Generation Axe Premiere New Live Recording of "Highway Star"

(Image credit: Fournier & Malloy)

Today, we've teamed up with Generation Axe—the spectacular touring quintet of guitar heroes featuring Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Wylde, Nuno Bettencourt and Tosin Abasi—to premiere their live recording of the Deep Purple classic, "Highway Star." You can check it out below.

"Highway Star" is taken from the group's upcoming live album, Generation Axe—The Guitars That Destroyed the World: Live In China

Collecting performances from the tour’s 11-city run in Asia in 2017, the album is set for a June 28 release via earMUSIC. To preorder the album, step right this way.

“For me, I might say that our arrangement and performance of 'Highway Star' captures a good essence of what Gen-Axe is about," Vai told Guitar World. "In this song we all came together and worked out a spectacular five guitar arrangement of this classic masterpiece, with an interplay of harmonies that is uniquely structured and potent. 

"There are shifting solo sections tailor made for each guitarist, and a deep respect to the structure of wicked fast harmonies engineered around Richie Blackmore’s historic solo. And then there’s Yngwie’s powerful vocal performances on this track too. It has a high degree of rock and roll energy in it.”

You can check out the album art and tracklist for Generation Axe—The Guitars That Destroyed the World: Live In China below.

For more info on the group, head on over to generationaxe.com.

Generation Axe—The Guitars That Destroyed the World: Live In China track list:

1. Generation Axe - Foreplay

2. Tosin Abasi - Tempting Time

3. Tosin Abasi and Nuno Bettencourt - Physical Education

4. Nuno Bettencourt - A Side of Mash

5. Nuno Bettencourt and Zakk Wylde - Sideways

6. Zakk Wylde - Whipping Post

7. Steve Vai - Bad Horsie

8. Yngwie Malmsteen - Valhalla / Baroque n Roll / Overture / From a Thousand Cuts / Arpeggios from Hell / Far Beyond the Sun

9. Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai - Black Star

10. Steve Vai / Zakk Wylde / Nuno Bettencourt / Tosin Abasi - Frankenstein

11. Generation Axe - Highway Star

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Jackson Maxwell

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.