Buckethead: Monsters and Robots Buckethead. People have lately tried to cast Primus' Les Claypool as the Frank Zappa of the 90's. That title instead rightfully goes to the half-dead-half-robot guitarist raised by chickens. Since my first introduction in 1992 to Buckethead as guitarist for supergroup Praxis (with P-Funk survivors Bootsy & Burnie and DJ AF Man Flip) the Bucket has been busy churning out over a dozen albums in nearly as many musical styles. Like Zappa's extensive catelogue, there are many of Buckethead's albums that I can't stand the music on, but I must respect the artist for trying these approaches. This new album is the answer to our "guitar album of the year" dreams!  So start filling-out your Bammie ballots NOW! I don't think that 1999 has anything that could knock this off the top of the scene. Not since BUCKETHEADLAND has Buckethead shreaded so well with beats so PHAT!  But this is no surprise when you look at who the other musicians are on this album: You have tons of turntabletry by DJ Phonosychographdisk (Disk from the Scratch Picklz and MCM & the Monster) and DJ Eddie Def.  The bass-playing is a big part of the overall feel and quality of any album and this one has great work.  After developing his skillz on stage battling Disk, Buckethead features lots of his own ntricate bass work and is joined on bass by Les Claypool (Primus) and Bootsy (P-Funk, etc.) Super drummer Brain (MIRV, Primus, etc.) again keeps Bucket from stadning too still with his guitar work by titling the floor with precise rhtymic assults. Buy this album! Rating: 4.9 - Almost  Semi-God. Compare it to other Buckethead: Colma had a 2.5 and Monsters and Robots would probably have rated higher had Bucketheadland's 5.5 not been the deciding comparision.  For addditional information or where to buy
	Bloody Imitation Society: Regulation Over On tour from Japan, This vicious 4-piece made their US Debut at San Francisco’s Boomerang on Haight!  With Opiate Void as a lead-in, the stage was set for a worldwide takeover by this band often described as a Japanese Rage Against the Machine. The lyrics?  Most of em, I couldn’t tell ya....  My grasp of  Japanese is almost non-existent, but the five or so English words translated in each song were quickly  chantable and catchy...”BEAST KIDS LIKE RIP!” They will by this time have finished the work on their second  (?) full-length available here in the States. DEFINITELY check these four out when they are in the US again!! I don't see a site listed on this disk, but I wish that I could give you a web address for more information because it was a real pleaseure to meet and hear these guys play. Look em up in search engines and request them at your local record store that carries Japanese imports. (In SF, the Japantown bookstore has carried them.) Rating: 4.5 - Better than good, but give these guys another coupla years to finsh the album that takes them to 5.