STEVE VAI — Inviolate (review)

Album · 2022 · Hard Rock

4/5 · 2022-01-29
siLLy puPPy

As one of the true living gods of guitar mastery, a new album by STEVE VAI is something many musicians anticipate with a sense of both awe and possible trepidation. The awe aspects are delivered by VAI’s finger breaking guitar playing antics that catapulted him into the highest ranks of rock stardom with his stints with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake as well as his innovative art guitar displays of grandeur on albums like “Passion & Warfare” however the trepidation may result from VAI’s inconsistency in his art form by often delivering some hilariously bad material with the guitar god believing his vocals are actually a pleasant thing to experience!

VAI has been quiet in the last decade after the release of 2012’s rather dreamy lightweight “The Story Of Light” which featured recycled ideas packaged without flashy guitar solos. The “Modern Primitive” archival material was released in 2017 but all in all VAI hasn’t released any new material of substance since 2005’s “Real Illusions: Reflections.” The guitar master is back in 2022 with his tenth studio album INVIOLATE which immediately upon admiring the album cover clearly showcases that VAI is back to his guitar shredding duties as rock god with his wickedly wild new Hydra guitar. As far as a 62 year old rock god is concerned, INVIOLATE does not feature a what may be perceived as a has been but rather a veritable talent still seemingly in a perpetual prime.

In the modern era, STEVE VAI is mostly revered by nerdy guitar stalwarts who worship him like the sun god in some ancient Egyptian setting. His perfectionist attention to detail that envelops every composition laced with modern production techniques replete with visual glitz and glamor holds his place in the pantheons of rock guitar royalty and with INVIOLATE this maestro retains his lofty perch with grace. While still chock filled with face melting guitar solos and blitzkrieg guitar chops, VAI has refined his extroverted flashiness by drifting into the world of instrumental jazz-fusion therefore INVIOLATE is much more akin to classic albums by Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin or Al Di Meola rather than VAI’s back catalogue of raucous metal and art rock rampage.

INVIOLATE is a sensual mastery of jazz-laced rockers that happen to feature VAI taking things to extremes. Unlike most of VAI’s back catalogue that became muddied with substandard vocal tracks, this album is blissfully and exclusively instrumental with nary a vocal track to be found which allows a smooth entire album’s worthy of heavy guitar edge in the context of progressive rock and jazz-rock fusion. On board are VAI’s classic guitar wails and warm tones that are as distinct as his playing style. As a virtuoso producer INVIOLATE matches the quality of many of VAI’s best offerings including his masterwork “Passion & Warfare.” The album wisely clocks in at a classic album’s running time of just shy of 47 minutes with nine beautifully crafted tracks that alternate between dreamy atmospheric escapism and jaw dropping guitar god admiration.

With the virtuosic guitar wankery toned down, INVIOLATE comes off as one of VAI’s most balanced albums which maintains a unified vibe for its entire run. Tracks such as “Teeth Of The Hydra” and “Zeus In Chains” showcase VAI’s newest mastery of transmogrifying his classic tone-rich stylistic approach into a bonafide jazz-fusion classic. With so much time out of the public’s eye, it seems STEVE VAI had something to prove to the world and that was that he could still crank out an album like the best of them and despite all the changes in the world of heavy metal, rock and modern jazz, VAI effortlessly delivers a timeless sounding album’s worth of instant classics. While guitar shredders may be disappointed by the lack of youthful energy on display, VAI more than makes up for its absent with beautifully crafted compositions that tug emotional heart strings but all is not lost for there are indeed select moments of guitar gymnastics that clearly signify that VAI remains a force to be reckoned with. Excellent album!