In 1973, 17-year-old Joe Satriani began giving guitar lessons to 13-year-old Steve Vai on Long Island. They became two of the premier shredders of the ’80s, releasing guitar-centric solo albums and (in Vai’s case) playing with the likes of Whitesnake, David Lee Roth, and Frank Zappa. In 1995, the duo began playing together almost annually on Satriani’s G3 guitar tour. In 2026, after decades of friendship and live collaboration, Satriani and Vai unveiled their first collaborative album. With an emphasis on melody—and, of course, guitar acrobatics—SatchVai: The Sea of Emotion sees the shredders teaming up with guest bassists Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Marco Mendoza (Blue Murder, Ted Nugent) and drummers Kenny Aronoff (John Fogerty, John Mellencamp) and Matt Chamberlain (Tori Amos, Bruce Springsteen), among many others. The mostly instrumental album also features a guest vocal from former Deep Purple and Black Sabbath singer Glenn Hughes on “I Wanna Play My Guitar.”