Buckethead

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The review-of-reviews continues! :ok:
Mosh said:
Pike 254 - Woven Twigs: The dark intense rhythms are an interesting way to start this Pike. The first 5 seconds are more exciting than anything on the previous album. It’s also a multipart Pike, which he hasn’t done in awhile. Unfortunately, the rest is pretty underwhelming. Lots of noodling and shredding. Definitely a collage Pike and one of many Pikes where he spends such a short time on the good ideas while meandering on the weaker stuff. Too bad, because there are some really promising moments here. Also the production in these last couple Pikes hasn’t been great. Seems kinda low effort all around.
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The start of this is interesting, with the first 30 seconds showing the promise of something new. Unfortunately it's not representative of the Pike generally. And it threatens very early to descend into the (now) tiresome shred + bass format on multiple occasions, managing to avoid this just about. I think. There are some interesting acoustic bits on this, sort of reminiscent of Hamdens Hollow (Pike #242). It's a total jumble; a "collage" Pike, as you say. It's hard to individually rate tracks on this one too. I'm tempted to rate these all 4*; but it's probably not as good as that. All 3* star tracks? I dunno; that's what I have each track rated at currently, but that doesn't feel quite right either. It's probably a mixture of 3* & 4* but I don't know if I care enough to pin that down individually. I'd have to listen to these on shuffle amongst other tracks. It's got some cool little snippets throughout; but equally it has some really average bits. Frustrating. Feels better than the previous Pike (Coop Erstown) in some respects, but is rather a letdown overall. Can't say I'd recommend it.
Mosh said:
Pike 255 - Abominable Snow Scalp: Opening tune is great. Lots of great melodic stuff and I love the blend of acoustic and electric. Lots of nice twists and turns. This song has more musical content in 4 minutes than all of Woven Twigs. Floorascents has such a cool main melody. It’s kinda eerie but also uplifting. Love the relentless heaviness of Headless Reflection. Crator Ridge is another song that runs the gamut of seemingly every Buckethead style. It gets a little too noodly at times, but overall a strong effort. One of the better Pikes he’s put out this year.
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Still not particularly taken by the mix/production of quite a lot of these recent Pikes; still, this is a real step-up from the last two. Opening track, Abominable Snow Scalp, is full of great riffing & lovely melodic lead passages. The acoustic bits are great; a real melting pot of styles on show here (5*). Floorascents is just dripping in cool little melodies early on; hard to tell where it's going to go. And ends up going all bluesy in the second half, which is unexpected. Not quite up there with the first track, but good stuff (4*). Time for some tap/shred madness next with Headless Reflection; but underneath it's bouncing along & that's what keeps this one interesting earlier on. Lays off the lead work a little with a nice little dampened chord mid-section too. Enjoyable (4*). Pluriverse is another track with some really lovely melodic lead passages; slow, reflective, bordering on dark but also uplifting at times. Lovely ringing chord-work just after the two minute mark leading to this fantastic rhythm passage. Great track (5*). Crator Ridge steams in with this massive lead/solo section; not heard anything like this in quite a while. That lead work quickly turns a bit shreddy, but it's nicely interspersed with a whole mixture of other little sections. There's also another big ballsy solo in the middle followed by this creepy slow acoustic section which develops nicely to the end of the track. Only Buckethead would cram this much into one track! Crazy (5*). Door Along the Wall is a decent little filler track that doesn't really have the time to go anywhere. Still, packed with nice stuff (4*). Last track, Pincushion, is a bit more substantial. Starts pretty frantically with loads of shred scale work. Thunderously heavy at times too. Probably one of the weaker tracks on this Pike, but enjoyable all the same (4*). Lots of variety on this Pike, liked it a lot.
Mosh said:
Pike 256 - Meteor Firefly Net: Some nice melodic work here. Love when he switches between mellow acoustic stuff and ultra heavy stuff. Lots of that on this Pike and it works great. The highlight is easily the title track, which is very dynamic. Love the acoustic bit at the end of the final song. Pretty good overall, but something about the production is kinda bland.
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The keys are back & everything is sounding a lot more rounded & well-balanced. I think the production is pretty good, no? Image From The Void is a glorious track; just incredible lead work from start to finish (5*). Mountainous Mine starts off with this interesting, almost folky acoustic section. It then about-turns into this pretty low-key melodic rhythm track. Some tasty soloing starts mid-way through to the end; maybe a bit shreddy for some but I love it (5*). Meteor Firefly Net opens with an acoustic intro followed by some pretty aggressive lead work; and this is the pattern for the rest of the track. The two different styles are well integrated here & there is fantastic contrast between the two styles throughout (5*). Nail Bridge is probably marginally the weakest track here. Maybe. Feels like a continuation of the previous track, Meteor Firefly Net, with shredding then acoustic work, but the heavy bits aren't quite as good. The acoustic stuff, which predominates, is lovely tho' (4*). Great Pike overall.
Mosh said:
Pike 257 - Blank Slate: First song didn’t really do much for me, but after that this Pike gets really good. Lots of variety and each song seems to build in momentum before the explosive closure. Solar Staple has some of Buckethead’s most expressive playing in a long time. Lockun feels kinda disconnected from the rest of the Pike, which flows together really well, but I love that intense heavy riffing. Good stuff.
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After repeat listening I really dig Blank Slate (the track). That wailing opening lead riff is quite lonely feeling; in fact all the lead work feels a little sparse (helped later in the track by keys). Still, the usual less-than-ideal mix can't hide all the really good little riffs going on here. Love that little quiet section around the 4:30 mark. Good stuff (4*). Opened to the Air is pretty, mellow, and quite upbeat acoustic stuff. Lead guitar breaks out of the acoustic mould later but it's all very restrained. I usually don't really like upbeat, but this is damn good (5*). Now Wind of Hollow is more my kind of mood; great interplay between lead & rhythm guitar here. Again, quite restrained. Short & beautiful (5*). Task in Trunk is another real thoughtful sounding track, like all the tracks on this release. Repetitive backing this time with simple improvised lead work. Not quite up there with the previous two & doesn't really go anywhere, but very nice (4*). Solar Staple steps it up a gear with nice Bucket riffing. And that soloing at ~2:00; amazing feel to his playing here. Very expressive, as you say. And the shredding is really kept in check this time. One of the most enjoyable bits of prolonged soloing in quite a while. Superb (5*). Lockun is indeed sort of out of place on this release. Brutally heavy. A little insubstantial to be anything great, but good stuff nonetheless (4*). Great Pike, liked it a lot.
Mosh said:
Pike 258 - Echo: A nice mellow Pike. Great intimate playing on this one. I love how soft his playing can be, so much subtleties. Again, it’s like he’s in the room playing for you. The last track starts out cool but kinda drifts into generic bluesy stuff. A weak closer to a great album.
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Reaching is an incredible track. Starts so softly & then breaks into this delightful tempo. His acoustic playing seems at another level from other acoustic guitar work you hear; the basic songwriting shines through here, rather than the acoustic merely being used as a gimmicky "stripped-down" effect. Who else is writing acoustic guitar music like this? The electric lead work later in the track is almost a bit of a letdown (5*). Echo is slightly reminiscent of Rise of the Blue Lotus (Pike #32) from way back. Acoustic plus keys plus some really decent programmed drum work. Lots of effort here & it pays off (5*). I really like the way Table starts; love that jangly guitar tone when he has the music to back it up. But, as you say, it quickly turns into a bit of a Bucket groove number. Nice tone/mix & enjoyable stuff, but nothing new here (4*). First two tracks make this an awesome Pike, even if the last track is a little underwhelming.
Mosh said:
Pike 259 - Undersea Dead City: Region Of the Unreal and Moonlit Decay are awesome. Especially the former, so many great twists and turns and awesome melodic moments. The closer has some cool rhythmic stuff too, but other than that this Pike was very underwhelming. Lots of shredding and generic riffing. Interesting that this came just a day after Echo, which seemed far more inspired. Unfortunately, the best moments didn’t really redeem the less interesting parts.
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I like the big detuned thundering riff of Undersea Dead City. But a minute in & you're starting to ask where this one is going. Again, lead parts sound really bare; although they're pretty decent. A bit scrappy, but pretty enjoyable (4*). Region of the Unreal is a pretty engaging track with plenty of solid early riffing; bizarre change of direction at the end too, which is quite amusing. Not convinced it's awesome tho' (4*). Mangled has a great wee opening section & awesome main riff. Probably the most balanced track of the Pike so far (4*). Odor of Book continues the theme of big chunky detuned riffing; again it's solid but nothing special (4*). Moonlit Decay is a real change of direction; totally different. Very subdued & thoughtful; classic Bucket slow stuff on show here (5*). Visitor From Tomb starts & the chugging riffs return. Again, the heavy stuff is decent enough without being spectacular (4*). Overall a little underwhelming. Something is missing from these type of releases. A more polished production would certainly help; without, they just sound a little grubby.
Mosh said:
Decent set of Pikes. Lots of filler and uninspired/dull moments, even in the better Pikes. There's still some good stuff, but even the best moments aren’t particularly noteworthy. The Pikes as a whole seem to have been on a long decline since the last set of great 2015 Pikes.
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Yeh, some of this is just a bit flat. The highs are actually damn fine (& there are quite a few here), but the production doesn't help. Other than actually soloing (which is still stellar), his lead fills are just totally generic & uninteresting on some of these.

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< Previous Review

Getting there, slowly but surely...
Mosh said:
Pike 260 - Ferry To the Island of Lost Minds: Always cool to hear him calling back to older albums. The original Island Of Lost Minds is one of his best, so I was looking forward to a follow up. He definitely recaptures the zaniness of the original album. Lots of great riffing and awesome twists and turns. Drum programming is insane. One of those albums where you wonder if it’s a real drummer. Also some really creepy moments. Not a big fan of the guitar noise being left in, I get that he does it for effect but it kinda kills the mood IMO. Part 4 has some awesome grooves. Some of the parts go on a little too long, but overall this was an awesome piece. Very reminiscent of some of the earlier Pikes. I’m glad it didn’t disappoint.
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So, another suite of songs with the usual difficulty of rating individual tracks. Doesn't seem particularly related, from a musical perspective, to its namesake either. Anyway, this is pretty heavy with a really good guitar tone; sharp & crunchy. There are little quiet interludes too (more in the Attic Garden &/or Hamdens Hollow mould) that also work really well here. It also benefits from having no soloing & also no tapping/shred lead lines to speak of. Hard to say anything really stands out (there are some great little passages); so best listened to start-to-finish I'd say. Yeh, the drumming is awesome. Still really curious as to how they assemble tracks with this many changes. Rate every track 4* at least; fun listen. I also think, like Attic Garden, that this is going to get better & better with each new listen; it's got that grower feel about it. (Btw: I agree about the noise being left in; it's particularly noticeable in that last track.)
Mosh said:
Pike 261 - Portal To the Red Waterfall: The opening title track is very similar to the work on the previous Pike. Great stuff again. Love all the riffing and the crazy syncopated melodies. Spirits is another awesome mellow piece. Classic Buckethead styled riffing in both Roundtable and Crayon Factory. Also some excellent soloing in the latter. Love this Pike’s format: One long epic chaotic piece and three shorter tunes with lots of catchy melodies and riffs. Another winner.
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Hmm, I'm not actually sure if I like this format; I find some of these really long heavy tracks quite challenging to listen to. Or at least I think that's what's going to happen & don't always return to them that often. The title track (Portal to the Red Waterfall) is indeed very reminiscent of the previous release. A few unnecessary clattering tap lead lines (thankfully absent from the last Pike), but these are pretty infrequent. Some cool heavy slap stuff early on too; always enjoy that! Overall, too long & kinda rambling, but enjoyable stuff nonetheless with lots of anarchic variety (4*). Second track, Spirits, is a beautiful mellow number. The gentleness of his playing is exquisite in these type of tracks (5*). Roundtable is short & sweet; quite nice little melodic piece (4*). Crayon Factory starts off pretty rough sounding but the riffing, although a little frantic, is solid. And that's all this track would be if it weren't for that soloing. Damn, the end of this track is so so good (5*). Really enjoyable pike overall.
Mosh said:
Pike 262 - Nib Y Nool: Another multi part piece. Love the angular chromatic riff that opens this up. He’s really going all out with the more abstract music lately, which I don’t mind. This is enjoyable stuff. Very Proggy at times. The shredding is mixed in tastefully and the music seems really well thought out and meticulously crafted. I much prefer this to him shredding over a generic chord progression or some bluesy riffs. The acoustic shredding at the end is eerie and fun.
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Damn it, I just don't know how to rate these Pikes. They're so unclassifiable. Again, sort of in the other (more recent) "multi part"/suite release mould i.e. generally one guitar part, generally heavy, lots of syncopated stuff, pretty roughly mixed sounding, and with no soloing as such but sometimes a less than attractive amount of shred/tap lead work (e.g. Ferry to the Island of Lost Minds, Woven Twigs and Hampdens Hollow). They're interesting releases that's for sure; but I have great difficulty in picking out individual tracks (which is largely an arbitrary division anyway) or sections to comment on. This is definitely in Ferry (which was pretty cool) rather than Twigs (which I liked less) territory. The shred stuff serves a purpose here at least & the second half of this Pike is actually pretty interesting. I'll confidently rate this (all tracks) rambling madness at 4*. Almost unreviewable tho'; you just need to listen to it.
Mosh said:
Pike 263 - Glacier: The opening title track is what I was referring to in the previous Pike with generic chord progressions and soloing. I suppose this stuff was enjoyable in the earlier Pikes, but at this point I feel I’ve heard it all and it doesn’t do much for me. Relic is so much more interesting. Awesome acoustic piece with some really heavy moments. You think it’s going to build into something distorted guitars but it never does, and it’s better for that. Flood is a nice slab of heavy riffing with a taste of shredding. Love the atmosphere in Evaporate. This one gets a half recommendation. The opening track is meh, but the rest is very strong. Unfortunately the opener is pretty long.
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I get the criticism. I think Bucket has rarely for heavy tracks combined an interesting, dynamic rhythm section with awesome soloing. For a start he doesn't write a solo as such (he's very good at that), he just improvises, for example, for the second half of a track. It's often dull three-chord "backing track" rhythm work with superb soloing or really interesting rhythm work with generic shred stuff (or no soloing at all). Of course it doesn't need soloing at all sometimes & that's definitely fine too. I can still listen to the former and really enjoy his soloing just fine (despite the rhythm guitar part being merely perfunctory), but it would be nice to hear both. I dunno, I really like Glacier. First four minutes or so has a lovely feel & mood to it, for me personally; and those lead lines are pretty sweet sounding. The bulk of Glacier (after the four minute mark) is a good example of what you're talking about though. Rhythm guitar part is literally doing nothing under that lead guitar; and you get ten minutes of that. Still, Bucket's lead work (in this mould) can tell a story & hold my interest for some considerable time. And this track isn't really an exception. Eight minutes in & you get a wee rhythm interlude which is solid enough, before the soloing returns. He probably doesn't need to write another track like this ever again, but I still love 'em! (5*). Maybe he could shorten them a bit I suppose. Relic is fantastic. I agree about it being more interesting too; so inventive & without any tricks, just pure guitar playing (5*). Flood just feels like Bucket had to bust a few riffs out the way here. Total throw-away Pike filler, but still so damn good (4*). Evaporate is another glorious Buckethead creation. Great keyboard work, very atmospheric; lovely combination with the acoustic guitar work (5*). Plate is melodic but heavy & bounces along nicely enough (4*). Maybe not the most interesting Pike in the world, but two or three of these tracks are great stuff. Enjoyed this one.
Mosh said:
Pike 264 - Poseidon: The atmospheric synth is a cool start before getting into some awesome crushing riffs. I found this one to be pretty boring overall. Lots of soloing and not very interesting riffing. Some cool mellow moments but they didn’t make up for the less interesting bits. Overall pretty disappointing.
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Whaaaat!? Boring & disappointing!? Madness, I say. Madness! This is... awesome! I love this stuff. Up there with other similarly formatted Pikes like The Five Blocks [Pike #237], Oneiric Pool [Pike #235], Florrmat [Pike #225], etc. I don't understand the dislike. The soloing on this is flat-out awesome; and pretty accessible Buckethead I'd say too. Rate this 5* all the way!
Mosh said:
Pike 265 - Ride Operator Q Bozo: The first Pike after a rare month off, very curious about this one. The creepy noises at the beginning made me think this might be a noise album (interestingly, there haven’t been any since Halloween 2015) but luckily some heavy riffing quickly kicks in. Love the demented rhythms and dissonant riffs in this. Looks like we’re in for a more chaotic Pike. One of those albums that could be used as the soundtrack to a rollercoaster (new Pike category?). It gets a little too noisy in the middle, but luckily it gets back to real riffs before too long. I think this one goes a little too off the rails for me. Like Poseidon, I like parts of it but a lot meanders a bit too much for my taste. But there are some genuinely cool moments. The clean guitar harmonies in part 7 are amazing, and then the guitar lead with the melodic bassline shortly after. Moments like these make me really want to like the Pike, but then it’s followed by less interesting riff ideas. The best ideas are so fleeting, maybe it’s intentional. Overall, the big suite has some cool ideas buried under a lot of clutter. I wanted to like it, but it fell short in a lot of areas. I was expecting something more well thought out after a month off. Luckily this isn’t the whole album. The last 6 minutes consist of a single tune: Ramp Ahead. This is good stuff. Great melodies and crushing riffs. But overall it’s clear that (hopefully) his focus is elsewhere.
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He's killing me with these multi-part (practically nameless) Pikes. It starts & you do indeed know this is going to be demented. First thing that strikes me is the use of two guitar tracks; that's a great start. And those heavy bits are brutal. The R.O.Q. suite is very listenable & enjoyable; it's well mixed/produced sounding. Again, hard to pick a particular bit out, but it's all totally solid (there are some really great bit scattered throughout), if rambling a little unforgivably at times (all 4*). Ramp Ahead is a separate track from the R.O.Q. suite and coming in at seven minutes is definitely the cohesive highlight of this Pike. Don't know how these riffs are vastly different to those on Poseidon which you didn't really seem to enjoy. Some lovely melodies here, as you say; the whole track flows a long very nicely indeed. Second half is marvellous stuff (5*). Overall, probably another Pike you really need to be in the mood for. Slightly challenging listening.
Mosh said:
Pike 266 - Far: Great start to this one. Love the acoustic/clean guitars with the space-y synth sounds. Love when the distorted guitars kick in and he's playing acoustic leads over the heavy riffing. That's such a cool combo. This Pike is basically one big buildup. It climaxes in the middle and then slowly comes back down. Love that stuff. The leads at in the final part are explosive and awesome. A little long, but still enjoyable. It's interesting listening to these Pikes by themselves and not through binging because I'm judging this on its own merits and not really comparing it to anything else. I will say though that this is probably the best Pike of the year so far. One Pike a month has definitely helped relax the creative juices.
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Oh man, this Pike is so damn good. Reminds me a bit of Oneiric Pool [Pike #235] in terms of overall balance; there is great build-up & the amount of soloing is just right. Agreed, this is definitely up there with the best of 2017 so far (all tracks 5*).

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CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Oh man, this Pike is so damn good. Reminds me a bit of Oneiric Pool [Pike #235] in terms of overall balance; there is great build-up & the amount of soloing is just right. Agreed, this is definitely up there with the best of 2017 so far (all tracks 5*).
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Partically looking forward to this! I'm still @ pike 119.
 
Diesel 11 said:
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This album appears to be an early fan favorite, and I can tell that it's a really emotional album, but............................. okay, maybe I'll have to give it a re-listen in the future, but my first impressions aren't gonna be the most positive you'll ever see. This thing drags longer than the previous album, it's just so slow. Tracks with drumming on them don't sound mixed well. And yeah, the style really isn't my cup of tea. However, here and there I detected some Ahab-type moments, which is a definite positive. And the album starts to redeem itself towards the back end. I found myself getting lost in "Watching the Boats with My Dad", which is probably one of my favorite individual songs by him thus far, and that I'd give somewhere between 9/10 or 10/10. But as for the entire album....

Rating: 7/10
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what the fuck is this

Colma is awesome i'm crying

Not in the forefront, per se, but in the background.. just emotion... feel... peace... fuck...
 
New Brain interview! Starts familiar but has some great new insights, references to Buckethead's health issues, wanting to tour with him again, etc.


 
I've got important information to discuss in a little bit, but first -

I'm interested to know what you thought of this. Obviously I've not heard all 30 of these, but from the bits played it seemed a decent one.
 
Alright, @CriedWhenBrucieLeft if your bed hasn't beckoned ye before this moment...

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OK. I did it. I finally listened to all of In Search of The. I'm fucking glad he didn't actually go through with finished Disembodied Sounds because Jesus Christ. 9-and-a-half-hours has been spent, and while they weren't exactly wasted, there were moments were I questioned my music taste. It's certainly not a bad collection, and there are a bunch of good moments, but honestly, the best was the last fifteen seconds. *Wipes sweat from brow* If I ever return to this, it won't be any time in the near future.

Rating: 6/10
(It's low mainly because of the enormous task listening to it was.)
 
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Firstly, lemme say that after the whole iSoT thing, it's nice to be going through these albums again. Pepper's Ghost... well, to me I find it interesting how these last three Buckethead albums were. Yes, I'm counting iSoT to be one whole album just split into 13 discs. Sue me. Crime Slunk Scene was finally getting to the shred Bucket, all the interesting stuff and the proof that this dude is a wizard on the guitar. iSoT was a step back, back to the more random Bucket stuff and more experimental side of his music, only, of course, mmmmmuuuuuuccccchhhhh llllllooooonnnnnggggeeeerrrrr. Pepper's Ghost is something else entirely. It's taking the stuff we had in iSoT and other albums like it, and kind of... doing something different. Slowing down maybe. Adding a bit more electricity. So it kind of falls somewhere between iSoT and CSS (in my opinion, of course). Overall, I gotta say it's one of my favorites I've heard yet from him and one that I'll need to return to in future.

Rating: 9/10

Lastly, lemme say that despite him having such a varied discography and not all of his stuff being "great", I truly love Buckethead. He's definitely one of my Top 5 favorite artists and yes, I plan on listening to everything before I die. All or bust, that's the Diesel way!
 
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This album started off pretty well, but quickly became... well, boring. Instead of doing something interesting it comes off more like "yo I'm gonna do acoustic shit!" There's a lot of wasted potential here, so I'm kinda sad about that.

Rating: 5/10
 
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So we're back to the random experimental Buckethead. Yeah... this album wasn't the best. Had its moments but they were few and far between. Aunt Suzie is probably the best song but it's nothing compared to Soothsayer and stuff. The other four tracks... eh. Definitely not something I wanna hear at this point in his discography.

Rating: 4.5/10
 
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