Jason Becker’s New Song Features THIRTEEN Incredible Guest Guitarists
In 2015, The Onion released this hilarious ‘review’ of Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which ‘film critic’ Peter K. Rosenthal complains about screen space wasted on things that aren’t superheroes:
I thought of this upon reading that Jason Becker’s new single, “Valley of Fire,” features what a press release refers to as ‘The Magnificent 13’ — a group of (uh-doy) thirteen guitar gods. No, really, look at this friggin’ list:
- Steve Vai
- Joe Bonamassa
- Paul Gilbert
- Neal Schon
- Marty Friedman
- Michael Lee Firkins
- Mattias IA Eklundh
- Greg Howe
- Jeff Loomis
- Richie Kotzen
- Gus G.
- Steve Hunter
- Ben Woods
Becker, of course, suffers from ALS, so while he’s still able to compose music thanks to the wonders of modern technology, he can’t play guitar anymore. In other words, he needs surrogates. And it’s not surprising that all of these amazing musicians would agree to work with Becker; he was a goddamn hero even before he was diagnosed.
Still, the sheer number of guys on this track! It’s overwhelming. But in a good way. I mean, there now exists in the world a song featuring current or former guitarists for Frank Zappa, Megadeth, Journey, Poison, Mr. Big, and Nevermore. That fact alone… did I mention that Becker is a goddamn hero yet?
Check out “Valley of Fire” below. The track will appear on Becker’s new album, Triumphant Hearts, which comes out December 7 on Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. Other notable guests include Joe Satriani, Chris Broderick, Uli Jon Roth, Gutherie Govan, Steve Morse, and Trevor Rabin. Pre-order it here.
