Band:	Bumblefoot
Album:	9.11
Style:	Progressive hard rock
Release date:	2001
Guest review by:	Paradox0

01. Fly In The Batter
02. Lost
03. Raygun
04. Hole In The Sky
05. Children Of Sierra Leone
06. Don Pardo Pimpwagon
07. Legend Of Van Cleef
08. Guitars Suck
09. Hall Of Souls
10. Top Of The World
11. R2
12. Time

Before Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal became Axl Rose's last ditch effort to save his polished turd, "Chinese Democracy," Ron was one of those obscure musicians who existed in his own isolated corner of the music world, releasing albums which seem to be demonstrations showcasing his guitar skills more than anything else. Luckily, not only does this album offer a wide variety of musical genres, but Ron also has a knack for playing his guitar in very odd manners.

Speaking of the variety within the album, Ron seems to tackle latin jazz ("r2"), rap/r&b ("Time" and a little in the semi-prog song "Lost"), soul ("Top of the World"), a dark Buckethead-like song ("Children of the Sierra Leon"), and even neo-classical metal ("guitars suck"). The remainder of the tracks consist of aesthetically experimental songs which showcase his odd way of playing. Now before you go running towards (or away) from this album, realize that the variety is within each song to themselves, so don't expect mind blowing soul/latin/metal hybrids, and the rapping/r&b is far from the ultra commercial kind you'll hear on the radio (nor is it the best you'll hear either if you're a fan of the genres). What is consistent though is how he plays these songs, and all of them are actually quite good, both showcasing his odd yet masterful guitar playing without seeming like a fish out of water.

Although most of the album is good, the standout track is "guitars suck" (which also was the original title of the album before he dedicated it to those who died in World Trade Center on September 9th, 2001). It starts out with a guy on an answering machine saying "Dude! Guitars Suck! Guitars Suck [louder]! GUITARS SUCK!" and then explodes into neoclassical speed metal, complete with backing cliché operatic female vocals, which are only there to showcase the epicness of the song and leave any fan of virtuoso guitar playing in awe. This then goes on for about 3 minutes with each section of the song becoming just that much more awesome than the last, playing at speeds which would give Yngwie Malmstein and Jari Maenpaa a run for their money. Not to say that this is the only song which he plays mind blowing solos ("Top of the World" has a pretty awesome solo to boast as well), but this is the song which balances everything out and eliminates any doubts of his ability.

If there is any real shortfall it's in the vocals and lyrics department, which are supplied by Ron himself. He sounds like a late Jimi Hendrix knockoff (whom I figure he idolizes, not saying he's a bad idol though) without the psychedelic lyrics the "experience" is known for. Instead you get songs like "Ray Gun," which seems to be a showcase of a pretty weird/cool guitar effect, but is more or less about him shooting you with his ray gun. The lyrics still aren't unlistenable and, if anything, they round out the handful of songs that they're in with vocals.

Despite the minor shortcomings of this album, it's overall quite good and will leave you impressed (and in some ways disappointed) with this once obscure guitar master.