Rumors of a new Bon Jovi record have been circulating online for some time now, so when we caught up with Phil X at NAMM 2025 last month, we just had to ask him whether there was any truth behind the chatter.
While in conversation with Guitar World’s Michael Astley-Brown, the electric guitar veteran was asked about the possibility of forthcoming new material with the Jon Bon Jovi-fronted rock institution, and he confirmed such speculation was true.
“You heard a rumor? It’s right!” Phil X revealed while showcasing his J. Rockett PXO overdrive pedal. “I can’t expose the details, but you’re on the right track.”
The as-yet-unannounced Bon Jovi songs will follow 2024’s Forever, which served as the band’s 16th studio album and the third to feature Phil X on guitar after he officially replaced Richie Sambora in 2016.
And while the previous record saw Phil X up the electric guitar ante – just see tracks such as Living Proof for, erm, proof – this new instalment is set to see him take his playing down even grander avenues, after Jon Bon Jovi himself personally asked for “more Phil X” while tracking a solo.
“There’s one song where I was coached to play more,” Phil X continues when asked about his parts. “As opposed to, ‘It’s too much, play less,’ it was like, ‘Hey, at the end of the solo, can you go full Phil X?’ I was like, ‘Okay, but who are you?’”
As Phil recalls, it was Bon Jovi who coached him to let loose on his soloing: “He literally said, ‘I want more Phil X. Play something that not everybody can play.’”
Of course, chat about a new record will inevitably lead to talk of a potential supporting tour and live dates – something that Phil X was equally open to confirm.
“There is stuff in the works,” he coyly responds when asked whether a tour would follow. “Nothing confirmed, but they’re working on stuff.”
A Bon Jovi tour would be some comeback, especially since the group hasn't toured since 2022 after the vocalist was forced to recover from surgery on his damaged vocal cords, as documented in tell-all music doc Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
As recently as last year, Bon Jovi voiced his desire to tour again, but made it clear that would be entirely dependent on how successfully he recovers from the operation. Fortunately, if Phil X's comments are anything to go by, the recovery seems to be going well.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
“It was a total surprise. Prince sang, ‘In the purple…’ and then he pointed at me”: When Donna Grantis joined Prince’s band, she expected the unexpected – but she never thought he’d ask her to take iconic Purple Rain solo
“People say, ‘You’re playing the guitar on your lap, you learned from Guitar Hero.’ But it’s taken years to figure out how to write complex compositions”: Yasmin Williams brings lap-tapping and double-neck guitar to late-night TV with Colbert performance
