Old Choptop is back again to dazzle us with this fourth installment in the Cornbugs saga. Buckethead and Choptop (a.k.a. Bill Moseley) are back and better than ever, with a tighter sound and some fancy new artwork; very slick indeed.

We begin with a super groovin’ guitar riff from Buckethead on Riders of the Whistling Skull. In typical Moseley fashion it has references to his personal life cleverly hidden in riddles and rhymes, though mixed in are his usual horror-based quips and perversions. At least I’m hoping that “pants all full of squash” isn’t one of the true parts.

Mushroom Workers reminds me of past Cornbugs outings with it’s fantastical, almost psychedelic groove; I especially enjoy the union reference. My absolute favorite is track four’s Dirty Sperm Rag. I’ve never heard a more fun and/or disgusting song. I could gleefully listen to Bill Moseley singing “tastes like butt-boiled brisket” for hours on end. I’m also fond of the songs’ country twang and downright catchiness. It’s a tune you know you shouldn’t be singing, but you just can’t help yourself.

Unlike the other Cornbugs albums, Brain Circus is filled with tones of seriousness ranging from the political to the religious in songs such as Crab Claw Maracas, Boots upon the Ground, Kingdom Come, and even in Clone (I Want Me A) with the great line, “Mr. President, you’re proof they cloned your father.” There are also some depressing moments involving a farmer and his wife, careful Bill, your Midwest side is showing.

Another great tune disguises itself as pure horror, Arm Torn off by a Train, but the more I listen to it, I am convinced it’s some sort of cryptic warning, even a public service announcement if you will. It goes into graphics detail about a man trying to jump onto a moving train and getting his feet stuck. “The sound of it was horrible, bones snapping, flesh ripping, the tearing of his shirt sleeve, that ungodly scream.” The warning comes near the end, which is hopefully not the end for Cornbugs (I’m waiting for the world tour), “Trains can do that to ya, best be careful huh?”

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