John Lowery, better known as John 5, joined Marilyn Manson as live guitarist in 1998, replacing Zim Zum who left the band during the sessions for Mechanical Animals. His first attempt to join the band was as a replacement for Daisy Berkowitz in 1996, however he arrived late to the audition and lost the role to Zum. 5's first composing credit with the band was the song "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes". In 2004, John 5 left Marilyn Manson, citing creative differences. He is now a member of Rob Zombie.