Joe Satriani has released the first single from his upcoming album, What Happens Next.

"Energy," which you can listen to above, departs from the sci-fi themes the guitarist is known for -- a reflection of the entire album, which is due on Jan. 12, 2018. "The song shows the power, fun and excitement of true and spontaneous musical chemistry," Satriani told Guitar Worldadding that it features "Chad [Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer and Satriani's Chickenfoot bandmate], Glenn [Hughes, Deep Purple bassist] and me rockin’ out, not holding back, reveling in the moment."

Satriani noted that for all this to work, he wanted the album to be "about a human being, two feet on the ground, heart pumping, with emotions, dreams, and hopes. That seemed to be the direction I really was yearning for.” In other words, he wanted to strip it all back to the basics. "I said to Chad in an early text, ‘No odd time signatures, no progressive stuff, pure rock and soul.' 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.'”

As previously reported, Satriani has also announced his upcoming tour plans for G3, which will feature him alongside Dream Theater's John Petrucci and Def Leppard's Phil Collen. “I could say that I’m surprised at the durability of G3 and how much it’s grown, but in a way I’m not,” Satriani said in a recent press release about the guitar-oriented tour. “I think part of its charm and its mojo is in the chemistry of having three top guitarists share what they do on stage. It’s fun, it’s unpredictable, it’s wild, it’s everything you could want in a show.”

What Happens Next is Satriani's 16th album. It's available for pre-order on his website, as is a list of G3 tour dates.

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