Review Summary: Another solid 'In Search of The' volume. While not as good as the first three, it's still a solid listen.
Dismantling 'In Search of The...'
Volume IV
Buckethead's 'In Search Of The' was a boxset released by Buckethead in 2007. It features all new music; 13 CDs to be exact. This is the fourth disc from the set and one of the odder ones in the set. There's a heavy funk influence, and what isn't funk is jarring experimental music and ambiance. This is definitely one of the more 'out there' discs from the set. So, without further ado, on to the rest of the review.
First up is
Raging Nugget. This is one of the most straightforward songs on this volume, basically being a 3:21 funk jam. The backing bass line sounds great on this track, and the funky soloing overtop is great; the drum beat is also cool. There are some great rills by Buckethead on this track too. Next up is
The Machines Shall Remain, which is basically seven minutes of odd ambiance and experimental noises. There is some actual music though, which actually sounds great. Some good drum rolls back up a very interesting guitar line. This is one of the more underrated songs on the set and is worth listening too, although many won't understand the noise.
Milk Plus Synthemesc is the third song on this volume and also the longest. It is another funk jam, but with a darker edge to it. The chorus get rockier, and there is some shredding too. Buckethead's guitar tone on this song is pretty good- he has distortion, but it also seems kind of distant- his wah pedal is great as always, and the backing track is superb. Looking at the title of the next song:
1984 Beat-Bumpin' (Tribute to Darren Robinson) might make you laugh, but this song is actually pretty good. The last half of this song is bass and drums alone (aside from the last nineteen seconds, where a guitar plays a solo). There is even some beatboxing overtop a great keyboard riff at 1:01. The beatboxing is messy, but the keyboard is excellent. Had this part have been solely keyboard, it would have been amazing, but as it is, it feels more like a joke than anything.
Domo-Kun's Nightmare is an ambient song, plain and simple. This was basically designed as background music- great for creating atmosphere, but pretty boring to just sit and listen too. I like this song, and it adds variety to the set, but to listen too it's just plain boring.
Silkie Bantam starts off very promising, with a fast-paced drum beat and guitar solo, but quickly turns into another funk song with fast-paced choruses. I like the drums in this song, and the verse-to-chorus build-ups are great. It feels like there could have been more shredding here though, and the song feels kind of understated overall.
Ectoplasm Circus begins with a weird drum beat, and then comes some cool drum fills. This track turns into experimental funk, with some weird wah-beeps that sound like computer noises. While a fun track, it seems overlong and a bit random.
Visiting Rights ends off this volume, and is probably the worst song on the whole set. It starts out with a bass drum beat, and then becomes some random guitar noodling with no backing track whatsoever nd some distortion noises in the background. The end of the song gets better slightly, and has a sombre tone to it, with the sad-sounding guitar overtop the bass drum beat. Had the whole track been like this, it would have been excellent; but it isn't. Also, the fact that it ends with twenty seconds of silence doesn't help it's case.
Volume IV is one of the odder volumes of 'In Search Of The'. It doesn't really contain any amazing tracks, but it does have amazing moments, such as the cool riffs from 0:00-3:47 in
The Machines Shall Remain, the soloing on
Milk Plus Sythemesc, the keyboard riff on
1984 Beat-Bumpin' (Tribute to Darren Robinson), and the outro of
Visiting Rights. This is by no menas the best volume; in fact, it is near the bottom in terms of quality- but it is a good listen.
