Steve Vai and Favored Nations / Mascot Label Group have released his new studio album titled Inviolate. The LP will follow on March 18. The album’s mesmeric opener, “Teeth of the Hydra,” is a sinuous, Latin-fusion-tinged composition that Vai wrote and recorded with a one-of-a-kind custom guitar he coined the Hydra. Built in conjunction with the designers at Hoshino and based on a “steampunk motif” idea of Vai’s, the Hydra is a beast of an instrument – a one-bodied, two-headstock-ed, three-neck-ed creature that encompasses, among other things: 7 and 12-string guitars; a 4-string ¾ scale length bass; 13 sympathetic harp strings; half-fretless necks; single-coil, humbucking, piezo, MIDI and sustainer pickups; floating and hardtail tremolo bridges; phase splitters; and much, much more. Director Garson Yu and his team at yU+co were brought on to capture a deep look in to this magnificent creation which can be screened here:
Steve Vai’s planned tour of the U.S, has been postponed to the Fall. The first U.S. leg of dates will now begin on Wednesday, September 28 in El Cajon, CA and wrap the first week of December. The itinerary will now feature performances in 52 markets as opposed to the initial plan of staging 54 shows. All ticket and VIP purchases will be honored for the rescheduled date. Approximately one year ago, Vai underwent shoulder surgery to repair an injury. That procedure was successful, enabling him to record Inviolate. In preparing for the tour, it became clear that a new injury emerged that requires another surgery prohibiting the tour to be staged as announced.
View “Teeth of the Hydra” Visualizer Here:
See THE HYDRA Here:
