To begin by treading some old ground - what has always separated John 5 from the crowded field of talented and accomplished guitar virtuosos is that John 5 is not up there simply to record himself playing a bunch of fancy scales as fast as he can, or offer an elaborate technical demonstration. John 5 composes songs (fine, pieces, if you want to follow the to-the-letter definition of which has lyrics and which doesn’t,) that are capable of telling stories through their movements and the pace and emotion of his playing.
His new album, Ghost just so happens to be his most accomplished in that space since the achievement that was Season of the Witch.
Worth noting: this is the first of John’s solo albums since Careful With That Axe to be listed as “John 5” and NOT “John 5 & The Creatures.” One wonders what changed, but in any event, the difference is largely cosmetic - as talented as The Creatures were (and bass player Ian Ross in particular,) the focal point is really John 5 himself, and always has been.
Anyway, to get back to the main point, please submit into evidence “A Hollywood Story.” It’s hard to know without speaking to the man what his actual intent with this piece was, but it’s abundantly clear that he’s telling a different, softer, more tender story than he is with “Fiend.” The former is a pleasant hum on a summer’s afternoon stroll, the second is a comic book come to aural life, complete with a smirking guitar tone ripped straight from the halcyon days of Judas Priest.
The title track is the closest John 5 gets on Ghost to a true exhibition piece, and the opening sequence is enough to make one think he’s going to try and top Van Halen’s Eruption. Ultimately, the piece breaks into something less solo-specific, but the same hallmarks of talent and expression are there.
Moving chronologically, the next two cuts are where John 5 shows his versatility, with the lounge-act reminiscent “Moon Glow,” and the requisite country/rockabilly swing of “You Me and the Devil Makes Three.” For as much as John 5 is known worldwide as a metal guitarist, these are passion pieces for him, and longtime fans have come to expect John to show this side of himself on his solo records as well. Frankly, Ghost could have used a little more of that.
Which is to say, the first three real cuts on the album (the opening track is an introduction and nothing more,) aren’t particularly remarkable in any tangible way. There’s nothing wrong with them, but given the spirit, fire and variety that comes later, “Deviant,” “Strung Out” and “La Express” don’t land with any real impact in the same way.
However, the best is saved for last, both for editorial purposes here, and on the album. “Executioner” might be the best song released so far this year (amidst a field of capable contenders.) It takes a lot to say ‘wow, I haven’t heard that before,’ and that’s what “Executioner” is. John 5 has never before packed so much drama into three-and-a-half minutes, and done it with such an incredible sense of tension and flow. His individual, intricate guitar part features very little variance, but it’s the pieces around it which make the song build into something great.
John 5 demonstrates once again that he has a unique understanding of the necessary balance between composition and virtuosity. If you’ve always been on board with John 5’s solo career, nothing changes here except that you’ve another album to add to your shelf and enjoy. If his previous effort, Sinner left you feeling unfulfilled, come back around and try Ghost. You won’t be disappointed.
My statements at the head of this will be brief this year, because I think a lot of these albums speak for themselves. As usual, we begin with a recitation of the rules – original studio albums only. No compilations, no re-releases, no live albums, no cover albums. And, as ever, my list goes to 11.
I think I will say only this – I love and would defend all these records against naysayers of any stripe, but I find myself wishing that more bands I didn’t already know had made the final cut this year. I suppose it’s something that there are three or four bands who have never the cut of my top ten before, but that’s a small consolation. I’m fearful that the drought of new names is because I’m in my middle thirties and I’m subconsciously rejecting things are new and different. More optimistically, and this is what I’m telling myself, I’m hoping the lack of new bands is a signal of two things – one, that several resurgences and comebacks were truly, unequivocally excellent, and second, that maybe as Chris C and I discussed, it was a slightly down year.
In the end, there were sixteen finalists. To get the final roster down to the necessary eleven players (and one honorable mention,) four worthy albums got left in the lurch. I have commemorated them below, and I parenthetically feel a little bad for Toothgrinder, as both of their last two albums fell just short.
And so I leave you with this list, one man’s humble opinion of the musical year that was. Good luck and godspeed.
Others Receiving Votes:
Deathchant – Deathchant
Lord Vapour – Semuta
Death Angel – Humanicide
Toothgrinder – I Am
Honorable Mention - While She Sleeps - So What?
Every year there’s an album that populates my list because it simply overwhelms with power and reminds me of the heady days of my youth, when thunderous alt metal ruled the roost and Rob Zombie had spawned a legion of soundalikes and also-rans. That’s where While She Sleeps make their headway, and they’ve gone and combined it with a twist of layered songwriting to add some depth.
11 - A Pale Horse Named Death - When the World Becomes Undone
This album absolutely deserves to be here, but I feel a little torn about starting with it, only because it’s hard to get excited about the year’s records when the list starts with the most depressing one. Many of the bands born from the ashes of Type O Negative have failed to really hit home (Seventh Void and Silvertomb being two of them,) but APHND has something. They’re both the closest spiritual successor to Type O and the most adept at carrying the spark of that band’s infectious songwriting. The primary difference is that APNHD generally lacks Type O’s tongue in cheek humor, instead focusing on the darkness of a world gone mad. Cue up the slow dirges, it’s a long, enjoyable ride.
10 - John Garcia - John Garcia & The Band of Gold
Speaking of artists who have it, John Garcia has it. I admit I’m eating a little crow here – if you had asked me who the member of Kyuss was who was destined to succeed as a solo act, I don’t know that I would have picked John. But there’s something about his dry, slow-burning band that’s clean and pure and infectious. Who knows if Vista Chino will end up being a one-off or not, but in the meantime, John Garcia is capably carrying the torch for desert rock.
9 - Devil to Pay - Forever, Never or Whenever
Nothing is more frustrating than a band from the underground who isn’t getting nearly the publicity or exposure they deserve. Overseas, that band is Red Eleven and in the good old continental United States, it’s Devil to Pay. Darlings of the metal scene in the Midwest, these crusaders for sludge from Indianapolis have been putting out one killer album after another since 2004’s Thirty Pieces of Silver. Fifteen years later, they’ve lost none of their steam and can spin out a killer riff at a moment’s notice. Get on the bandwagon, already.
8 - Children of Bodom - Hexed
It’s weird to think of Children of Bodom as elder statesmen, but at this point that’s where we are. They’ve taken a lot of twists and turns in their sound over the years, and Hexed is the natural evolution of their sound into a whole new phase. It’s not easy to write accessible and catchy death metal, but they’re figured out the formula and are better off for it. The news that three core members of the band are departing in December comes as a shock – particularly amidst the persistent rumor that the band’s name may have to change as a result. If this be the end of Children of Bodom as we know it, it’s a fine effort to go out on.
7 - BRKN LOVE - BRKN LOVE
And finally, we get to a band making their debut this year. 2019 was light on new acts who truly impressed, but these Canadians can bring it. To some extent, this album feels like a long EP more than a true album, but it’s still groovy and dire and heavy in all the right places. BRKN LOVE wears all their influences in plain sight, and that’s just fine, because they’re drawing on great material. I don’t know that I’ve had this much fun being introduced to a new band in this stripe since Wolfmother.
6- John 5 & The Creatures - Invasion
John 5 should no longer just be known as the guitarist for Rob Zombie and former guitarist for Marilyn Manson. He’s a musician unto his own right now, and the fact that Zombie allows him time and space on stage to touch ever so slightly on his solo pieces is sufficient testament to that fact. What separates John 5 from every other guitar virtuoso is that, and this sounds facile even as I say it but it’s true, he’s writing actual songs and telling stories, not just showing how many arpeggios he can play in thirty seconds (though he leaves plenty of space for that, too.)
5 - Combichrist - One Fire
Nobody is happier about the recent Industrial Revolution than me. Suddenly the genre is undergoing a huge comeback, and the big beats, cranked gain and scorched sounds are welcome in my ears any time. Combichrist has taken a lot of turns to make their sound more metal and less abstractly industrial, and I dare say they get better with every album. One Fire is a great listen for when you’re mad at the world. Or working out. Or playing sports. Or doing dishes. Or whatever damn time you want to listen to it.
4 - Life of Agony - The Sound of Scars
I wrote in great detail during my full review of this album why I’m conflicted about it. I won’t rake you all over the details again, but know that it’s because I’m not sure if I love this album because of what it is, or because it represents something that used to be. In any event, I’m quite certain the fault, if there is one, is with me, and not with the album. There are piled of bands out there who have tried to ape this sound in the past twenty years and fallen completely on their faces in the process. As a result, the door is open for Life of Agony to come marching in and teach a master class on the subject.
3 - Indestructible Noise Command - Terrible Things
The comeback is complete! INC now has more albums post-hiatus than pre-hiatus, and they appear to be here to stay (do some touring already, would you?) This album is an old-school thrash masterpiece, brimming with attitude and big riffs and speedspeedspeed. The band got away from the Pantera sound that had colored their other two recent albums (which I use only as a recognizable standard – INC predates Pantera and the intertwined history of the two bands is well documented,) and returned to the pure core of thrash from which they were born, to great effect.
2 - Royal Republic - Club Majesty
This album is fucking magnificent. It’s probably the album on this list that I go back and listen to the most. It’s a delicious blend of disco, rock and pure sleaze, molded together over cheap cocktails and sardonic songwriting. There’s only one thing that keeps this record from the top spot, and it’s that you have to be in the right mood to listen to it. The album lives right on the edge between sassy, over-the-top rock excess and completely and totally annoying. It plays that line to perfection, but boy, if you come into it with the wrong state of mind…..but don’t get me wrong. This is album #2 for a reason.
1 - Destrage - The Chosen One
I feel bad about this only because some might think I’m starting to show favoritism. Including this one, Destrage’s last three albums have finished 1, 1 and 2 in my end of year rankings (and Are You Kidding Me? No. could still make a case for number 1 over Red Eleven’s Round II.) Like all Destrage albums, this one grew me on over time. When it released in May, I thought it was good, but not as strong as the prior two. And then it wore on me. And wore on me. And for reasons I couldn’t understand, I just kept going back to it over and over again. Slowly it became a constant companion on road trips and when travelling for work. So, it’s hard not to think that some of this placement is based on the luck of timing – if it had released in October, I don’t know that I would have had enough time with it. There’s something about this band, though – they write lyrics way past the margin, bend their idiom for riffs that barely make sense and reach outside the comfort zone of genre to craft huge choruses and songs that are too irresistible to be denied. The Chosen One does nothing but continue the band’s dominance.
John 5 is single-handedly adjusting the expectations in the guitar virtuoso genre, and he’s doing it not by excelling at the conventional standard for what that label implies, but by widening the horizon of what can be included within it.
For decades now, we’ve struggled under the yoke of irrepressible and persnickety guitar players, who bridle at anything less than complete adulation and attempt to prove their mettle only through a dazzling display of six-string histrionics. The entire virtuoso genre, if it can be called such, has grown stale with unceasing displays of…well, virtuosity.
Enter into this staid mix John 5, a man in makeup who has built his reputation playing with first Marilyn Manson and then Rob Zombie, and while both are beloved, neither demands the full exertion of John’s musical acumen.
Yet here we are, as John 5 & The Creatures release another album “Invasion” unto the teeming mass of expectation. And what makes the album work, and by extension what makes John 5 and his band work, is that this is not just another display of self-important pomposity.
First off, a moment dedicated to The Creatures. More than mere session musicians who can provide some simple background rhythm for John to play over, The Creatures are an inimitable part of the experience. Much in the way that Larry LaLonde and Tim Alexander are the secret ingredients that make Primus work, so too are the Creatures to John 5. Drummer Logan Miles Nix whips back and forth between cadences and off-kilter beats for “Zoinks!” and in some ways his transitions are so abrupt but so perfect as to break one song down into a series of collected vignettes.
Ian Ross on bass…makes me never want to play my bass again, for I know I can never achieve his level. He is such a capable backbone to everything going on in the lead that he can fill both the rhythm and bass roles, thus allowing John’s theatrics to blossom.
Part of the formula here that I think many people miss when evaluating John 5 is that the secret to his solo project’s success is that John is first and foremost a songwriter, having penned tunes for everyone from Rod Stewart to Garbage to Ricky Martin. This, when coupled with his own personal background in country music, lends him the versatility to be able to write not just compelling solos, but compelling songs.
The best example of this is “Howdy,” which ignorant fans will overlook because they are seeking another heavy metal track, but is the album’s best single offering. In the fashion of the great Jerry Reed riffs of old, this song has a little bit of everything. There’s a time-stamped beat, a richly layered melody, a banjo, and some good-old-fashioned-staccato-picking that feels like a lost art. You can’t help but smile when you hear this song, even as it experiments with small pieces of electronic sampling and harmonic interludes. It flies by at just over three minutes and serves as a break between the two metal halves of the album.
Toward the end, we see John experiment again, this time with some funk overlays for the aptly named “I Like the Funk” like we haven’t seen him use before, and ends up giving the song just a touch of Bruno Mars vibe in the breakdowns. The fact that John and company can fold this so seamlessly into a more traditional rock framework speaks only to their ability as musicians.
Not everything here is as unilaterally awesome as it was for “Season of the Witch,” though. John and The Creatures try to move on into a few offshoots that, while ambitious, don’t yield a ton of results. In particular, the album is dotted by vocal sampling that feels disjointed and superfluous. Even “Howdy,” the album’s best cut, didn’t need a track of a woman yelling “Howdy,” and “I Like The Funk” suffers from a similar malady. The worst offender in this case is “I Am John 5,” which repeats that sentiment over and over, and actually distracts from the music, which is the reason we’re here. With all respect, we already know you’re John 5.
But! Don’t let that dissuade you. This album has highlights from one end to the other, and is the third straight home run hit by John 5 & The Creatures. One of the rare albums this year that is borne and best enjoyed through a pure love for music.
Another year, another chance to partake
in our society’s two favored pastimes – the ranking of things, and the
arbitrary judgment of subjective arts.
That being said, let me of course follow with the usual tongue-in-cheek
rigmarole about how this list is the definitive list of all the lists you will
read, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and Chris’
list is right, too. How does that work,
when we don’t have a single album in common?
The answer is, it’s our blog.
In all honesty, perhaps more this year
than in year’s previous, what I bring to you should not necessarily be taken as
unmolested gospel for the best albums of the year. What you, gentle reader, should glean from
this is that these are what I thought to be the best records of the year, and I
firmly believe that they are worth your time and exploration. You may or may not agree with my choices, but
let’s have that conversation, and the only way for us to start that
conversation is for one of us to make a statement. Therefore, this is my statement.
The rules, as frequent readers have come
to know them, are brief and as follows: all entries must be original studio
material. No live albums. No compilations. No cover albums. No re-releases. Oh, and I do a top 11, because, say it with
me now, it goes to eleven. That’s pretty
much it. Without further preamble, let’s
get to it:
EP of the year: Charcoal Tongue – “24 Hours:
My Deterioration”
I’m taking a page from Chris’ book here
and declaring and EP of the year, because there were a number of them worth
mentioning, and it doesn’t always feel fair to judge an EP against a full album. Unless that EP is Nine Inch Nails’ “Broken,”
it’s hard to go up against records of full sample size. But that by no means lessens the quality of
Charcoal Tongue’s effort, which is very raw but full of promise, as they send
out cascades of rock and metal at full bore into your speakers.
Honorable Mention – Serenity - “Lionheart”
Listen, I don’t want to sound all pompous,
but I often feel like I’m ‘done’ with power metal as a genre. Like, most of the bands sound similar to me,
the records are similar, and the songs all follow the same progressions and
arcs. Don’t get me wrong, there are many
I hold dear, but more often than not, I hear a new power metal record and I shrug
and go on about my business. Serenity’s “Lionheart,”
managed to grip my attention several times, and each time I thought I knew what
was going to happen next, the band would mix in some new, powerful riff that
snapped me right back to attention.
#11 – Life of Agony – “A Place Where
There’s No More Pain”
This album is here because of what it
is, but also because of what it represents.
From a musical standpoint, it’s a more mature, careful Life of Agony,
but that brings it with it a new paradigm, a pleasant shift from the fury of
their youth. It’s well designed and expertly
executed. It also represents the
accomplishment, at least in part, of a marginalized segment of the population. At the risk of making a political stand, no
one should be marginalized because of who they are. There’s a lot of that going around, and it
needs to stop.
#10 – ELM – “Dog”
Every year, there’s an album that cracks
my list because it throws all the rules of style and convention forcefully out
the nearest airlock, and plays music solely based in grit, piss and
vinegar. And for all the artistic vision
of the other albums on this list, ELM sits here proudly in blatant defiance of
that. Their record is noisy, overdriven,
disorganized, and a pure joy to listen to.
The music is so fuzzy it makes you feel like you’re chewing on a
mitten. And I love it.
#9 – Dead Quiet – “Grand Rites”
In stark contrast to the comparative
miasma of ELM up above, Dead Quiet’s “Grand Rites” is a slow-burning, trippy,
rising tide of music that gradually consumes your senses with its weird but
infectious combinations of drawn-out harmonies, rocking melodies and authentic
vocals. Don’t ask me to put my finger on
exactly why I like this album, just know that I do.
#8 – The One Hundred – “Chaos + Bliss”
And we’ve officially hit the first album
that requires some specific punctuation if you want to google the title. I honestly don’t know if rap metal will ever
make a comeback, but if it does, this could well be the form it will take. The One Hundred do an excellent job of
combining some of the tenets of that genre with a more mainline take on
alternative metal, and a healthy dose of hardcore thus mixing three sounds ranging between forgotten and stale into something new
and novel. The creativity and dare I say
bravery of this effort lands it in this spot.
#7 – Ember Falls – “Welcome to Ember
Falls”
We’ve talked about this a lot through
the years, but one of the private and unexpected joys of being a music
journalist is those rare occasions when you find something that’s different. In some ways, this is superior to even
finding an album you really like. This
album came out early in the year, and every time I thought about if I had a
totally unique listening experience this year, my brain returned to Ember
Falls. Not only is this a quirky record
with a lot of different genre mixing and oddly matched cadences, but it’s
actually fun to listen to, which separates it from the crowd of albums that
want to be different just to be different.
#6 – “Galaktikon II: Become the Storm”
It’s not quite Galaktikon, and it’s not
quite Dethklok. It is, in fact, an
amalgam of both, equally representing Brendon Small’s ability to be melodic and
forceful in his musical explorations.
There’s probably not a lot I can say here that you at home don’t already
know. This is a great record, and it
still strikes me as interesting that one of the year’s best metal albums came
from a guy who isn’t necessarily part of the inner metal circle. There’s a lesson there, to be sure.
#5 – Power Trip – “Nightmare Logic”
The one great thrash record of the year
was a really great thrash record. These
upstarts from Texas exercised all the right lessons when constructing this
album – great riffs, lot of open space to let them breathe, percussion that has
an accurate sense of when to push the pedal and when to lay off. In a year where thrash spun rather in circles
and couldn’t get out of its own way, Power Trip took the flag and ran with it.
#4 – Troubled Horse – “Revolution on
Repeat”
I think I finally have this album
properly rated. When I first heard it,
it passed by me without much though, but by some Providence, I kept coming back
to it. I spent a month in Waco, Texas
one week this summer, and this album was a frequent companion on my travels and
travails. Now that we’ve settled into
the winter, I think this is where the record fits in the grand scheme. Rock fans will love it; it’s loud, it’s tight
and the message is on point. If Graveyard
wasn’t going to release an album this year, this is the next best thing.
#3 – Nachtblut – “Apostasie”
And now we come to what might be the
most ‘fun’ album of the year. Which is
odd only because so much of the record’s imagery lingers around skulls,
darkness and bodies painted black. I don’t
know, maybe I’m reading it wrong; I don’t care, if I'm wrong, I like my version better. Anyway, there’s a lot of power on this track,
and the German band finds ways to integrate the best traits of KMFDM, Rammstein
and Combichrist into one gleefully raucous experience. The riffs are catchy as hell, the drums pound
like hammers and the contrasting pacing in the songs between the gothic leads
and the industrial walls of noise is perfect.
Bonus points for the band’s cover of the German pop song “Was Ist Denn
Los Mit Dir.” The album would made it on
this list without it, but having it just puts it over the top.
#2 – John 5 and the Creatures – “Season of the Witch”
In the history of my year-end top ten
lists, there have only been two albums to crack the rankings while not
featuring a single lyric. This one, and
John 5’s previous album “Careful With That Axe.” Unlike so many other virtuoso guitar players,
John is trying to not just entertain with his impressive skill, but write songs
that actually have movements and sound like songs people would want to listen
to. His variety of styles doesn’t hurt,
as he bends from rock to metal to country to ballad and occasionally mixes them
with great success. Part of what made
the old “Tom and Jerry” cartoons work so well is that the artists had an
amazing ability to tell stories without words.
It’s a rare talent and John 5 taps into that same vein, though through a
different medium.
#1 – The Midnight Ghost Train – “Cypress Ave”
No album this year has me coming back to listen to it again and
again more than this one.Robert
Heinlein has a great quote in his book “Time Enough for Love” that concludes
with “Specialization is for insects.”Midnight Ghost Train, off the strength of their very solid previous
album “Cold Was the Ground,” adamantly refuses to specialize, exploring six or seven
different musical idioms within their one album.They can play rock, blues, metal, hip-hop
with brass accompaniment, ballads of hurt and songs of praise.They are, in turn, comedic and campy and
angry and cautious and chastising and thoughtful.All of that occurs on “Cypress Ave,” before
you even get to the best part.The album’s
final cut, “I Can’t Let You Go,” as powerful an expression of the combination
of blues and metal and pure songwriting as has ever been recorded.It’s the best song of the year, on the best
album of the year.If you ignore
everything I’ve said up to this point, then I urge you to take heed of this
record.It’s that good.
