Joe Satriani

The King Crimson guitarist’s peculiar requests led Satch to label him as “one of the most interesting characters” to have been involved in the event

Satriani confirmed that he has been involved in discussions with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth regarding "a true tribute to Eddie and the Van Halen legacy" for "about a year"

Though it's unclear whether the lineup would have taken part in some kind of Van Halen tribute tour, or a tour under the Van Halen name, Newsted said that the idea eventually "fizzled"

Featuring a whopping 44 shows in total, the trek – dubbed the Earth tour – will take Satriani across the continent from late September through mid-November

"Once in a while, you write something you probably shouldn’t have written," joked Satriani about this song

Also in this issue: Animals As Leaders, the world's first official look at Line 6's new DL4 MkII, John McLaughlin, Eddie Phillips, Volbeat, Khemmis, Squeeze and more

Kickstart the weekend with new music from Joe Satriani, Def Leppard, Machine Gun Kelly, James LaBrie, Royal Blood, Arcade Fire and more

It's the third single to be lifted from the shred virtuoso's upcoming 19th studio album, The Elephants of Mars, which is due April 8

Featuring virtual collectors cards and "original audio elements" from Satriani, it was announced in tandem with the fourth edition of his sci-fi comic book series, Crystal Planet