Review: “Albino Slug” (Buckethead)

Although there has been three Buckethead releases in the last couple months, this is the only completely solo album. It definitely has a similar feel to some of Bucket’s more recent releases like “Decoding the Tomb of Bansheebot” and “Pepper’s Ghost”. The songs are fairly structured with a good balance of shredding, melody, and quieter songs.

Albino Slug comes out of the gate strong, with the first two tracks (“The Redeem Team” and “Siege Engine”) being the highlights of the album. Buckethead is very tight on these two songs and they contain some excellent solos. These two songs alone make this a worthy purchase for any Buckethead fan.

Unfortunately, the album cools off considerably after the strong start. “Pink Eye” feels like a by the numbers song and “Dawn at the Deuce” is a standard Buckethead calm song. After that, the last nine tracks completely speed by with none being over three minutes long. There is a lot of shredding and it’s a bit more experimental than the first songs. Some of it is impressive technically but nothing much really stood out. This album starts with a bang, but tapers off and ends with a whimper.

Albino Slug feels like Buckethead playing it safe, the songs feel very similar to other material he has put out over the last couple years. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but at the speed Bucket puts out albums it’s starting to become a tad bland. If he wants to keep his work exciting, he should try and mix things up for his next release. That being said, any fan will certainly at least enjoy this album and find its worth buying. However if you’re looking to get into this prolific artist, I would recommend starting with “Crime Slunk Scene” instead.

Rating: 3.5/5

1. The Redeem Team   (5:01)
2. Siege Engine   (8:12)
3. Pink Eye   (3:24)
4. Dawn at the Deuce   (4:17)
5. Flee Flicker   (2:34)
6. Symmetrical Slug   (2:50)
7. The Bight of Benin   (1:36)
8. Fear of Salt   (2:56)
9. Spooner Arks   (2:43)
10. Electric Bell Blanket   (0:54)
11. Tide Pools   (2:44)
12. Shell Substitutions  (1:51)
13. Forgotten Trail   (1:07)