John 5 & The Creatures, Sinner Review

John 5 is a guitarist and composer known as an eclectic showman and horror-obsessed pop culture maverick. His robust and expansive discography displays his wide-ranging tastes, and his talent is as vast and diverse as his renowned collection of guitars. As a teen, John 5 moved to Hollywood to pursue his rock n’ roll dreams and follow his artistic muse wherever it leads. John 5 built a reputation as an in-demand guitarist and has shared the stage as axe-man for Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Halford. He has also worked with an impressive array of names, from all walks of music, including KD Lang, Rod Stewart, Dave Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, Tina Guo, and Steven Adler. John 5 is now releasing his thirteenth album as a leader titled Sinner.

Bottom Line:  Sinner presents ten tracks of pure John 5 displaying his vibrant energy and passionate emotion through his guitar and writing. This is John 5’s first new music since 2019 and comes to us amid the Covid 19 pandemic. John 5 explains, “When people hear this record, I want them to say, ‘Oh, that’s John 5.’ What you get with Sinner is the best of me. I just want to write memorable riffs that people will enjoy. When I sit on my couch and play my guitar, I play the same things you hear on the instrumental records. It’s honest. It’s real. It’s not a façade. This is how I play. This is what I love to do.” He continues, “I have such an appreciation for Dave, and I love his voice, guitar playing, and songwriting. And he kills it on “Que Pasa.” It was such a joy to have him on this track.” “Welcome To The Island” is the opening track and a fine example of John 5 stringing arpeggios together to form a powerful melodic statement. “For I Have Sinned” has elements of metal (with a variation of a Metalica riff for good measure) and more arpeggios, tapping, and alternate picking. Carla Harvey makes a guest appearance on “Euphoria,” giving the album a nice sonic change. “How High The Moon” is a jazz standard that John 5 spins out multiple choruses of fine chicken picken’ as he follows the harmonic progression beautifully, country swing with attitude! “Georgia On My Mind” is another jazz standard. Peter Criss makes reference to Kenny Burrell the opening of the song. Although John 5’s playing is impressive, it does not fall into the Burrell camp of straight-ahead jazz. “This Is How I Do It” is a tour of many of John 5’s guitar trademark techniques strung together in an entertaining medium tempo rock extravaganza. Overall, Sinner is ten tracks full of hooks, melody, and guitar-driven virtuosic playing. It is time to get to know the gospel of John 5, and that’s the short of it!

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