{"id":99,"date":"2010-04-02T08:46:22","date_gmt":"2010-04-02T15:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/?p=99"},"modified":"2011-01-19T08:49:07","modified_gmt":"2011-01-19T15:49:07","slug":"hard-rock-haven-interviews-john-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/02\/hard-rock-haven-interviews-john-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard Rock Haven interviews John 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hard Rock Haven’s<\/a> Alissa Ordabai recently sat down with John 5 to speak about his new album The Art of Malice<\/p>\n

If his previous album, Requiem, sounded like it was conceived and executed inside an airless tomb \u2013 so dense and taut was the material \u2013 on his new record John 5 relaxes his grip, introducing a touch of off-hand splendour to his lab-like modus operandi which has always been all about precision, precision, precision. And this new approach works wonders, as he lets the proceedings unfold on a grander scale, letting in more air and light, and starting to think in bigger, bolder compositional ideas. <\/p>\n

The trademark swirls of notes dished out at a neck-breaking speed, his phenomenal chops, and a whacky sense of humour are all preserved intact, but on this release John 5 finally lets things breathe and move on a lighter foot, bringing in his flawless pop sensibility to strike an alluring contrast with his trademark penchant for some spooky fun and his virtuosic inclinations.<\/p>\n

Billy Sheehan guests on \u201cYa Dig\u201d, a racy, raunchy track where he and John trade some lightning-fast licks, but the real standout is \u201cIll Will or Spite\u201d \u2013 an instantly rememberable hard rock anthem, masterfully composed, arranged and executed with some of the most spectacular guitar chops the world has ever heard.<\/p>\n

What is also new on The Art of Malice is that here John 5 begins to treat his guitar almost like an orchestra of choice, using it as a vast soundboard to convey his new expansive compositional approach and his free, expanded vision.<\/p>\n

There is a lot of shrewd savvy to how this record is paced and how one track is contrasted against the other. Touchingly introspective moments are juxtaposed against ultra-fast passages, letting the album breathe and change colour from delicate dark hues to most flamboyant showers of colour.<\/p>\n

Nothing, however, prepares you for the final track titled \u201cThe Last Page Turned\u201d \u2013 an acoustic piece of magic echoing Jimmy Page\u2019s \u201cWhite Summer\u201d. Its eerie, brooding, profoundly reflective melancholy reminds us that behind astonishing chops and calculated brutality there had always been a deeply knowing, perceptive side to John 5\u2019s talent. And while he could always somehow intuit the most disturbing and most mesmerising things in music and in the human psyche, with this release it becomes clear that over the last two years he\u2019s managed to learn a great deal more.<\/p>\n

Label: 60 Cycle Hum \/ Rocket Science Ventures<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

1. The Nightmare Unravels
\n2. The Art of Malice
\n3. Ill Will or Spite
\n4. J.W.
\n5. Ya Dig
\n6. Can I Live Again
\n7. Portrayed as Unremorseful
\n8. Steel Guitar Rag
\n9. Wayne Country Killer
\n10. Fractured Mirror
\n11. The S Lot
\n12. The Last Page Turned<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If his previous album, Requiem, sounded like it was conceived and executed inside an airless tomb \u2013 so dense and taut was the material \u2013 on his new record John 5 relaxes his grip, introducing a touch of off-hand splendour to his lab-like modus operandi which has always been all about precision, precision, precision. And this new approach works wonders, as he lets the proceedings unfold on a grander scale, letting in more air and light, and starting to think in bigger, bolder compositional ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[3],"tags":[620,13,20],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","tag-interview","tag-john-5","tag-the-art-of-malice","tw-post-no-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qFj4-1B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":307,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/05\/15\/mind-over-metal-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":99,"position":0},"title":"Mind Over Metal reviews The Art of Malice","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"May 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Review"","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":588,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2011\/03\/15\/learn-to-play-with-john-5-via-allaxess-com\/","url_meta":{"origin":99,"position":1},"title":"Learn to play with John 5 via Allaxess.com","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"March 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"John 5 \u201cThe Art Of Malice\u201d Chicken Pickin Lesson Now Available!","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/John-5-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":105,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/30\/theywillrockyou-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":99,"position":2},"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 "Review"","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/20\/backstageaxxess-reviews-the-art-of-malice\/","url_meta":{"origin":99,"position":3},"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 "Review"","block_context":{"text":"Review","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/review\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/08\/15\/maximum-ink-interviews-john-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":99,"position":4},"title":"Maximum Ink interviews John 5","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"August 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"John 5 is best known for his work as former guitarist for Marilyn Manson and also as guitarist for Rob Zombie. He has one of the most impressive resumes in rock having working with artists like, K.D Lang, Lita Ford, Meatloaf, David Lee Roth, Salt-N-Pepa, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. His latest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"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":99,"position":5},"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 "Review"","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\/99","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=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}