While often seen as one of the elite group of ‘shredders’, Steve Vai has always been on its periphery, as a musician who is much more versatile than that.
He's a player who values melody, harmony, form, tone and texture far more than explosive or lightening-fast fretboard workouts, which of course he’s masterly capable of. The last two both feature on Inviolate, of course, but they're wrapped up with all those other attributes.
Regardless of the virtuosity on show, much of Inviolate is song-based, with changes of key, tempo, intensity and feel the key elements complementing the eye-popping musicianship.
Dropping the pace, Greenish Blues is 21st-century blues that best shows the many sides of Vai’s playing, putting him a class of his own.
