Buckethead - The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell
Buckethead is:
Buckethead - Guitar
Bootsy Collins - Bass
Brain - Drums
Release Date: 2004 on Disembodied Records
The Review
Even though this album is deprived of the funky, crazy vocal samples you hear in almost all Buckethead albums, this album is still just as crazy as the others. Buckethead decides to go heavier than he's ever gone before on this album, playing impossible solos over distorted riffs. While some claim that Buckethead is nothing but recycled riffs and solos, there is not a thing on this album that I have ever heard before, by anybody. This album contains some of the most original, heavy stuff that I've ever heard.
This album kicks off with a clock ticking over and over again, and then the alarm goes off. From there, it's chaos from start to finish. So many different riffs and sounds, and so much variation. I can seriously say that Buckethead uses more riffs on this album than some artists use in their whole career throughout their whole catalogue of cd's.
Many people say they don't like Buckethead because of the wacky voice samples in his songs. Well this is your album. There are absolutely no vocals/voices on this album. It's all instrumental, along with Population Override (as far as I know)
Standouts on this album:
*The quality and production of this album is amazing. Not a single weak spot in this album. The producers and mixers did a brilliant job.
*Buckethead's distorted guitar sound is like nothing I've ever heard. I would die to have that sound. It definately makes this album.
*The riffs and solos are genius, not only in complication, but variation. Even with this whole album being extremely heavy, I can't say that a single song, not to mention any riffs, sound at all alike.
Weaknesses
* This can be a positive or negative thing, but I just find that there is almost too much material on this album. Even though it is positive for the listener (more shredding) I'd almost think it would be negative for Buckethead. But with that, much respect goes to him for being able to write so much material. The guy never weakens. He's had the most random, amazing material flying out of his ass for over ten years now, and I don't think it will ever stop. So technically, this isn't really a weakness, but I had to put something...
The Guys
Bootsy- To be truthful, I don't even know if Bootsy is on this album, but he usually plays bass on all Buckethead's albums, so I'm assuming he does. Buckethead is the main focus in this album though, which is why I probably don't notice the bass much. Bootsy compliments Buckethead's playing amazingly though, so no complaints.
Brain- This is probably one of my favorite cd's featuring Brain. He has metal chops that I never knew he had. He could easily play in one of today's thrash/death metal bands. His double bass chops are right on par, not a single miss, and the work with his hands is not only original, but fits Buckethead's material perfectly.
Buckethead - I've pretty much already mentioned all his positives, but this is just for further information. The guy is a madman with a guitar on this album. He is so diverse with his material. Listen to this, and then to Colma or Electric Tears, and you wouldn't even know it was all written by the same man. It completely blows me away.
Standout Tracks - They all stand out in their own ways. Not a single weak song on this album, but I will list and review my top 5. And trust me, this is incredibly hard to pick. I love them all, don't get me wrong, so don't complain if your favorite didn't make it.
Arc of the Pendulum - I don't even know how to review this song, but this is one of those extremely diverse songs that just get to you. Trust me, if you just download this song, it's like nothing you've ever heard. The riffs are impossible, as well as the solos.
The Treeman - While not as crazily diverse as Arc of the Pendulum, still one of my favorite tracks. The solo towards the beginning is mind boggling. There is standout bass in this track too. And Brain's double bass is superb. I love this track with a passion.
Traveling Morgue - Another incredibly weird song, with some amazing riffage. Very heavy also. The solo at around 1:05 is almost Morbid Angel-ish, doing something along the lines of an 8 finger tap and a distorted type thing... It's hard to explain. Another amazing song.
Moths to Flame This seemed to be the hilight song before the album came out. It was the only leaked song, and it's still brilliant. The solos are the best of all. This is more along the typical lines of Buckethead: A song that could go on one of his other cd's. To get you started on this album, I'd download this one first.
The Black Forest - One of the most original intro ever. Hard to explain. Techno-ish drumming with an incredibly strange riff, non-distorted. This is probably one of the weirdest tracks of the album, and one of the best. It definately stands out, being so different from the other tracks on the album. This is the only song that isn't really heavy, just different.
Well that's about it for this album. This is seriously one of my favorites in my collection. As far as soloing and riffs, this is my favorite Buckethead album by far. It's amazing. But as far as "feeling" in the music, this isn't one of those Buckethead albums that really get to you, like Giant Robot got to me. It's very hard to explain, kind of like an emotion of some sort.
As far as the rating goes, I would easily give this a 5/5, but because of the explanation I just gave you about the feeling I usually get in most Buckethead albums, this album lacks it, probably because it doesn't have the crazy voices.
Overall Rating 4.8/5
Thank you for taking the time to read this review. I hope you find this helpful, and I
really hope you go out and purchase this cd. You will not be disappointed, I can guarantee it if you are a brutal music fan, which is probably why most of us are here.
-Mekkalayakay
