Band:	Buckethead
Album:	Enter The Chicken
Style:	Experimental rock, Alternative metal, Avantgarde metal, Hard rock, Heavy metal, Electro industrial metal, Speed metal
Release date:	October 25, 2005
A review by:	jupitreas

01. Intro
02. We Are One
03. Botnus
04. Three Fingers
05. Running From The Light
06. Coma
07. Waiting Hare
08. Interlude
09. Funbus
10. The Hand
11. Nottingham Lace
12. Shen Chi [2008 reissue bonus]

Never judge a book by its cover. Buckethead might look silly in that KFC bucket of his; however, underneath the mask there is perhaps the most interesting guitar virtuoso the rock world has ever seen, constantly delivering quality left-field, abstract or plain crazy releases. Enter The Chicken is so far the latest addition to the Buckethead menu and it is easily one of the best albums of 2005.

Enter The Chicken is a healthy dose of silliness to the perpetually depressed and dark metal world. Why does being experimental always have to equal being gravely serious? Instead, Buckethead and his troupe of guest vocalists make music that is adventurous and fun. It is this sense of adventure, as well as Buckethead's ingenious guitar solos, that gel the otherwise radically different tracks on this album. In fact, every single track here is wonderful in its own unique way. The band is capable of tackling every possible style, whether it is the technical thrash metal of "Botnus", the New Age ethno-pop of "Coma", the vicious death metal of "Funbus", the delicate indie-rock of "Running From The Light" or the funk-metal-meets-opera of "Hand". One can never be sure what weird antic is right around the corner. Hell, they even stick a Captain Beefheart sample in there!

Enter The Chicken is an example of healthy experimentation that is both musically challenging and quite accessible. Although I prefer Buckethead's pure electronica records, this album still deserves my honest recommendation. If you're looking for an unconventional take on metal, this is as good as it gets!