Engines of Creation

This is the eighth studio album, released by Epic on 14 March 2000 as EK 67860. SME Records issued the Japanese edition, SRCS-2234, on 15 March. Mixing took place in June and July 1999 and the title was revealed on 13 December. It is a long way from the straightforward instrumental rock of everything before it. Satriani has described the record as completely techno, and it takes electronic methods head on: with the exception of Until We Say Goodbye, every track was built from guitars recorded and mixed unconventionally on computer platforms and then manipulated digitally with synthesizers and software. A limited EP, Additional Creations, was given away free alongside the album in some shops. Steve Huey at AllMusic gave it three stars, calling it the biggest stylistic shift Satriani had made and a brave and sporadically successful experiment. Longtime fans, and anyone who dislikes electronic sounds in guitar-based music, may be disappointed, he wrote, but he praised Satriani for challenging himself to find ways of coaxing totally new sounds from his guitar, noting that his melodies and main themes had rarely been this angular and off-kilter. Until We Say Goodbye was released as a single and brought a tenth Grammy nomination in 2001. The running order here is the import CD's as printed.