Zillatron : "Lord Of The Harvest"

(Black Arc, 1993)

...a cyberfunk creation by Bootsy Collins and Bill Laswell, driving funk into the virgin territories of ambient, hardcore, techno and beyond, with Praxis bandmates Buckethead and Bernie Worrell-a sonic landscape of the gradual apocalypse.
Although William "Bootsy" Collins' career as leader and sideman is too extensive to document here (it includes, to begin with, 20-30 major releases under the Parliament, Funkadelic and Bootsy's Rubber Band trademarks), it's fair to say that the tireless bassist and funk icon has created more alter egos for himself than your average character actor. "Casper" and "Bootzilla," his earliest roles, were successively replaced by "The Player," "Boot-Tron," "Star-Mon," "The One," "The Count" and many more. His latest yin-yang identity matrix, as manifested on Lord of the Harvest, is as the omnipotent Zillatron ("the great Overlord of Cyberfunk") and his "lycanthropic counterpart" Fuzzface-two superheroes of epic proportions and near-impenetrable mystery.
The production on Lord of the Harvest has a general collage-like feel, with found snippets and samples flying around unexpectedly. "Count Zero" and "Smell the Secrets" employ ambient, trance and dub strategies, creating the appropriate sonic backdrop to Bootsy's mad dystopian vision of the near future. "Exterminate" and "No Fly Zone/The Devil's Playground" dip heavily into hardcore thrash, with Buckethead leading the charge. Of course, Bootsy's extra-syrupy "Sugarcrook" ballads get a nod with "The Passion Continues," while a heavy dose of his pure virtuosity on bass penetrates tracks like "Bugg Lite" and "Fuzz Face".
Eventually, Bootsy and keyboard wizard Worrell developed a whole new sound-a psychedelic update of the James Brown thang, with a few Larry Graham (Sly & the Family Stone) innovations tossed in: circular basslines that breathe, blasting horn sections, scratch guitars and single note unison lines, and even more funky special effects like popping and distorted fuzz-bass. All this permeates the cyberfunkic sprawl of Lord of the Harvest, and with the musical mutations of Fuzzface to back him up, Zillatron is once again poised to convert all detractors to the ways of The One. He who sows the wind reaps the funky storm.

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