The Sea of Emotion arrives November 6 via earMUSIC, more than 50 years after the pair first crossed paths.
LOS ANGELES Sept 2, 2026 – Satriani posted the news Wednesday alongside a promotional video, calling the record “the first studio album from SATCHVAI” and highlighting a friendship that began in 1973. New single “Mayhem” is streaming now. The track features the two guitarists trading lines and stacking harmonies over a driving rhythm section that includes drummer Gregg Bissonette and bassist Billy Sheehan.
The album title comes from a field near Carle Place High School on Long Island, where the teenage Satriani and Vai would sit and talk late into the night. Vai later used a restored reel-to-reel recording of the two jamming as kids as the foundation for the closing movement of a three-part suite that gives the album its name.
“We’ve been planning this since 1973,” Vai said. “Just unconsciously.” He added that the project felt like “a beautiful coming together of me and my friend in a very intimate musical way.” Satriani noted that their contrasting writing styles made the sessions especially rewarding.
The 10-track album collects earlier singles—“The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1” (2024), “I Wanna Play My Guitar” featuring Glenn Hughes (2025), and “Dancing” (2026)—with new material. Full tracklist:
- Mayhem
- Bronco Freight Train
- Dancing
- The Feeling I Know
- Zoot Suit Riot
- Old Sins Have Long Shadows
- I Wanna Play My Guitar
- The Sea of Emotion Pt. 1
- The Sea of Emotion Pt. 2
- The Sea of Emotion Pt. 3 / Reflections On A Year And A Half
SATCHVAI has already toured as a live band with drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Marco Mendoza, and guitarist Pete Thorn, first in Europe in 2025 and then across North America this spring on the “Surfing With The Hydra” tour. The studio album marks the first time the two have written and recorded a complete record together after decades of G3 co-bills and guest appearances.
Pre-orders and the new single are available now. Fans who have waited since the pair first joked about making a record in a 1990 Guitar World interview finally have a date on the calendar.
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