4 May 2012

John 5 – God Told Me To

This is John 5’s sixth studio album. He is obviously ex-Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist – yet, still one of the most underrated guitar players ever. The artwork is done by Rob Zombie himself. The album consists of 10 songs, consisting of a 41 minute journey. There is a clinical sound to his shredding, which is very addictive. Yet, in God Told Me To, there is now a dynamic opposition between acoustic, more emotional songs and his cold, clinical shredding that puts fear in your ears. The ratio is equal between acoustic (both steel and nylon) and electric guitar songs. The album title is a double entendre – referring to discursive tensions in the album. The album consists of a fascinating multitude of sounds, yet, not without John 5’s signature-sound to place it in context.  

Your humble narrator has seen this fucker in action and its true brilliance all the way. This dude is able to write symphony-type music on a guitar.

Welcome to Violence
Mind-crushing, frantic, all-out (what John 5 is about) shredding madness. It really makes me glad to hear that he opens with such a heavy song – it indicates towards the intensity of the album as whole. This is a truly violent song and it really welcomes one to the unique sounding world of John 5, whilst reminding you that serious music is going down.

Beat It
I’m going say it: the Michael Jackson cover is a bit weird – if it didn't actually rock my socks off. Yet, why did John 5 put it so early on the album? I would have ignored this song, if it wasn't so masterfully skilled.

Ashland Bump
A beautiful rhythm conquers the intro of this song, moving towards a really fast-paced acoustic guitar tempo. This song consists of a mystical array of sounds, showing another shade of the album. It once again portrays John 5’s very creative and innovative sound.

Killafornia
Jeez, the essence of John 5 oozes out on this song. What an interesting build-up, after what I would ‘traditionally’ assume is the verse. The drums pound away, placing the song in the milieu of John 5’s repertoire.  Here he relies on the formula of his clinical shredding sound.

The Castle
The Castle displays further acoustic brilliance. The song is very fast-pace and harmonic-laced, truly a brilliant song.  

The Hill of the Seven Jackals
The song starts very strong – creating a nice play between the acoustic and all out clinical shredding songs. For his style of guitar-playing, this is a very emotional song. That Fender screams with emotion during the solo. Intertwined with an industrial effect, with weird lasers shooting, sounding effect.

Noche Acosador
This is another acoustic song, this time with nice Spanish guitar music. It has a nice flamenco feel to it. The song is very different to the other songs on the album.

The Lust Killer
The song places one in the familiar evil-sounding backdrop that is John 5. The Lust Killer is a truly murderous song.

The Lie You Live
The song starts with a slow bass drum pounding the way to a very eerie acoustic song. Such a nice build from 1:15, makes you feel like ascending into the clouds.

This type of ingenuity is what I've been waiting for all year – a well-deserved 9/10

No comments:

Post a Comment