Review Summary: One of the weakest volumes of the set.
Dismantling 'In Search Of The...'
Volume X
This is the 10th disc in Buckethead's infamous 13 CD 'In Search of The...' set.
We'll begin with
Hole in the Feeding Tube, an odd, jazzy number with some clean guitar gently strumming behind an abrasive drumbeat. At only a minute and twenty seconds, it's awfully short and ultimately feels like, well, filler (which is never good).
Aces of Galaga is another odd one. It's filled with stuttery, electronic noises and random sounds which sound vaguely 'Kaliedoscalp'-esque. There is some lightning fast atonal shredding to be found here, as well as some cool guitar effects, but not much beyond that.
Track number two,
Down in It, is a long, groovy jam and the best song on the volume. There is some great guitar playing on this song (as per usual with Buckethead), and the backing track is much more interesting and varied than many of his songs in this style. There is even an extended bass solo halfway through the song. Definitely check this one out.
Bot's Lament is three-and-a-half minutes of loud, caustic ambient notes. In other words, it's completely pointless.
The Ludovico Technique is a difficult track to describe. There are a couple of different parts to this one, including a very cool section that starts two-and-a-quarter minutes in which is reminiscent of a distant carnival. Unfortunately, this part continues for another four minutes and ends the song, which is just an egregious length.
Strange Visitation begins with a harp- or something which sounds similar to one- and continues with some faint humming noises for five-and-a-half minutes, until the song ends. Again, this is a completely pointless and boring track.
Evil Lurks Within starts with some bizarre instruments all playing independently on top of one another, and though it mellows out somewhat in its second half, is essentially another ambient/avant-garde piece.
We'll end at the beginning:
Aldebaran Strikes Back is the first song on this volume, and begins with a beat previously heard on
Listening Device from Volume III. It's a great rhythm, and it carries this jam track for its five minute-plus duration; The playing overtop of the beat is pretty atonal and effect-heavy. Overall, this jam is more on the avant-garde side than most of those on 'In Search of The...', and the same can be said for this volume as a whole. While that in itself doesn't make it bad, Volume X is indeed one of the weakest instalments in the set. There is just too much filler here to recommend this disc;
Down in It is really the only song worth hearing.
