Buckethead
Crime Slunk Scene

The latest outstanding work of Buckethead is marked 2006. The acrobatic guitarist, passionate about chickens and Disneyland, with this "Crime slunk scene" demonstrates and confirms, in addition to all his incredible abilities, all the elements of his playing and his musical proposal.

I would define him as a truly eclectic guitarist, who really manages to mix many different elements into his style and composition. I call him outstanding because he truly is: in an era where exaggerated solism is losing a bit of its audience and success, but most importantly its quality, Buckethead tirelessly continues to churn out albums which all possess, without exception, a truly unique quality.

Aside from the usual talk about his bizarre image, which has been discussed far too much, "Crime Slunk scene" already presents itself as playful from its cover: his silhouette on the tarmac with myriad chickens and hens around. The musical content, however, borders on perfection. I greatly appreciate "bucket head" for being versatile, romantic yet aggressive, incredibly "strange" yet concrete, whose music features sudden variations, but at times also monotonous and relentless.

But any definition could fit, given the considerable number of interesting cues that Buckethead always inserts.

Starting right from the first madness which is "King James". A fairly fast rhythm, introduced by the very strange sound of the guitar, to then delve into much more melodic realms. It's hard to make comparisons with some of his old tracks, because all these new ones shine with originality. Buckethead plays with effects, plays with all possible modulations, but it's only a small taste because the following "Gory Head Stump 2006 The Pagea" constantly plays with rhythms marked by the cry of the Wha Wha. Obstinate rhythms before launching into a solo on the verge of cacophony, then leaving the madness to enter much more bluesy phrases filled with various flangers and tremolo, while rapid fingers fly over the guitar. I find "The fairy and the devil" a little gem: with the heavy background of an electric guitar, obstinate and repetitive, Buckethead builds a melody filled with clean and harmonic sounds. This time few effects enrich the guitarist's sound palette to create a sonorous carpet that is heterogeneous but infallible. It returns to a more classic "heavy" with "Buddy Berkman's Ballad" in a very varied track and then with "Mad Monster Party", with rhythms now heavy, now marching, now tribal. "Soothsayer" is a track dedicated to the uncle. As one might guess, it is a melodic track, very gentle with a distorted solo that is very heartfelt, fast and technical but dense with feeling. I believe that Buckethead is a master at creating idea after idea organized on a single arpeggiated and obstinate base of clean guitar.

After finishing the first part of the album, it's immediately clear how we leave normalcy to enter a totally different guitar world. Now Buckethead shows the best, enriching the songs with every possible madness. Starting with the impossible rhythms and melodies of "Col. Austin VS Col. Sanders AK" to the oddities of "We can rebuild him". It really starts to get serious, in a track that is brilliant in its incredible complexity. The use of effects is incredibly fitting, such a varied use that I honestly have never seen a guitarist use them so strangely. Beneath these layers of effects, there is so much, too much substance. In fact, "Electronic Slight Of Hand" is simply perfect, first giving us the guitarist in video game version, then delivering him to variations reminiscent of the beautiful "Nottingham lace". Beyond the technique that is undisputed, here we are talking about at times cerebral music, especially the concluding "Mecha Gigan", totally mad, and "Slunk parade aka freaks in the black", completely out of time and space, given its incredible strangeness and total lack of logic and structure.

There are no emotions, there is no passion, there is none of that. For me, there is amazement. I don't get chills, I don't have tears in my eyes, but I have in my hands a darn good album from an artist who continues to carry on his experiments, who continues to carry on his oddities, his image but above all his music rich in virtuosities, but also in ideas, in great notes and great melodies, but above all of great genius, of great abilities.

I continue to define Buckethead as a genius of the six/seven strings, I continue to define him as too advanced for everyone. And this marvelous, little masterpiece is proof of it.