JOHN 5 & THE CREATURES – Sinner

All About Guitar

The guitarist known as John 5 first became known in the mid 1990s when as John Lowery he was an integral part of Rob Halford‘s 2wo, and his following work with David Lee Roth before being dubbed John 5 in Marilyn Manson and now Rob Zombie. The man who put the Telecaster on the map for Heavy Metal has a new solo album that is 99% instrumental music, with a little vocal expression from guest artists Dave Mustaine, Carla Harvey and Peter Criss. John 5 & The Creatures – Sinner is the 9th solo album, featuring Ian Ross on the bass guitar.

Mixture of Musical Styles

John 5 has a very unique approach to guitar that is a combination of all of the styles he grew up listening to, from Hee Haw to Hendrix. As on his previous solo albums, Sinner gives us a mixture of musical styles from Heavy Metal, to Thrash, to Industrial, to Jazz and Country picking. Though there is some vocals per se, it’s basically an instrumental album with a bit of almost poetry instead of singing. Even “Que Pasa” with Dave Mustaine is the band kicking it while Mustaine just repeats “Que pasa people que pasa”, which strangely works really well over this bluesy jam. From the Heavy Metal dirge sounds of “For I Have Sinned” to the stomping almost Techno feel of “Euphoria”, Jon 5 delivers a stunning array of guitar sounds that make for a great listen. Favorite tracks include “Land of Misfit Toys” and the almost Brian Setzer sound of “How High The Moon”.

Final Notes

Listening to this album reminds of the excellent Christmas albums Steve Vai produced some years back in the Merry Axemas series where many guitar players performed songs in many different styles. John 5 does this all on his own, and shows that albums do not need to be just one style from front to back. As The Beatles once showed the world that a band can have many styles or genres on one record like Revolver, John 5 & The Creatures continue to create albums that cover a wide range of musical styles that have one thing in common: kick ass guitar. This album comes highly recommended for guitar fanatics, whether they be shredders or country pickers. Sinner has something for every guitar fan.

Lineup

John 5 – guitars
Ian Ross – bass guitar

Guest artists:
Dave Mustaine
Carla Harvey
Peter Criss

Sinner – Tracklist

01. Welcome To The Island
02. For I Have Sinned
03. Euphoria (feat. Carla Harvey)
04. Que Pasa (feat. Dave Mustaine)
05. How High The Moon
06. Creepshow
07. Land Of The Misfit Toys
08. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
09. This Is How I Do It
10. Georgia On My Mind (feat. Peter Criss)