Vinnie Moore Announces New Album 'Soul Shifter'

K. Wiggins | 09-18-2019

UFO star Vinnie Moore have announced that he will be relasing a brand new studio album, entitled "Soul Shifter", on October 9th via on his label Mind's Eye Music

The record will feature guest appearances by Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Dio) and Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), with Richie Monica, Michael Bean, John Cassidy, and John Pessoni.

Vinnie had this to say, "I have been touring all over the world extensively with UFO and my solo band for the past 16 years. I started this album a couple years back and have been working on it religiously between tours.

"It's quite different than any of my others. It has elements of things I've done in the past, but has gone much deeper into certain areas. There is an overall sort of contrast between energetic upbeat songs, versus ballad-like soulful ones which has always been a big part of my style. There are some Jam elements in places too. This is likely the most emotional and soulful thing I have ever done. Very moody, with lots of feel.

"I wrote a song as a tribute to Carlos Santana, called Brother Carlos, and another called Gainesville Station which is a tip of the hat to Steve Gaines. Both players were huge influences on me when I was learning to play, and continue to be now.

"When something moves me, what I am feeling flows directly into music. That's how I deal with reality. I woke up one morning to the news that Chris Cornell had passed and it really hit me hard. I went into my studio, picked up a guitar and immediately wrote and recorded Mystified.

"Without intending to do so, and because of what was going on around me at the time, this album in a way became a tribute to people who meant something to me. The Allman Brothers were always one of my favorite bands and I was working on a song called Soul Rider that was inspired by them. While writing it, unfortunately Greg Allman left us.

"A lot of heart went into recording that song. Also, I wrote a song called Heard You Were Gone for my friend and band mate Elliott (Dean Guitars) who left us unexpectedly a couple years back.

"There are definitely some downhearted cathartic moments on this album, but they're balanced out with songs like Kung Fu Grip and Funk Bone Jam that represent the opposite side of my personality, which is my constant joking and quirky sense of humor".