Just when Buckethead fans thought they knew what to expect in an upcoming album, out comes Buckethead & Friends - Enter the Chicken. Produced by System of a Down's Serj Tankian and released on his own Serjikal Strike Records. Enter the Chicken is a roller coaster ride of different genres, with the backbone of each being Buckethead's unique playing. His ability to mold to any style of music and make it seem effortless is what sets him apart from any other solo guitarist, and is what Buckethead fans have come to expect from each of the masked mans releases.

What sets this album apart from all other Buckethead albums is that each song features different vocalists. Buckethead is primarily an instrumental artist, releasing very few albums with any singers, and the few albums that he has collaborated with singers have been very limited and not always to be taken seriously. ( A few albums with Bill Mosely from Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House of 1000 Corpses, and Viggo Mortenson from Lord of the Rings). The guest list is very broad and includes Saul William, Efrem Schulz (Death By Stereo), Maura Davis (Denali, Bella Lea), Azam Ali (Vas, Niyaz), Bad Acid Trip, Maximum Bob (Deli Creeps), Gigi, Shana Halligan and Ani, and of corse Serj lends his vocals on two tracks.

The album happened almost by accident. Serj and Buckethead started working on it as another instrumental album, but as they went on just started asking their friends and people they have worked with in the past to do a song here and there. Before they knew it they had enough songs to make a whole album with different singers on each song. There is a wide variety of words to describe each and every song ranging from brutal to beautiful. With the songs ranging from opera, metal, rap, indie rock, grindcore, and everything in between. A few songs even lean on the edge of Pop, but not bubblegum pop. Pop just as far as the song arrangements and overall style they were recorded. Overall this album is one wild ride and is by far the best sounding (production wise) Buckethead album to date.

5 / 5

Photo Courtesy of Amazon.com

Links:
Official Buckethead & Friends Website
Serjical Strike

Back to the CD Reviews Directory
Click here to launch BeyondReflection (main page) in a new window.