BUMBLEFOOT Explains How He Got BRIAN MAY And STEVE VAI To Guest On His New Solo Album

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current ART OF ANARCHY guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about his upcoming instrumental album, "Bumblefoot ...Returns!", set for release on January 24, 2025.

"The very first album that I ever put out on Shrapnel Records [in 1995], it was this instrumental guitar album called 'The Adventures Of Bumblefoot'," Thal said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And it was just a bunch of weird guitar music. And since then I always did vocal stuff and stuff with bands and everything. And then, during the pandemic, I got the itch. I was, like, 'Let me do a bunch more instrumental things and put out an album.' And yeah, it's coming out."

Regarding how he got Brian May and Steve Vai to guest on the album, Ron said: "[Brian and I] have corresponded here and there for the past 15 years or so. And same with Steve — for, like, 10 years. So, I asked them. And Guthrie Govan I've known since we were teenagers, since 1989. I was in a guitar magazine, and he wrote to me. He was, like, 'Hi, I'm a guitarist. I live in the U.K. Check out my demo.' And I'm, like, 'Cool, cool.' And we became penpals. We'd write each other handwritten letters and send cassettes back and forth of just all our little demos, and we've been friends ever since."

Asked if the guest appearances were recorded remotely or if he was in the room with May when the QUEEN guitarist laid down his track, Thal said: "These days people do things remotely; it's most common that everyone works remotely when they're doing guest stuff. And you record it at your own studio, you send it to the people and they put it into the multi-tracks, and good to go.

"As you're working on songs, you could just imagine certain people that would fit with the song," Ron added. "Like the song with Brian May, it wasn't the original plan [to have him on it]. I was just making a song, but by the time the song was really coming together and all the parts were there and I was hearing it, it was, like, 'My God. This song wouldn't be complete without him. It needs his playing just to make it what it's meant to be.' So I asked him. And he did it. And over the years we've done a couple of things together. We've done festivals where we played with each other on stage, doing things. There's a festival he's involved with called Starmus. It is a mix of astrophysics and music. So they have all these incredible geniuses giving lectures and then they have a bunch of musicians that that play and put on concerts and everything, all combined. And we've done two of those together, and next year there's gonna be more."

Thal went on to praise May as a human being, saying: "Everyone that's guests on the album are all wonderful souls or I wouldn't want them on the album. That's first and foremost. But he absolutely is just such a sweet, wonderful guy. And he's as smart as they get."

"Bumblefoot ...Returns!" will arrive 30 years after Thal's debut solo instrumental album. On the new LP, Bumblefoot revisits his roots with a 14-track masterpiece that spans genres from metal to orchestral to blues.

The album's opening track, "Simon In Space", serves as its first single, delivering an electrifying ride through chaos and intensity. In addition to the single, an animated music video created by Bumblefoot and animator Radek Grabinski is also available, as well as a retro-inspired video game, which is coming soon.

Bumblefoot commented: "From an early age, my passions were guitar and astrophysics, cosmology — the song 'Simon In Space' merges the two. Simon is my cat, haha; that's him featured in the artwork."

Soon fans will be able to immerse themselves in a retro-inspired video game based on the single. More details will be announced soon.

"Bumblefoot ...Returns!" features collaborations with iconic musicians, including Brian May, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Derek Sherinian, Jerry Gaskill and others, showcasing Bumblefoot's innovative guitar techniques, such as his signature fretless guitar and "thimble technique."

On the album, Bumblefoot shared: "It's been 30 years since releasing the debut 'Adventures Of Bumblefoot' on Shrapnel Records, and I haven't done a fully instrumental album since. Writing during the pandemic, these songs became a soundtrack to my life — from heavy fretless growls to bluesy tributes to legends like Lonnie Johnson. It's a reflection of the moments that shaped me."

He added: "Working on WHOM GODS DESTROY's album inspired growling heavy fretless parts like 'Simon In Space'. Watching a blues documentary inspired 'Moonshine Hootenanny'. Losing loved ones led to writing 'Funeral March'. Songs become a soundtrack to our lives."

The album is available for pre-order now on vinyl, CD, and cassette, with exclusive merch bundles at bumblefoot.com.

"Bumblefoot ...Returns!" track listing:

01. Simon In Space
02. Planetary Lockdown
03. Moonshine Hootenanny
04. Chopin Waltz Op64 No2
05. Monstruoso (featuring Steve Vai)
06. Monstruoso II – Departure
07. Cintaku
08. Once in Forever (featuring Brian May)
09. Andalusia
10. Anveshana (featuring Guthrie Govan)
11. Funeral March (featuring Ben Karas)
12. Griggstown Crossing
13. The Thread
14. Liftoff

Thal joined GUNS N' ROSES in 2006 and appeared on 2008's "Chinese Democracy", an effort which contained music that had been written before he came into the group. The disc took 13 years to make and was only a modest seller, moving just around half a million copies.

Thal never officially announced his departure from the GN'R, but a source confirmed to Detroit music writer Gary Graff back in 2015 that the guitarist had been out since the end of the band's second Las Vegas residency in 2014.

Thal later revealed that he was focusing on his solo career and other projects after spending eight years playing in GUNS.

Thal spent a few years recording and touring with SONS OF APOLLO, which also featured drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and bassist Billy Sheehan. SONS OF APOLLO released its second studio album, "MMXX" (pronounced: 20/20),in January 2020 via InsideOut Music/Sony.

ART OF ANARCHY's third studio album, "Let There Be Anarchy", was released in February 2024 via Pavement Music.

Joining founding ART OF ANARCHY members Jon Votta (guitar),Vince Votta (drums) and Thal in the band's new lineup are vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, SONS OF APOLLO) and bassist Tony Dickinson (SOTO, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).