Watch Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt and Zakk Wylde Shred Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"
The four guitarists paid tribute to Freddie Mercury at the Pennsylvania stop on the Generation Axe tour.
Recently, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and Tosin Abasi pulled out an awesome cover of Deep Purple’s “Burn” at the November 27 stop on the Generation Axe tour, at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, PA.
As it turns out, they also unveiled another cover song that night—Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The musicians, minus Abasi, worked up a four-axe arrangement of the classic track in recognition of the 27th anniversary of singer Freddie Mercury’s passing. In addition to some incredible guitar harmonies on the operatic middle section, Vai and Malmsteen also paired up up to play Brian May’s legendary solo in unison.
“We worked up this arrangement of one of the most iconic Queen songs and we just enjoy playing it so much for you,” Vai says before the performance. “Enjoy this.”
You can check out fan-filmed footage above.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
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