He is a prolific composer, having released 38 solo albums and performed on over 50 more. He has also made a guest appearance on 44 different albums from various artists. His music spans across diverse areas such as thrash metal, funk, electronica, jazz, bluegrass and avant-garde music.

Although a multi-instrumentalist, Buckethead is best known for his electric guitar playing, characterized by diverse playing styles spanning thrash guitar, fingerpicking, and slap guitar. Guitar One voted him number 8 on a list of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time".[2]

Buckethead now works primarily as a solo artist and touring the United States with a trio. He has had a wide variety of high profile collaborations with such artists as Les Claypool, Tony Williams, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Iggy Pop, Serj Tankian, Guns N' Roses, Saul Williams, Mike Patton, Viggo Mortensen and with Bill Laswell on Praxis.

Buckethead also has a career writing and performing music for major motion pictures. Some of the films he has worked on include: Saw II, Ghosts of Mars, Beverly Hills Ninja, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Last Action Hero and the soundtrack of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.

Career

1988–1994

In 1988, Buckethead entered a song called "Brazos" into a Guitar Player Magazine contest; it was a runner up, This is what was said about him:
“ An astonishingly skilled guitarist and bassist, he demonstrates post–Paul Gilbert speed and accuracy filtered through very kinky harmonic sensibilities. His psychotronic, demonic edge is very, very far removed from the clichés of classical metal and rock. A real talent to watch, also known as "Buckethead." ”

In the same year the editor of Guitar Player Magazine, Jas Obrecht came to know of Buckethead when Brian and his parents left a demo at the magazine's reception desk for Obrecht. Impressed with his demo recording he rushed into the restaurant where Buckethead and his parents were having lunch and encouraged him to make the most of his talent,[3] they soon became friends. Jas, in his introductory note for the Young Buckethead DVDs, says that Brian was around 16 at that point, placing his year of birth at roughly 1972. In 1991 Buckethead moved into Obrecht's basement (this is also where the "Buckethead in the Basement" footage for the Young Buckethead DVD was filmed). The song "Brazos" was eventually released on the 1991 demo tape of his band Deli Creeps, titled "Tribal Rites", and again as bonus material in Buckethead's Secret Recipe DVD in 2006.

After the 2 demo tapes, Buckethead released Bucketheadland on John Zorn's Avant record label in 1992. Though available only as a pricey Japanese import, the record received positive reviews and earned some attention. At about this time, Buckethead fell into the orbit of prolific bassist/producer Bill Laswell (himself an occasional Zorn collaborator); as either a performer, producer or composer, Buckethead was introduced to Laswell with the help of the drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia who gave Laswell a video of Buckethead playing in his room[4]. Laswell was involved in many of the albums listed in the discography below, and Buckethead made many more appearances on albums by Laswell's collaborators.

In 1992 Buckethead, with Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Bryan "Brain" Mantia, formed the supergroup, Praxis. Their first album Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), released in 1992, was well received. The project was Bill Laswell's concept, and has since involved other guests such as Serj Tankian of System of a Down and Les Claypool of Primus, among others. Buckethead did not participate in all the albums.

1994–1995

Death Cube K is an anagram of "Buckethead" created by Tom "Doc" Darter to circumvent legal complications with Sony Records. About his style, Buckethead answers in his FAQ:

Many believe, however, that Death Cube K is a separate entity that looks like a photographic negative version of Buckethead with a "black chrome mask, like Darth Vader." This apparition haunts Buckethead and appears in his nightmares.

– [5]

Science fiction author, William Gibson later borrowed "Death Cube K" as the name of a bar in his novel Idoru (1996). Gibson explained the reference in an interview for Addicted To Noise:
“ Death Cube K is actually the title of an album. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the group but Bill Laswell who I don't really know but out of the kindness of his heart occasionally sends me big hunks of his output, groups that come out on his label. And Death Cube K was the title of some vicious ambient group that he had produced. And when I saw it, I thought: a Franz Kafka theme bar in Tokyo. ”

Also in 1994, Buckethead released his second studio album entitled Giant Robot which features many guest appearances by artists such as Iggy Pop and Bill Moseley, the name of the album came from the Japanese series Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot of whi