellent melodic/progressive metal product from the guys at Escape Music, that’s for sure! (CL) I downloaded this CD so I didn't know who was doing what on Vindiciv's latest but I did get the cool, prog/metal message loud and clear. I also heard a big Steve Walsh of Kansas vocal going on and come to find out that was Goran Edman. Great voice, dude (but I knew that anyway.) Lots of noodling (really long songs) and killer, shredding guitar work. Not usually a big prog-metal fan but Vindictiv do it right, and do it well. Superb PROG/NEO-CLASSIC METAL ! I'am agree with CL/Metalrob4662 even if for me the hero in the vocals departement is O.HARTMANN... who really steal the show ! But the revelation is truly S.LINDHOLM who reveal himself as a new serious contender for the new rising star in the SHREDDIN' skyz ! And his dual solos with Key wiz P.LARSSON :it's like the wazabi on the nigri-sushi :):) The songs are better than the ones in the 1st CD :Richest/ full of twist and turn/no fillers....Now you get the picture you need that one*****1/2 Excellent 2nd album, I was one who enjoyed the debut album and I love Goran's voice. the production has been upgraded on this release, and the songs are even longer and well written. The song "Golden Gate" is excellent what a intro! And the guitar work by Lindholm is superb. a great melodic/prog album one of the best of 2009 so far! The debut Vindictiv album is only a year old and showed great promise for progressive/melodic metal fans. Back already with album number two, the band's mastermind Stefan Lindholm has blown me away with this new record – far superior to the already impressive debut. This is perhaps my favourite heavy music release of 2009 to date! I can't get enough of it and making it even better is the use of two of my favourite vocalists out of Europe – Mr. Everywhere Goran Edman and Oliver Hartmann. Not to mention Mark Boals taking command on the track Venom. I really hope people give this album serious attention as it is produced immaculately and really does sound a million bucks – and featuring some of the best songwriting for the genre this year (alongside Saint Deamon). The progressive fills will make Dream Theater fans take note and the lead vocals will make Goran Edman fans weak at the knees and perhaps fans of the many other Yngwie Malmsteen vocalists over the years. Keyboard parts are equally impressive, with Royal Hunt fans in need of checking this out. What I like best is the fact each song has a defined chorus and a great hook. This is a supper long record with a ton of trickery and fast playing, but it always comes back to the hooks. Modern World is heavy and aggressive, features time changes and swirling guitars and keyboards, yet come the chorus it is all melody. And Ground Zero is even better – this song just kills me. I love it. Heavy, powerful and layered with instrumentation, then a killer chorus in two parts with a soaring vocal throughout. Reach Out sees Oliver Hartmann return to his metal roots and sounding a million bucks here with another strong chorus and raspy, passionate vocal. Golden Gate is a near 8 minute track filled with solos and double kick drums, and another chorus that signifies a change of pace and layered harmony vocals. Venom is almost Royal Hunt in its feel and features plenty of metal riffing. Tweedledum and Tweedledee talks of contradictions in the lyrics and the same could be said of the song itself. Heavy…yet melodic, progressive...yet straight forward. And plenty of soloing. The 7 minute plus I'm Back Home features Oliver Hartmann again in fine metal form. Another very melodic chorus is surrounded by double kick drums and prominent keyboard parts. No track under 7 minutes for the back end of the album, so you can imagine the intensity of the music on hand. Martha's Song is a moody number that gets better each listen as you get to know it; Overshoot Day is a supper complex progressive number with more Goran brilliance; No Matter What is over 8 minutes but almost feels commercial in nature and Oliver Hartmann closes the album with the big metal anthem The Sacrifice. The Bottom Line In short – wonderful stuff! Well worth checking out if the debut caught your attention and you like your melodies dished up in a complex and hard hitting platter. There has been a lot of competing metal releases on the market this year and it can eb hard to find one that stands out from the rest. This does for me and is one of my favourite progressive releases in a long time.