After more than five decades of friendship, musical exchange and separate careers that helped redefine what the electric guitar could do, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have finally made a record together. The Sea of Emotion, the first studio album from SatchVai, will be released November 6, 2026 via earMUSIC. The announcement arrives alongside the release of “Mayhem,” the album’s blistering new single, out today.
“THE SEA OF EMOTION”
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The story began in 1973, when 13-year-old Steve Vai began taking guitar lessons from his 17-year-old teacher, Joe Satriani, in Long Island. Neither could have known where that shared obsession with the guitar would lead. More than 50 years later, after establishing themselves as solo artists and sharing stages around the world through the legendary G3 tours, they have brought their musical histories together on one album.
“We’ve been planning this since 1973,” Vai says with a laugh. “Just unconsciously.”
The album came together after a G3 reunion tour created an unexpected opening in their schedules. What began as a suggestion to record a single track quickly expanded when Satriani sent Vai two finished pieces, “The Sea of Emotion, Part 1” and “Part 2.” Vai knew immediately that the time had come.
The process was anything but predictable. Although the two musicians share a deep musical history, similar influences and a lifelong understanding of the guitar, they discovered that they write very differently. That contrast became one of the defining elements of the record, with ideas moving back and forth until the songs took unexpected turns.
“The biggest surprise was that we write in completely different ways,” Satriani explains. “And that’s what made the project so fun and interesting.”
The album brings together two musicians who have spent decades developing unmistakable individual voices, while giving each the freedom to push the other somewhere new. Producer and keyboardist Eric Caudieux helped keep the process honest, while a formidable group of longtime collaborators supplied the rhythm section, including drummers Gregg Bissonette, Jeremy Colson, Kenny Aronoff, Matt Chamberlain and Mike Mangini, and bassists Billy Sheehan, Bryan Beller, Philip Bynoe, Matt Bissonette, Marco Mendoza and Henrik Linder.
Across The Sea of Emotion, SatchVai move from the raw rock ’n’ roll of “Mayhem” and “Bronco Freight Train” to the darker, cinematic “Old Sins Have Long Shadows,” the unruly swing of “Zoot Suit Riot” and the arena-sized “I Wanna Play My Guitar,” featuring legendary singer Glenn Hughes.
At the center of the album is the three-part “The Sea of Emotion” suite, which reaches back to the Carle Place school field where the two teenage musicians once spent time dreaming about music. “The Sea of Emotion, Part 3” even begins with a vintage reel-to-reel recording from one of Vai’s early lessons with Satriani, a glimpse of two young guitarists still searching for their voices.
“It illustrates just how far we’ve come,” Satriani says. “We’re these two kids who haven’t found our sound yet, but we’ve got enthusiasm. We’re chasing something, and we’re determined.”
For Vai, the album ultimately represents something more personal than a meeting of two celebrated guitarists.
“That’s when I really feel, like, wow, we really did it,” he says. “It’s a beautiful coming together of me and my friend in a very intimate musical way. That was the reason we did the record.”
THE SEA OF EMOTION – TRACKLIST
1. Mayhem (3:39)
2. Bronco Freight Train (5:07)
3. Dancing (3:40)
4. The Feeling I Know (5:57)
5. Zoot Suit Riot (4:36)
6. Old Sins Have Long Shadows (4:43)
7. I Wanna Play My Guitar (4:16)
8. The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 1 (5:49)
9. The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 2 (5:20)
10. The Sea Of Emotion Pt. 3 / Reflections On A Year And A Half (6:39)
About Joe Satriani
For over three decades, the guitar virtuoso has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star “G3” guitar extravaganza. Satriani’s studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them.
He launched his annual “G4 Experience” in 2014 bringing aspiring guitarists together for four days of workshops, mentor sessions and live performances, providing an exclusive learning platform led by him and his accomplished peers. In 2021, he introduced the “Crystal Planet” comic series, a five-part opus interweaving the realms of music and art. The tour documentary “Beyond the Supernova,” directed by ZZ Satriani and currently available for streaming, offers an intimate behind-the-scenes glimpse that intricately chronicles his life, illuminating the profound dedication that fuels his guitar mastery.
His side project, Chickenfoot, featuring former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar, former bassist Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith saw their debut album certified gold and their second studio album debuted at #9. Satriani released his 19th studio album, The Elephants of Mars, in April 2022. It was a busy 2024 and 2025 for Joe Satriani, beginning with the highly anticipated G3 Reunion tour alongside the original powerhouse lineup of Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. That was followed by the Satch/Vai tour, where the longtime friends not only shared the stage but unveiled a new musical collaboration. Rounding out 2025 and continuing into 2026, Satriani joined forces with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Kenny Aronoff for the Best of All Worlds tour, which sold out arenas across the U.S. and Europe and earned widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike.
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About Steve Vai
Steve Vai is a virtuoso guitarist, composer and producer, considered by many as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. In over 45 years in the industry, Vai has sold over 15 million records, received three Grammy Awards, and recorded with music legends like Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake and many more.
Vai has also toured extensively and recorded live projects with G3 (collaborating with different touring lineups including Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Steve Lukather) and Generation Axe, a supergroup Vai formed with Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi. Vai is the author of Vaideology: Basic Music Theory for Guitar Players (Hal Leonard), his inaugural music theory book designed to help both beginners and veteran guitar players. In the recent past, he has travelled the globe supporting his most recent studio album Inviolate, staging performances in 51 counties across the globe.
Over the course of his 43 years touring, he continues to visit locations for the first time. His final excursion in 2023 saw Vai perform in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Zallak (Bahrain), Bangalore and Kolkata (India), alongside six new markets in China (Foshan, Xi’an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing and Hefei). Beginning in 2024, BEAT (Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Danny Carey and Steve Vai) played 65 North American shows, followed by dates across South America, Mexico and Japan in 2025. In 2026, the band toured Europe before returning to North America for 40 additional performances.
