Given the nature of his instrumental prowess, if you figured that there are few musical horizons for fret cruncher Joe Satriani to pursue, he'd probably be the first in line to agree with you.

After all, when you are at the top of your form, the envy of your peers, with every other mercury-fingered pentatonic freak nipping at your heels, there's little solace left in anything but broadening your musical horizons.

And even those must be getting slim, if the futuristic, cyber-metal on “Engines Of Creation” is any indication. With assistance from keyboardist, bassist, and CO-producer Eric Caudieux, Satriani shatters the sound barrier with an abrasive, techno-slanted sound that dotes on programming rather than on breakneck performance. Not that the guitarist has lost any dexterity as quickly as his hair.

Whipping through a rapid trill during the opening “Devil’s Slide” (that’s merely superhuman in low gear, but overwhelming during its epic conclusion), layering the trill in anticipation of a grand guitar army with a succession of loops.

Now working with percussive programming, synthetic sampling, and computer game dynamics, Satriani is keen to assume the 3K implications here, with titles like “Flavor Crystal 7” and “Borg Sex.” And while Satriani’s spellbinding fretwork has often been cited as a standard for accomplished players, it’s really about the only “human” element here. Amidst the volcanic drums and artificial techno-beats, the guitarist’s fluid tone is the most recognizable sound in this strange mix of metal surges and acid house rhythms.

This is an obvious change in direction for the plucky instrumentalist (often criticized for relying too much on his boogie and blowout quotients), with a hope here that he’s brave enough to venture a little farther.