“This record is a return to joy”: Bon Jovi reunite with the talk box and roll back the years for a new comeback single that will give you serious Livin’ On a Prayer vibes

Bon Jovi have shared Living Proof, the newest single to be lifted from their upcoming 16th studio record, Forever.

Set to arrive June 7, Forever has already been previewed by lead single Legendary – an anthemic acoustic guitar-lead ballad – but Living Proof kicks things up a gear, and finds Jon Bon Jovi and Phil X return to electric guitars and reunite with the talk box.

A pillar of the Bon Jovi sound (largely thanks to that riff on Livin’ on a Prayer), the Talk box is pulled out of retirement to pay homage to the band’s biggest-ever hit, and used extensively over a main hook that has a similar bounce to the classic 1986 cut.

It very much is a song supercharged for 21st century ears, though, and that’s largely thanks to the contributions of Phil X. The virtuoso, who officially replaced Richie Sambora in 2016, chugs through much of the track, injecting it with a recurring, tidy sliding-drenched solo.

All things said, it’s bound to be a huge hit among Bon Jovi purists. The return of the talk box for a song that has “Living” in the title and a “wow-wow” opening riff? It's like Bon Jovi bingo.

The revisiting of such a sound doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, either. As Bon Jovi himself explains, Forever is very much a reflective record, and will see the band return to their roots.

“This record is a return to joy,” he observes. “From the writing, through the recording process, this is turn up the volume, feel good Bon Jovi.”

The theme of revisiting the past won’t just be evident from the music. As previously reported, Forever will feature a song titled My First Guitar, which was written by Bon Jovi using his actual first guitar after he tracked down the Strat copy 45 years after he sold it.

Living Proof has been released alongside the recently premiered band documentary, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. The career-spanning docu-series traces the band’s history, and is available to watch on Hulu and Disney+.

• Forever is available to preorder now via Island Records.