“I wanted to have the most Steve Vai song possible on the record – but I didn’t want it to be the classic guitar battle”: Matteo Mancuso on his blockbuster Steve Vai collaboration – and the advice the guitar icon gave him

Matteo Mancuso taps out a solo on his Yamaha Revstar while Steve Vai gets creative on his Ibanez PIA .

We are not even half-way through 2026 yet so it’s a little early to be talking about the electric guitar tracks of the year, but if we could be so bold as to make a prediction, let’s just say that Matteo Mancuso’s Solar Wind, featuring Steve Vai, is going to be right up there by the year's end.

The opening track on Mancuso’s bravura sophomore album, Route 96 – a title that just so happens to be inspired by Vai – brings together two greats of the instrument, one who has been extending guitar’s musical possibilities ever since he joined Frank Zappa’s outfit in 1980, the other who is only just getting started, having released his debut just three years ago.