The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell

Last updated
The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell
CuckoClockPic2.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 20, 2004
Genre Experimental metal
Length52:16
Label Disembodied
Producer Dan Monti
Buckethead chronology
Population Override
(2004)
The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell
(2004)
Enter the Chicken
(2005)
Alternative Cover
Cuckooclocksofhell.jpg
Alternative front cover, used on some editions of the album.
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell is the thirteenth studio album by American guitarist Buckethead. It was released on April 20, 2004 via Disembodied Records.

Contents

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Descent of the Damned"3:07
2."Spokes for the Wheel of Torment"2:17
3."Arc of the Pendulum"2:32
4."Fountains of the Forgotten"3:22
5."The Treeman"3:40
6."Pylegathon"2:35
7."Traveling Morgue"3:18
8."One Tooth of the Time Train"3:27
9."Bedlam's Bluff"3:15
10."Beaten with Sledges"2:52
11."Woods of Suicides"3:28
12."Yellowed Hide"3:37
13."Moths to Flame"3:13
14."The Ravines of Falsehood"3:11
15."The Black Forest"2:12
16."Haven of Black Tar Pitch"3:19
17."The Escape Wheel"2:52
Total length:52:16

Spokes for the Wheel of Torment

"Spokes for the Wheel of Torment"
Song by Buckethead
from the album The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell
ReleasedApril 20, 2004
RecordedJohn Merrick Recorder
Genre
Length2:17
Label Disembodied
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Dan Monti

"Spokes for the Wheel of Torment" is the second song from the album and one of a few that have a music video (the others are "The Ballad of Buckethead" from the album Monsters and Robots , "We Are One" from Buckethead's 2005 album Enter the Chicken , "Pyrrhic Victory" by Thanatopsis, and "Viva Voltron", for the animated series Voltron).

Music video

Stylized image of Buckethead in the song's video clip Screenshot Spokes for the Wheel of Torment.png
Stylized image of Buckethead in the song's video clip

The music video was directed by Syd Garon and Eric Henry featuring additional artwork by longtime Buckethead collaborator Bryan "Frankenseuss" Theiss. The video is based on the famous triptychs by Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights , The Last Judgement , the Paradise and Hell, and The Temptation of St. Anthony .

The music video starts showing a place that looks like hell where Buckethead has a lute and is carried by a flying beast which releases him. Buckethead ends in the hands of the "Prince of Hell" from The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych.

Buckethead gets eaten by the creature and his head, the lute and the two arms fall, getting themselves stuck on a tree where Buckethead starts to play a part of the song. While he plays, a lot of people getting killed are shown in several ways and a bird is picking body parts. Then the "Tree Man" from the same triptych is shown and the camera changes to the upper part of the triptych where all is on fire.

Buckethead keeps playing and when the song finishes the screen goes black and the credits appear showing the triptychs by Hieronymus Bosch. After the credits the camera pulls to show the credits were on a circular shape. During this time, parts of the song "Traveling Morgue" from the same album are played. The screen goes black again and the words "Beware, Beware, God Sees" appear.

The clip was shown at some film festivals around the world, such as the Sydney Film Festival, [2] amongst others. [3]

The music video has been officially made available in 2006, as part of the Anxious Animation DVD release [4] as well as Buckethead's own video compilation Secret Recipe.

Personnel

Performers

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hieronymus Bosch</span> Dutch painter (c. 1450–1516)

Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oak wood, mainly contains fantastic illustrations of religious concepts and narratives. Within his lifetime, his work was collected in the Netherlands, Austria, and Spain, and widely copied, especially his macabre and nightmarish depictions of hell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain (musician)</span> American drummer

Bryan Kei Mantia, known professionally as Brain, is an American rock drummer. He has played with bands such as Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis, and Godflesh, and with other performers such as Tom Waits, Serj Tankian, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, and Buckethead. He has also done session work for numerous artists and bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triptych</span> Artwork divided into three parts

A triptych is a work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works. The middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Finck</span> Musical artist

Robert John "Robin" Finck is an American guitarist. Finck is the longest-serving touring musician for Nine Inch Nails, performing with the band from 1994 to 2000, and returning in 2008. With Nine Inch Nails, Finck contributed studio performances on The Slip (2008).

<i>Belvedere</i> (M. C. Escher) Lithograph print by Dutch artist M. C. Escher

Belvedere is a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher, first printed in May 1958. It shows a plausible-looking belvedere building that is an impossible object, modelled after an impossible cube.

<i>The Garden of Earthly Delights</i> Triptych painting by Hieronymus Bosch

The Garden of Earthly Delights is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. It has been housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain since 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harp lute</span> Musical instrument

The harp lute, or dital harp, is a musical instrument that combines features of harp and lute and to increase its compass of the latter. It was invented in 1795 by Edward Light,.

<i>The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things</i> Paintings by Hieronymus Bosch or a follower

The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things is a painting attributed to the Early Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch or to a follower of his, completed around 1500 or later. Since 1898 its authenticity has been questioned several times. In 2015 the Bosch Research Conservation Project claimed it to be by a follower, but scholars at the Prado, where the painting is on display in a sealed case, dismissed this argument. The painting is oil on wooden panels and is presented in a series of circular images.

<i>Enter the Chicken</i> 2005 studio album by Buckethead & Friends

Enter the Chicken is the fourteenth studio album by musician Buckethead. The album was released on October 25, 2005 by Serj Tankian's label Serjical Strike. It has eleven songs, two of which are less than twenty seconds long. It contains appearances from such artists as Saul Williams, Maximum Bob, Efrem Schulz and Serj Tankian.

<i>Aion</i> (Dead Can Dance album) 1990 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Aion is the fifth studio album by the Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 11 June 1990 by 4AD. The first album Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry wrote after the end of their romantic partnership, it was recorded at Perry's new estate, Quivvy Church in Ireland, with additional recording on "The Arrival and the Reunion" and "The End of Words" taking place at Woodbine Street Recording Studios in Leamington Spa.

<i>Monsters and Robots</i> 1999 studio album by Buckethead

Monsters and Robots is Buckethead's fifth studio album, released April 20, 1999, by Higher Octave records. A large part of the album was co-written with Les Claypool, who also plays bass on several tracks and lends his vocals to the track "The Ballad of Buckethead".

<i>Bucketheadland 2</i> 2003 studio album by Buckethead

Bucketheadland 2 is the tenth studio album by guitarist Buckethead. Released in 2003, it is a sequel to his debut album, Bucketheadland, a concept album about his fictional "abusement" park.

Death and the Miser is a Northern Renaissance painting produced between 1490 and 1516 by the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. The piece was originally part of a triptych, but the center piece is missing. It is a memento mori painting, which is meant to remind the viewer of the inevitability of death and the futility of the pursuit of material wealth, illustrating the sin of greed.

<i>Cuckoo</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Curve

Cuckoo is the second studio album to be released by the British alternative rock band Curve. It was released on 13 September 1993 and was issued by Anxious Records and Charisma Records. It was less commercially successful than the band's previous releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckethead discography</span>

Buckethead is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Buckethead's extensive solo discography currently includes 31 studio albums, one live album, two expended plays, five special releases, six demo tapes, & four DVD releases. Since 2011, Buckethead started releasing albums in the "Pikes" series, mini-albums usually around 30 minutes in length, each with a sequential number similar to a comic book. Buckethead has released 655 Pike albums, 175 of which are live albums.

<i>The Last Judgment</i> (Bosch, Vienna) Triptych by Hieronymus Bosch, created after 1482

The Last Judgment is a triptych by the Early Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch, created after 1482.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckethead</span> American guitarist (born 1969)

Brian Patrick Carroll, known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist. He has received critical acclaim for his innovative and virtuosic electric guitar playing.

<i>The Fall of the Rebel Angels</i> Painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Fall of the Rebel Angels is an oil-on-panel painting of 1562 by the Netherlandish Renaissance artist, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The painting is 117cm x 162cm and is now in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, Belgium. The Fall of Rebel Angels depicts Lucifer along with the other fallen angels that have been banished from heaven. Angels are falling from the sun in a stacked manner along with ungodly creatures that Bruegel created. This piece by Bruegel was previously thought to be by Hieronymus Bosch. Bruegel was influenced by a variety of artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Frans Floris I, and Hieronymus Bosch. He also got ideas for the creation of his creatures in his previous works.

Proto-Surrealism is a term used for Surrealism avant-la-lettre. It is the study of various forms of art, literature, and other mediums that correspond to, reference, or share similarities to the 20th-century art movement known as Surrealism. This definition is considered a controversial topic, with many debating the suitability of the term surrealism to describe these bodies of work and instead opting to use the term Fantastique or Fantastic Art.

<i>Existence Is Futile</i> (Cradle of Filth album) 2021 studio album by Cradle of Filth

Existence Is Futile is the thirteenth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth, released on 22 October 2021 through Nuclear Blast. It is the band's only album to feature keyboardist and female vocalist Anabelle Iratni and the last album with guitarist Richard Shaw before his departure in May 2022. This album also saw the return of Doug Bradley to provide narration for two tracks. It is the sixth Cradle of Filth release on which he appears, but the first since 2011's Evermore Darkly.

References

  1. Westergaard, Sean (2004-04-20). "The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell – Buckethead". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  2. 52nd Sydney Film Festival Archived July 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. 2005 bitfilm festival Archived May 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Murray, Noel (2006-06-13). "Anxious Animation | DVD | DVD". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
  5. "Images for Buckethead – The Cuckoo Clocks Of Hell". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-11-11.