JOHN 5 Requiem CD 2008

Most guitarists would consider playing in Marilyn Manson's band a career highlight. John 5 left, joined Rob Zombie, and then had the audacity to keep releasing solo instrumental records that made both those gigs look like warm-up acts for his actual ambition.

Requiem, his 2008 release, is John 5 doing what he does when no one's making him write for a vocalist: tearing through a genuinely unsettling hybrid of industrial metal, alternative rock, and country-tinged shred that shouldn't work but absolutely does. The man grew up on Chet Atkins and ended up playing alongside some of the most confrontational acts in dark alternative music, and Requiem is where those two worlds collide most interestingly. It's guitar-forward without being a flex record, more about atmosphere and discomfort than technique for its own sake. The digipak format gives it the physical presence it deserves.

Format: Full Length Album CD, Digipak. Country of origin: USA. Genre: Alternative/Industrial Rock/Metal. Original release year: 2008.

Fans of: ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON, BUCKETHEAD, MINISTRY, FILTER