Distilling the totality of Buckethead’s recorded corpus—which includes supergroups, film and videogame soundtracks, alter ego projects and left-field collaborations—is a nearly impossible task. The masked, KFC-bucket-wearing, basketball-loving guitarist—born Brian Patrick Carroll in 1969 in California—played in the San Francisco metal-funk band Deli Creeps before setting out on his own with his 1992 statement of purpose, Bucketheadland. On subsequent releases, he joined forces with big-name co-conspirators—Iggy Pop, Bootsy Collins, Les Claypool and others—and absorbed more genres into his shred-friendly musical universe. Some stylistic detours—such as his largely acoustic 1998 album Colma and his 2002 electronic-music outing Electric Tears—rank among his most revered releases. When working with vocalists, Buckethead resourcefully matches their energy and phrasing. (Hear him lock in with System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian on Enter the Chicken’s “We Are One” from 2005.)