JOHN 5: The Art of Malice

Produced by Chris Baseford and John 5

Released: May 11

To anyone not that familiar with John 5's work beyond his teamings with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, the idea of him as a solo instrumentalist may come as a surprise. But long before he changed his surname to a numeral, he was swinging the plank with David Lee Roth, Lita Ford and others, and The Art of Malice is his fifth solo release since 2004.

5's number five showcases the depths of his talent and the diversity of his playing that his work with Manson and Zombie may not so clearly display. Not surprisingly, he chooses to open with the brisk metal of "The Nightmare Unravels", immediately showing his chops as a lightning-fast and clearly innovative player. He is quite a breathtaking guitarist, but if the whole album had been like this it would become very boring very quickly. Fortunately, John 5 breaks up the shredtastic array of face-melting arpeggios and scales-based fret-blazing with other moves. On "Can I Live Again?" he adds some cool slide playing and on "J.W." and "Steel Guitar Rag" he steps out with some blues and ragtime workouts (not to mention the country feel he invokes in "Wayne County Killer"). The Art of Malice also serves as something of a tribute to the guys who influenced him: "Fractured Mirror" is an Ace Frehley cover and "Ya Dig" -- featuring Billy Sheehan -- is a Van Halen-inspired piece. Combining the solo from Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" with the riff from "Rock and Roll" in "Portrayed as Unremorseful" is also a clever touch.

Whatever one may think of the other bands he's played in (including Halford's 2wo, by the way), there's no doubt that John 5 is a spectacular and talented guitarist. The Art of Malice doesn't exactly break any rules when it comes to instrumental shred albums and doesn't have the same cross-over appeal that Vai and Satriani do, but guitar fans will certainly dig it.

1. The Nightmare Unravels
2. The Art of Malice
3. All Will or Spite
4. J.W.
5. Ya Dig?
6.  Can I Live Again?
7. Portrayed as Unremorseful
8. Steel Guitar Rag
9. Wayne County Killer
10. Fractured Mirror
11. The S-Lot
12. The Last Page Turned

Rating: 75%

STEVE VAI: Where the Wild Things Are

Produced by Steve Vai
Released: 2009

Albums from shredders have been problematic for me in the past. As someone who isn't a guitar player, they often come across as little more than showing off with minimal substance and no real appeal to anyone other than aspiring guitarists; rudderless, ego-driven wankfests that boggle the mind with skill for a while until you realise the guy is really just playing scales backwards through an upside-down vocoder or something silly like that.

Having learned his craft from mentors and friends like Frank Zappa and Joe Satriani, Steve Vai is a very different proposition. With his vast array of stylistic ability and influences, Vai is an instrumentalist that even people who aren't flash guitarists can enjoy, a man who understands that the demonstration of ability is more than filling every space with as many notes as possible or showing off every trick you learned at guitar school at every available opportunity. Recorded live in Minneapolis in 2007, Where the Wild Things Are confirms Vai's status with a consummate virtuoso performance, ably supported and abetted by a superb five-piece band that includes members of prog groups like Dali's Dilemma and Mullmuzzler. A blend of cuts from his studio works -- mainly Real Illusions: Reflections -- and new tracks being played for the first time, the album tends to highlight Vai's blues and jazz-fusion sides. For outright shredding, there's the eleven-minute centrepiece "Freak Show Excess" but on "Fire Wall" he steps out with a heavy, bluesy shuffle featuring his smoky vocals and "Tender Surrender" shows a more lyrical side to his playing. Vai of course also lets the rest of his band to add their own instrumental prowess and when the entire sextet kicks in together they truly shine.

As engaging as the set is though, by the back half of Where the Wild Things Are, I did find my attention wandering a bit, but at 78 minutes, it is quite a long haul for most but the truly dedicated (and the DVD is longer still). Nevertheless, Steve Vai once again shows that rather than just being a flash guitar player, he is an outstanding and gifted musician and entertainer.

1. Paint Me Your Face
2. Now We Run
3. Oooo
4. Building the Church
5. Tender Surrender
6. Band Intros
7. Fire Wall
8. Freak Show Excess
9. Die to Live
10. All About Eve
11. Gary 7
12. Treasure Island
13. Angel Food
14. Taurus Bulba
15. Par Brahm

Rating: 85%

JEFF LOOMIS: Zero Order Phase

Produced by Neil Kernon
Released: August 25, 2008

As I think I've posted somewhere else, shred albums don't really do that much for me. Ordinarily I would have most likely not even listened to this, but Jeff Loomis is the guitar prodigy from Nevermore, one of my favourite bands, so the interest was there from the outset. Not to be left at a loose end or outdone by his singer's solo efforts this year, Loomis has unleashed a nice display of guitar mastery on Zero Order Phase.

The great thing about this that sets it apart from other ego-projects is that Loomis comes from a songwriting background in a successful band rather than just being some hired gunslinger who jumps from group to group between albums of self-important wankery. So instead of just leaping in with series after series of face-melting fretboard ejaculations from the get-go, Loomis lets riffing and structure tell his stories as much as the soloing does. It makes Zero Order Phase far more interesting and listenable than other albums of its ilk.

Loomis has long been lauded as a fantastic guitar player, yet while he's never exactly held anything back in Nevermore, it is here where he is at last given total freedom to show what he is truly made of. The influences from Malmsteen and James Murphy are evident, but more so is Loomis' own style and, as mentioned, he uses his songwriting power to back up his masterful and often breathtaking playing. Moreover, where Warrel Dane used Praise to the War Machines to sink further into the despair and misery of Nevermore, Zero Order Phase sounds righteously joyous. "Shouting Fire at a Funeral" opens the album well, featuring a typical Loomis-style riff that makes it sound like it could have been left off This Godless Endeavor. This is really the only Nevermore-like track on the album however, as the more expansive, shred-ridden "Opulent Maelstrom" is a clear departure from the man's signature style. "Sacristy" begins as a quiet but not melancholy piece, showing a side of Loomis that isn't usually seen in his usual role. On "JATO Unit" he trades leads with Ron Jarzombek in a display that will have guitar freaks busting out of their pants. Some of the best parts come when Loomis steps aside however, like producer Neil Kernon's jazz-inflected fretless guitar section in "Cashmere Shiv" and the team-up with former bandmate Pat O'Brien in "Race Against Disaster" is also something of a highlight, displaying both men in somewhat different colours than to be otherwise expected.

Zero Order Phase is quite a solid offering from Loomis, a nice departure from his Nevermore enterprises and a damn sight more engaging than a lot of guitar instrumental albums.

1. Shouting Fire at a Funeral
2. Opulent Maelstrom
3. JATO Unit
4. Azure Haze
5. Cashmere Shiv
6. Race Against Disaster
7. Sacristy
8. Devil Theory
9. Miles of Machines
10. Departure

Rating: 82%

YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE: Attack!!

Released: 2002

I've never seen the big deal about Yngwie J. Malmsteen. There are and have always been tons of ridiculously talented guitar players around, but somehow this belligerent, drunken, fat, egotistical Swede has won himself an astonishing army of fans. And yet the more I hear of his music, the more I feel that his reputation is based virtually entirely on his first two (and possibly three) solo albums and his work with Steeler.

For a guy who has been hailed as a genius all this time, he certainly doesn’t seem to stretch his playing very far. As far as my opinion of him goes, Malmsteen’s always come across as little more than a massively ego-driven Blackmore copyist made good, and these days he’s not even worshipping Blackmore anymore because he’s too busy worshipping himself.

Attack!! (with two exclamation points, no less) continues the Swede’s obsession with former Rainbow vocalists (Doogie White in this case, who sang on Stranger in Us All, Blackmore’s last album before he went back to the 16th century), and his own self-indulgent twaddle. The album starts with one of his trademark widdly-widdly fretboard runs and for the next fifty minutes that’s about all he does. Derek Sherinian is credited as playing on this too, but with Yngwie playing everything else except the drums, he doesn’t get to do very much.

By track five or so I was well and truly over it, but I stuck it out in case Yngwie pulled out a good song like he’s want to do now and then. No such luck. Attack!! bored me stupid, and that’s a hard thing to do.

1. Razor Eater


2. Rise Up


3. Valley of the Kings


4. Ship of Fools


5. Attack!!


6. Baroque and Roll


7. Stronghold


8. Mad Dog


9. In the Name of God


10. Freedom Isn't Free


11. Majestic Blue


12. Valhalla


13. Touch the Sky


14. Iron Clad


15. Air

Rating: 23%