Heavy Song of the Week is a Heavy Consequence feature that breaks down the best metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, the title track goes to Joe Satriani and Steve Vai for their collaborative track “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1.”
Wait, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani had never released a song together until this week?
Perhaps it is those MP3s of pirated recordings of the G3 concerts of yesteryear that cloud our memory. But yes, as far as studio recordings go, “The Sea of Emotion, pt. 1” is the first “Satch/Vai” collaboration to date, and in it the guitarists pay tribute to their love of '70s rock.
Big, punchy riffs and virtuosic leads erupt from each axeman, offering a great preview of what fans can expect from Satriani and Vai's current joint tour. Additionally, the song consummates the long-standing musical relationship between Satriani and Vai, as the former taught the latter guitar in their teens.
Honorable mentions:
Aseethe – “The last time I did something for a damn friend”
Now that's the title of a song! As Aseethe bassist and vocalist Noah Koester explained, the phrase was actually said jokingly, sarcastically, years ago after the band put on a benefit show for a friend. But eventually the title became too real. “…a lot of people, at least in my life, ended up not being so wonderful,” Koester reflected. His frustrations are palpable on this beast of a single from the group Illinois Sludge, a seven-minute exercise in post-hardcore angular shifts, crushing tones and unhinged vocal expulsions.
BIG|BRAVE – “canon: in canon”
Guitar songwriter Marisa Anderson blends seamlessly into BIG|BRAVE's drone swaths on the band's latest single. Given Anderson's bluesier/Americana background, she's probably responsible for the crisper notes and tones that peak in the mix here, adding more colors to BIG|BRAVE's sonic expressionism.
Full of Hell – “Panting Dusk”
A minute of searing pain, “Gasping Dusk” manages to burst out of the speakers and actively disturb. This is art as function, and Full of Hell have become masters of this glorious talent, assembling their instruments, samplers and drum machines to chisel your nerves. Raw expression.
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