"His transient lifestyle has made it impossible for even his closest friends to have nearly any form of communication with him whatsoever." In March 2004, Buckethead left Guns N' Roses. According to an interview with Rose, he seemingly 'left' the band in January 2004 without telling anyone, and 'rejoined' in a similar manner in February. Buckethead's second side project during this period was with Bill Laswell and Japanese producer Shin Terai, released as the album Unison.īuckethead's relationship with Guns N' Roses was somewhat erratic in its last year, despite contractual obligations. Some Thanatopsis material has also appeared on albums released by Buckethead and Dickerson. The first was the progressive rock band Thanatopsis (named after a poem by William Cullen Bryant) with Travis Dickerson and drummer Ramy Antoun this group went on to release four albums. He joined two new projects during this period. In 2000, Buckethead released the second and last album by Cobra Strike, called Cobra Strike II - Y, Y+B, X+Y. He also released two albums with his band Cornbugs, and a third under his 'Death Cube K' pseudonym.
He recorded the often-delayed album Chinese Democracy with the band and appeared live on stage in 20, including Rock in Rio 3, MTV's Video Music Awards, and parts of the Chinese Democracy Tour.ĭespite being a member of GN'R, Buckethead released his sixth studio album, called Somewhere Over the Slaughterhouse in 2001, and also his only EP, called KFC Skin Piles. Ware" and "House"(Limbomaniacs, Tommy Guerrero, Buckethead's Giant Robot, MCM & the Monster).īuckethead achieved a higher public profile as lead guitarist for Guns N' Roses from 2000 to 2004. Buckethead contributed to the 1999 album Devil Dub by the San Francisco Bay Area band Ben Wa consisting of "Dr. Together they released One Man's Meat, One Less Thing to Worry About, and The Other Parade. Buckethead also began a collaboration with actor Viggo Mortensen, whom he first met through a recording project called Myth: Dreams of the World in 1996. Another project, Cobra Strike with an album called The 13th Scroll, featured Pinchface, Bryan "Brain" Mantia, DJ Disk, and Bill Laswell. Buckethead began three new projects that year, the first being the band Cornbugs, a collaboration with actor Bill Moseley, drummer Pinchface, and later keyboardist Travis Dickerson. This album includes the song "The Ballad of Buckethead," for which his first music video ever was made. In 1999, Buckethead released his fifth album, a collaboration with Les Claypool from the band Primus, titled Monsters and Robots - currently the best-selling album of his career. Buckethead participated in every release except the initial 1984 release and Mold (1998). The project was Bill Laswell's concept, and has since involved other guests such as Serj Tankian of System of a Down, among many others. Their first album, Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), released the same year, was well received. In 1992, Buckethead, with Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, and Bryan "Brain" Mantia, formed the supergroup Praxis. Buckethead soon became Laswell's second staple guitar player, besides Nicky Skopelitis. At about this time, Buckethead fell into the orbit of prolific bassist/producer Bill Laswell, himself an occasional Zorn collaborator Buckethead (as a performer, producer, or composer) was introduced to Laswell with the help of Limbomaniacs drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia, who gave Laswell a video of Buckethead playing in his room. Though available only as a pricey import, the record received positive reviews and earned some attention. Really, one of the best Pikes yet.After his first two demo tapes, called Giant Robot and Bucketheadland Blueprints, Buckethead released Bucketheadland on John Zorn's Japanese Avant record label in 1992. Ambient and moody, this one gives off a great vibe and is executed greatly. The photo of Brian and his father is great, but the way it's shot gives it a haunting vibe, and Bucket truly brings it all out with the tracks. 9/10Īfter the weaker past few Pikes, this is a very nice return to greatness, but it's far from a normal Pike just from the cover on. Track 9 - Christ, is this literally Track 1 all over again? Genius.Track 6 - Quiet start, and then it finally gets louder with a more normal song style.I like that thing that closes it all out. Hard to believe that this is the same guy who wrote "King James" and "Jordan". Track 2 - Literally jumped because of how much louder this was, relatively.Track 1 just repeats itself numerously but somehow it doesn't get old. Track 1 - This is already shaping up to be a very different type of Pike.