Tag Archives: Steve Vai

The Top Ten Stories at Ghost Cult This Week 9-30-22

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In a new feature here, we recap the biggest stories of the week here at Ghost Cult! We went to 12, because fuck it, it’s our list! This week Slipknot keeps ruling, footage from the Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins tribute show in LA, an Alice in Chains classic hits 30, Metallica books one more special gig this year, Desertfest 2023’s first lineup announced, help for Karyn Crisis, interviews with KEN Mode, and Pathos & Logos, Polyphia, a King Crimson documentary is geetting a big release in theaters, and more! Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Sarattma – Escape Velocity

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Escape Velocity (Nefarious Industries) is the debut album from Philidelphia, Pennsylvania-based instrumental duo Sarattma, and follows their debut Inner Spaces EP released in 2017. Featuring Mellowdeath and ex-Brian Jonestown Massacre drummer Sara Neidorf and Cleric guitarist Matt Hollenberg, their music is highly experimental with a distinct edge of tripped-out psychedelia, and is uniquely impressive! Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Ed Wynne – Tumbling Through The Floativerse

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Ed Wynne is best known as the founder and only consistent member of Ozric Tentacles. An emblematic group within the nineties hippy revival scene who have continued to endure, the Ozrics fuse instrumental prog rock with psychedelic dance music. I discovered them in the early 2000s at a time when I was starting to seek out a more diverse listening experience encompassing more than just the seventies hard rock I had, by then, already grown somewhat tired of, and they served as a bridge into the multifaceted world of electronic music.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Ibaraki – Rashomon

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Ibaraki is the new solo project from Trivium’s Matt Heafy, and Rashomon is released through Nuclear Blast, having been over a decade in the making. The name translates as “Wild Trees”, but is also taken from a terrifying Japanese demon of feudal legend, and the concept is a profound affirmation of Heafy’s Japanese-American heritage, incorporating a number of different musical styles. Although the main inspiration clearly sits within the black etal genre, taking influence from the experience of Emperor’s Ihsahn, who co-produced, and whose quirkier ideas from his solo work are peppered throughout the release. Continue reading →


CONCERT REVIEW: Devin Townsend (Acoustic) – Cambridge Junction

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You can tell it’s not going to be a normal gig from the off, as Devin Townsend spends the first few minutes tuning and chatting away, completely at ease, as if the audience was an old friend and he was sat in his living room. As he pings and strums away, musing about whether he likes his upcoming new album Lightworks or not (he decides he does, he thinks it sounds healthy, and good… he thinks, yes definitely good), he sets the tone for a gig that is genuinely intimate – not because it takes place in a small venue, but because Devin is completely natural and wholly authentic throughout. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Animals As Leaders – Parrhesia

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Animals As Leaders started as a project by virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi, after his former label Prosthetic Records asked him to create a solo LP, following the end of his band Reflux. After taking a year out to study and immerse himself in his guitar playing, he put together the group who have now been releasing music for over a decade through to Parrhesia (Sumerian) their fifth album.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Voivod – Synchro Anarchy

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Thrash. Post-Thrash. Punk. Speed. Sci-Fi. Industrial. Proto-Industrial. Avant Garde. Space. Alternative. Progressive. Nuclear. Some quite frankly preposterously named musical genres and subgenres, but into all of which Canadian act Voivod has been unwillingly pigeon-holed over the years. Having firmly refused to be anchored to any one particular style, the band has actually become a little more settled of late, their current approach now reined all the way back to just including all of the above and a small handful of others.

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Jason Becker’s Three Most Important Guitars Are Going to Auction

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Legendary guitarist/composer Jason Becker (solo, David Lee Roth Band, Cacaphony) will offer three of his most important and rare guitars through Guernsey’s Auctions, the prestigious New York auction house renowned for offering unique memorabilia and artifacts. These guitars are being sold as part of a fundraiser, co-organized by DragonForce guitarist Herman Li, to provide funds for Jason’s ongoing battle with ALS. Guernsey’s Auctions will offer the following in its ‘A Century of Music’ auction:

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Watch Zakk Wylde, Sammy Hagar, Steve Lukather, Steve Vai, and More Wish Neal Schon of Journey a Happy Birthday

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Journey guitar legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neal Schon is celebrating his 67th birthday today. Along with his wife Michelle, a star-studded array of fellow music luminaries have wished him a Happy Birthday! Check out this video including Jonathan Cain, Brad Paisley, Randy Jackson, Narada Michael Walden, Sammy Hagar, Steve Lukather, Steve Vai, Arnel Pineda, Scott Hamilton, Zakk Wylde, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Derlatka, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, and Jack Blades! Neal was also was also selected to be featured on the February 2021 cover of the GUITAR CONNOISSEUR MAGAZINE, to support his recent solo album Universe.

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PODCAST: Episode 123: Derek Sherinian on “The Phoenix”, Prog, and More!

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Ghost Cult caught up with progressive music legend and keyboardist/producer Derek Sherinian, (Sons of Apollo, Black Country Communion, ex-Dream Theater) to chat all about this new solo album, out this week, September 18th, via InsideOut Music. Derek discussed the new album, working with special guests such as Tony Franklin, Jimmy Johnson, Billy Sheehan, Joe Bonamassa, Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, Kiko Loureiro, Derek’s approach to composition, how he lays down guest tracks for bands around the world every day from his home studio, his with mentor and friend Simon Philips, covering Buddy Miles, a hint at future Sons of Apollo plans, discussing his keyboard heroes from history, and a cool story about Patrick Moraz. Pre-order the album here: https://dereksherinian.lnk.to/ThePhoenix and check out our chat. Continue reading →

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