Review Summary: Going through the motions, in breathtaking fashion as always.
Undoubtedly one of the most phenomenal guitarists in modern metal, John Lowery's solo albums have always brought to the table a sense of instrumental endearment and charm that you wouldn't otherwise find in your typical Manson or Zombie record, while also showcasing his blisteringly good fret-work and Buckethead-level tapping skills. However, as evidenced by his latest effort
Careful With That Axe, the guitarist has hit something of a creative snag. Despite it being a staple of his albums to feature a wide range of genres and guitar-playing styles (sometimes for the sake of humour), it wasn't until
God Told Me To that these contrasting styles became somewhat formulaic; this latest offering unfortunately goes a bit further, and could almost be summed up as
Art of Malice 2 with some elements of
God Told Me To thrown in as well. Much of the album's more "experimental" content doesn't tread much new ground at all, often coming across as recycled. Tracks like the flamenco-guitar-based "El Cucuy" feels like carbon copy of "Noche Acosedor" from the last album, whilst the very country-sounding steel guitar jam "Jerry's Breakdown" sounds like it's been ripped straight from
Art of Malice's "J.W.". Even the structuring of the track placement feels ostensibly similar to the latter album, as if it's trying to be the album's "Lite" version over the course of its painfully brief 30-minute runtime.
Of course, absolutely none of this detracts from the overwhelming instrumentation abilities of John 5, with his traditional metal tracks being his fastest and most brutal compositions to date. The songwriting of these tracks not only remind us of the competency of John's playing style, but also his sheer versatility, with the tracks' time-signatures often going all over the place. Hell, if you can look past the blatant lack of originality on the part of the aforementioned alternative-guitar tracks, even they still bring to the table the signature charm that their previous incarnations are known for, as well as the same level of guitar-playing found on the metal tracks, especially in regards to the best of these tracks, "Jerry's Breakdown", which thankfully brings back the wild sense of humour found on releases prior to
God Told Me To's far darker tone, resembling something out of a redneck musical and is frustratingly hard not to bounce to. Indeed, there is not a single dud track on this release, yet one can't help but wish that a musician who has shown so much variety over his decade-old discography could not succumb to anything even resembling a formula. For what it's worth,
Careful With That Axe brings just enough to the table to justify its length and release, and the levels of proficiency shown by its instrumentation put it on par with much of his previous work.
