John Petrucci Releases His First Solo Album in 15 Years with Terminal Velocity

We’re excited to announce that our very own signature artist John Petrucci has released his second all-instrumental solo album, Terminal Velocity (his first one in 15 years). You can preorder the album here and stream on platforms on August 28th and on CD/LP on October 30th.

Terminal Velocity was written and produced by John Petrucci, recorded by James ‘Jimmy T’ Meslin and mixed and mastered bu Andy Sneap (Judas Priest, Kilswitch Engage, Arch Enemy). Collaborations on the album include the return of Dixie Dregs and Flying Colors bassist Dave LaRue and an anticipated reunion with drummer Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Winery Dogs, Sons Of Apollo).

I wanted the new tunes to really showcase what I’m all about as a player and to give an up-to-date depiction of where I am musically and how I like to express myself on the instrument. It’s about capturing the attitude of the performances and of course as always, very much about capturing the tone that I’ve worked so hard over the years to develop and refine.

John Petrucci to Guitar World

The 9 tracks on Terminal Velocity showcase John’s affinity for writing tightly-weaved, powerful guitar instrumentals. Leaving the listener feeling like they just stepped off of a thrilling musical roller coaster ride. Although a few of the songs were written quite a long time ago and even played live, they had never been properly recorded until now. Over half of the album’s content is new music that John created while in the studio quarantined during the Covid-19 pandemic.

I believe that making this record when I did really helped me maintain a sense of stability and normalcy during such a crazy time in our history. It was encouraging for me and my family to embrace something so hopeful and positive as we faced a very uncertain future in the music industry and in the world and for that, I am truly grateful for having music be such a big part of my life.

John Petrucci

Along with the new record, John Petrucci also released the music video for Terminal Velocity which you can check out below.

[Terminal Velocity] stemmed from one of the many ideas and seeds that I had collected over the past several years… I think it’s a great lead-off single and nicely represents a few of the different sides of this record that I wanted to explore as a guitar player.

John Petrucci

In addition to the new music releases, John has also launched his merch store on his official website. If you haven’t yet, make sure to explore his new Ernie Ball Music Man signature guitar collection for 2020. Including the new Majesty, JP Figured Top, and JP15 guitars.

The Majesty

Explore the 2020 Majesty offerings here.

JP Figured Top

Find out more about the JP Figured Top model in Dragon’s Blood here.

JP15

Learn more about the all-new JP15 in the Cerulean Paradise finish here.