{"id":307,"date":"2010-05-15T07:05:31","date_gmt":"2010-05-15T14:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/?p=307"},"modified":"2011-01-23T07:07:32","modified_gmt":"2011-01-23T14:07:32","slug":"mind-over-metal-reviews-the-art-of-malice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/05\/15\/mind-over-metal-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","title":{"rendered":"Mind Over Metal reviews The Art of Malice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>John 5 \u2013\u00a0The Art of Malice\u00a0released May 11, 2010 on 60 Cycle Hum Records\/Rocket Science Ventures<\/strong>: <a title=\"http:\/\/www.mindovermetal.org\/review-john-5-the-art-of-malice\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mindovermetal.org\/review-john-5-the-art-of-malice\/\" target=\"_blank\">mindovermetal.org\/review-john-5-the-art-of-malice\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rating : 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 5 is a jack-of-many-trades when it comes to guitar. We just heard some of his work on\u00a0Rob Zombie\u2018s\u00a0Hellbilly Deluxe 2 earlier this year, although that album wrapped up recording in 2008 (the year his fourth solo effort,\u00a0Requiem, was released). I was apprehensive approaching\u00a0The Art of Malice because I have not seen a color scheme like this since\u00a0Jack Johnson\u2018s\u00a0Curious George soundtrack. Thankfully, it is virtuosic yet listenable, humorous and heavy, with a unique stamp that is nearly complete.<\/p>\n<p>Opener and lead single \u201cThe Nightmare Unravels\u201d is the best, biggest, and flashiest original number here, where he pulls out all the stops to better slacken your jaw. The closest competitor is \u201cYa Dig?\u201d (in sly salute to\u201cDiamond\u201d Dave), which features none other than\u00a0Billy Sheehan (they both played with\u00a0DLR, albeit a decade apart). But the obvious tribute is found in \u201cFractured Mirror\u201d from\u00a0Ace Frehley\u2018s eponymous solo album, which receives loving treatment on\u00a0The Art of Malice. I never noticed how much that song reminds me of\u00a0Ozzy\u2018s \u201cYou Can\u2019t Kill Rock and Roll\u201d before now.<\/p>\n<p>John 5 will surprise you, too. He reminds us that one of his toes always dips into country, as he demonstrates in \u201cJ.W.\u201d (his first two initials, John William). And the slide guitar twang of \u201cCan I Live Again\u201d can wrench a tear from the driest eye. But my favorite smash into left field was certainly \u201cSteel Guitar Rag\u201d, which effectively transports the listener a century back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPortrayed as Unremorseful\u201d gives more than one nod to Mr. Joe Satriani for the duration, and sidesteps intoLed Zeppelin\u2018s \u201cHeartbreaker\u201d for half a minute in the middle. I also like the feral cat yowls he elicits from his instrument throughout \u201cWayne County Killer\u201d (named after murderer Chad Campbell). After revving up one last time in \u201cThe S-Lot\u201d, \u201cThe Last Page Turned\u201d lets you down easy with beautifully intricate acoustic work.<\/p>\n<p>John 5 is an artist determined to flourish in the music world. By continuously challenging himself, he has shared the stage with musicians as disparate as\u00a0Marilyn Manson and\u00a0k.d. lang. On\u00a0The Art of Malice, his signature sound (by way of Fender Telecaster) becomes all the more recognizable.<\/p>\n<p>FCC OK<br \/>\nTry\u00a01, 5, 7, 9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ohn 5 is an artist determined to flourish in the music world. By continuously challenging himself, he has shared the stage with musicians as disparate as Marilyn Manson and k.d. lang. On The Art of Malice, his signature sound (by way of Fender Telecaster) becomes all the more recognizable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[13,621,20],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review","tag-john-5","tag-review","tag-the-art-of-malice","tw-post-no-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qFj4-4X","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/20\/backstageaxxess-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":307,"position":0},"title":"BackstageAxxess reviews The Art of Malice","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"April 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The next track, \"J.W.\" has a Junior Brown-esque rockabilly feel to it. That rockabilly flavor comes back later on \"Steel Guitar Rag\" with hints of Stephen Foster's bluegrass classic 'Oh! Suzanna' at the beginning of the track. \"Wayne County Killer\" brings back the hard rockin' riffs and is followed up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Review&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":310,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/07\/15\/life-music-media-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":307,"position":1},"title":"Life Music Media reviews The Art of Malice","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"July 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Art of Malice is a dynamic record that peaks and troughs well throughout its 12 tracks. Just as you get comfy immersing yourself within the drama of slower tracks like \u2018Can I live Again\u2019 and the tension of \u2018Fractured Mirror\u2019, you\u2019re beaten over the head by thrashy outbursts and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Review&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":300,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/05\/11\/hall-of-the-mountain-king-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":307,"position":2},"title":"Hall of the Mountain King Reviews The Art of Malice","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"May 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s almost insane how quickly this record goes from crushingly heavy to groove to twang, yet somehow it all flows. \u201cThe Art of Malice\u201d proves John 5 to be as much a shredder as any of the guys that came out of the style\u2019s 1980s heyday, but also a bit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Review&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":302,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/06\/10\/number-of-the-blog-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":307,"position":3},"title":"Number of the Blog reviews The Art of Malice","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"June 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The album starts off with a blast with \u2018The Nightmare Unravels\u2019, as atmospheric guitar sounds give way to an explosive riff and lightning-fast soloing. This track truly exhibits what John 5 does best, pairing lead pyrotechnics with catchy melodies. \u2018The Art Of Malice\u2019 is a shorter track of bluegrass picking,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Review&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/08\/john-5-video-teaser-for-%e2%80%9cthe-art-of-malice%e2%80%9d\/","url_meta":{"origin":307,"position":4},"title":"John 5 Video Teaser For \u201cThe Art Of Malice\u201d","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"April 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The brand new teaser for The Art of Malice out May 11 2010","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":105,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/30\/theywillrockyou-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":307,"position":5},"title":"Theywillrockyou reviews The Art of Malice","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"April 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The guitar world is cluttered with players that can play a million notes a minute. John 5 established that he can hold his own with them a long time ago.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Review&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}