From the darkest corners of the twisted mind and imagination of guitarist John 5, comes his new masterpiece Careful With That Axe, the follow-up to 2012’s God Told Me To. Released digitally on August 12th through 60 Cycle Hum, Careful With That Axe is John 5’s eighth solo album and features Rodger Carter on drums and Matt Bissonette on bass.

The album’s first single, entitled “This Is My Rifle,” will be digitally released on June 17th, and is streaming below.

As main axe wielder for Rob Zombie, John 5 obsessively keeps himself busy both on and off the road, incessantly writing, recording, filming and creating. Recorded at The Doghouse Studios in Los Angeles in between tour legs, Careful With That Axe was produced by John 5, along with Rodger Carter, and illustrates his musical growth and talents as a guitar player and composer. Carter and Bissonette are in perfect sync, masterfully laying down the musical dreamscape with technical precision. Packed with rapid-fire, machine-gun riffs and musical crescendos, all intertwined with blistering fast six string assaults and an eerie sense of melody, John 5 leads you on a macabre journey through the twisted minds of a different brand of ax wielders. With compositions such as “Portrait of Sidney Sloan,” “The Dream Slayer” and “Flight Of The Vulcan Kelly,” John 5 draws you in with lightning fast leads, completely redefining the term “shredding.”

Not to be pigeonholed into any one particular style, Careful With That Axe also showcases John 5’s talents and versatility as a guitar virtuoso and musician. From his flawless finger picking technique on the Latin flavored “El Cucuy” and his fast, intricate guitar-work on the classic Jerry Reed covers “Jerry’s Breakdown” and “Jiffy Jam,” banjo included, to anthemic “Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers In Hell,” John 5 gracefully weaves in and out of many different styles ranging from metal and rock, to bluegrass, country & western and flamenco, all harmoniously coming together for his magnum opus Careful With That Axe.

Careful With That Axe tracklisting:

"We Need To Have A Talk About John"
"This Is My Rifle"
"Flight Of The Vulcan Kelly"
"Jerry's Breakdown"
"Villisca"
"Portrait Of Sidney Sloan"
"Jiffy Jam"
"Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers In Hell"
"El Cucuy"
"The Dream Slayer"

John 5 is presently on the road with Rob Zombie in support of the 2013 release Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor (Zodiac Swan/T-Boy/UMe). Rob Zombie’s first concert film The Zombie Horror Picture Show (Zodiac Swan/T-Boy/UMe) DVD, featuring John 5, was released May 19th on Blu-ray, DVD and longform digital video.

John 5’s current European and US tour dates with Rob Zombie are as follows:

June

13 - Derby, UK - Donington Park
15 - Nickelsdorf, Austria - Pannonia Fields
16 - Budapest, Hungary - Budapest Park
17 - Prague, Czech Republic - Incheba Open Air
20 - Clisson, France - Hellfest
22 - Barcelona, Spain - St Jordi Club
23 - Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
26 - Rome, Italy - Ippodromo Capannelle
27 - Milan, Italy - Ippodromo Del Galoppo Open Air
28 - Wetzikon, Switzerland - Eishalle
29 - Desel, Belgium - Graspop Festival

July

1 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Vredenburg
2 - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg - Rockhal
4 - Roskilde, Denmark - Darupvej
5 - Saxony, Germany - Roitzschjora Airport
17 - Oshkoch, WI - Rock USA
18 - Clive, IA - 7 Flags Event Center
19 - Grayslake, IL - Fuel Arena
20 - Cadcott, WI - Rock Fest

September

8 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
9 - Eugene, OR - Cuthbert Amphitheatre
11 - Post Falls, ID - Greyhound Park
12 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
13 - Central Point, OR - Lithia Motors Amphitheatre
14 - Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival
16 - San Jose, CA - City National Civic
17 - Paso Robles, CA - Vina Robles Ampitheater
19 - Scottsdale, AZ - Westworld/Polo Fields
21 - Lubbock, TX - Lonestar Amphitheater
23 - Tulsa, OK - Brady Theater
24 - Council Bluffs, IA - Mid America Rec. Center
27 - Saginaw, MI - FirstMerit Bank Event Park