Hear Joe Satriani's New Song, "Thunder High on the Mountain"

Back in September, Joe Satriani announced What Happens Next, his 16th studio album.

The following week, we got our first taste of the album when Guitar World premiered its first single, the hard-charging "Energy." Now, Satriani has given us another of the album's singles, with "Thunder High on the Mountain."

Like "Energy" before it, "Thunder High on the Mountain" showcases the raw power of the trio—Satriani, Glenn Hughes on bass and Chad Smith on drums—that recorded What Happens Next.

Satriani saw What Happens Next—before he began recording it—as a chance to move away from the high-concept, sci-fi-influenced themes he's known for.

“I said to Chad [Smith] in an early text, ‘No odd time signatures, no progressive stuff, pure rock and soul,’" Satriani said. "The last two records really showed that I was enjoying playing with progressive elements, and when I reached the end of Shockwave Supernova, I said, ‘I think I’ve done it. For some reason, I don’t feel like going back over that anymore’.”

You can hear "Thunder High on the Mountain" for yourself below.

Jackson Maxwell

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.