ALBUM REVIEW: Inviolate – Steve Vai
The release of a new STEVE VAI record feels like an event these days, and with his last album release being nearly six years ago, Inviolate is no different. In contrast to the previous album Modern Primitive, a unique reinterpretation of leftover and vocal-heavy early days material, Inviolate is all about the guitar. It’s an exercise in stripping back Vai’s more excessive tendencies and instead putting guitar playing and composition at the forefront, narrowing things down to traditional Vai territory. However, as even guitar luddites know, “traditional” for STEVE VAI still comes with a fair amount of axe innovation.
Having been released in a slightly different form a few months back, Candlepower still provides one of the best examples of that innovative streak. The song, by Vai’s own admission, is a challenge to himself – by using finger picking instead of a plectrum, a guitar he is less used to (a Strat rather than his favoured Ibanez JEMs) and no whammy bar, Vai pulls himself out of his comfort zone. Somehow in that process, Vai also invented a new guitar technique on the track – ‘joint shifting’. There’s something to be said for still coming up with new methods so far in to your career, especially after having moved the medium forward so much, but it’d be ultimately meaningless if the track itself didn’t jam. Luckily, the song sees alien-like guitar leads neatly punctuated by a jazzy chorus hook melody that is somehow both catchy and incredibly technical, creating a relaxed groove of a track.
Teeth Of The Hydra is a similar guitar gambit, with Vai testing himself by using the titular ‘Hydra’ guitar – a Lovecraftian electric equivalent to Pat Metheney’s Manzer Pikasso guitar, boasting multiple necks, string setups, pickup and humbucker sets and the kitchen sink. But again, what would be the point without a decent piece of music to back it up? Teeth Of The Hydra sees warm guitar licks swoon over the top of a Latin music-infused bass groove and syncopated rhythms. The result is something reminiscent of the more mellow moments of Vai’s Fire Garden Suite, minus some of the more high-level conceptual baggage. It’s a compelling way to open the album for sure, with Vai clearly able to conjure up something fun when he throws a gauntlet down for himself.
For all the guitar virtuosity, Vai ensures that the material on Inviolate feels like songs first and foremost. Of course, there are things happening across the board that only the deepest guitar and music theory aficionados will really understand. But for the rest of us fretboard feckless, these are simply songs without lyrics, coloured with memorable hooks and riffs throughout. Moreover, ditching some of the more over-the-top progressive elements that often appear on his work allows Vai to communicate to the listener far more directly. Zeus In Chains is a to-the-point trip through catchy melodic hooks, apocalyptic solos and soothing harmonised leads that feels like a masterclass of melodic rock and fusion; Little Pretty sees Vai delve into his funkier chops, melding jazzy drums and slap-bass with minor-infused leads and arpeggios, with the end result just stopping short of being evil jazz; and Avalancha provides soaring space rock through and through. Songs like these are peak Vai, all thrills but without superfluous frills.
There are however a few moments where Inviolate begins to drag slightly. Greenish Blues is a rare blues-style romp from Vai and, while its certainly interesting to hear him turn his fingers to the style, it lacks the urgency that much of the album has in spades. Similarly, closing track Sandman Cloud Mist is a tad underwhelming, with the mellow leads let down by a rather unexciting backing track. These weaker numbers are of course relative to the rest of the album, and even in the few dips, there is much to enjoy. For what Apollo In Color may lack in infectious hooks, it makes up for with some frankly incredible bass playing, bringing to mind rhythmic powerhouse players like Japan’s KIYOSHI.
Despite a couple of troughs to balance out the peaks, Inviolate remains a gripping record overall. Through paring down some of the loftier elements, deeper concepts, denser soundscapes and the Zappa-esque avant-garde, Vai puts guitar-based song-writing on a pedestal above all else. While many guitarists have been and gone in the decades since STEVE VAI started his solo career, Inviolate is a testament to how well-defined a musical voice Vai has and his ability to articulate it in great songs.
Rating: 7/10
Inviolate is set for release on January 28th via Favored Nations/Mascot Label Group.
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