Buckethead

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

You'll love all the material from those sessions then. In fact, the write-up on Travis' TDRS website is probably the most detailed look at some of Buckethead's writing/recording methods that is ever likely to come out. He played bass on all these albums too, & it's not just slap/funk nonsense; there's some pretty decent stuff on them. It's an odd flavour; sort of 70's rock, blues, jazzy even. There's none of the usual lead/solo madness e.g. chromatic tapping, etc. Still, some interesting & surprising (in context) shred moments though. All in, some of his most interesting releases.

 

[Mosh]

Pike 100 - Mighty Microscope: Good Pike. I like the 3 song format when the three songs are all different. The second song, Phase Yellow, is a skipper, but the rest of the album is worth hearing. The bluesy funk of the opening title track is a little played out by now IMO but this is actually an example of the style being interesting. The closing track is also great. A nice mellow tune with some really hypnotic leads. Very space-y.

Pike 101 - In the Hollow Hills: A more stripped down album. The music is sparse but hypnotic. Really nice guitar tones on here. The long psychedelic jam that is Ghosts of Broken Eggs reminds me of something from Miles Davis' fusion period, can't think of a specific tune though. Bumper Cars has the genesis of a good idea but it isn't given time to develop. Seas and Stars is a really nice tune with great ambience. Overall, one of his more "complete" Pikes. This one felt like a journey.

Pike 102 - Sideways Streets: Another stripped down jam. Just guitar/bass/drums. Not much more to it. It's a fun jam with some great licks and a delicious guitar tone. Also features a nice mellow closer to give the album some variety. Another winner.

Pike 103 - Squid Ink Lodge: Not a big fan of his use of downtuned guitars lately. They sound muddy and it feels monotonous when everything is low frequency. Musically not too far away from the previous Pike but I find it less exciting. Also a lot more moments where it feels like he's just noodling. Overall, this feels like Sideways Streets' inferior younger brother.

Pike 104 - Project Little Man: Now this is more like it! Classic Buckethead riffing. This is reminiscent of the early Pikes. I'm not really sure how to describe this musical style, other than heavy riff driven metal, but it has been a staple of Buckethead's repertoire pretty much since the beginning and it never gets old. Thorne Room is slightly less energetic but still stacked with awesome riffs. This is probably the most essential Pike since the 80s.

Pike 105 - The Moltrail: Ugh. More low frequency generic blues riffing. I praised 100 and 102 which also had that bluesy sound, but they were much more exciting and less monotonous than this. I also feel like the riffs are a little too repetitive on this one. Moltrail Part 2 opens up the frequency spectrum a little bit more but it's mostly just mindless shredding. Some good licks here and there, but I am already turned off by this Pike. Then Woven Wires reverts back to the sound of Moltrail Part 1. One of his less inspired Pikes.

Pike 106 - Forest of Bamboo: Same problem as the previous Pike, except this time it's in a single song format. Too bad, I actually usually like these, but this song just seems to switch back and forth between noisy noodling and muddy riffing. One of those Pikes where it seems like he made a quick drum track and noodled over it for 30 minutes.

Pike 107 - Weird Glows Gleam: So I started listening to this for review and was wondering why it wasn't on my recommended list. It has a very promising start. Unfortunately, it quickly devolves into mindless shredding. Again, some cool riffs, but 107 Pikes later I want something a little more musical. The final track is a step in the right direction, but still not enough to save the Pike. I wish he would've developed more on some of the riffs here as there's some really good ones.

Pike 108 - Collect Itself: This one is the opposite of Weird Glows Gleam. Where that Pike started strong and got weaker, this Pike had a rocky start but gets really good once it picks up steam. There's still a lot of shredding, but there's also a lot of interesting riffs and some nice twists and turns. Love how he's playing with dynamics here. Still pretty heavy on the shred side, but it's enjoyable enough.

Pike 109 - The Left Panel: A nice soft Pike. Love the arpeggiated chords in the opening track and the soft melodies. Buckethead's playing is very lyrical on this. I'll take 30 minutes of this over most of the styles presented in the last ten Pikes. It's unfortunate that he seems to be going in this direction less often lately.

Buckethead is starting to get a lot less consistent lately.

 

[Mosh]

Pike 110 - Wall to Wall Cobwebs: Another three song Pike with a healthy dose of variety. The first track is a little rough, but the final two make this release worth it. I especially like Miracle Molecule, with its classic Bucket riffing. The leads on the closing tune are also great. It's a little heavy on the shred side but it works.

Pike 111 - Night of the Snowmole: Two tracks and neither of them really do it for me. The first tune is OK but meanders a bit too much. Lots of repetitive riffs and uninteresting leads. The second track is a total miss. Those low frequency riffs I dislike are back and there's a ton of mindless shredding thrown on top. He'll have a really cool riff idea but then abandon it for something less interesting.

Pike 112 - Creaky Doors and Creaky Floors: More of the same. Lots of noodling and shredding, not much in the way of interesting musical content.

Pike 113 - Herbie Theatre: This was actually a major disappointment. After some really questionable releases, I thought this would be a step in the right direction. The song titles suggested a possible thematic Pike, but turns out it's not that much different from the previous two Pike. Just with shorter songs and a noise track.

Pike 114 - Glow In the Dark: The muddy riffing indicated right off the bat that this was probably going to be a miss. On the bright side, at least it's something more riff/groove driven than a vehicle for shredding. However, I can only take so much of that downtuned riffing and this album is nothing but that. It gets a little bit better toward the end but not by much.
My problem with the shredding is that it's monotonous. There's nothing exciting about it. The riffs on here are slower and catchier, but it still has the same problem.

Pike 115 - Marble Monsters: At this point it's obvious that he's not even trying anymore. This one is all noise.

Pike 116 - Infinity of the Spheres: Finally something remotely interesting. The opening melody reminds me of something I've heard before but I can't put my finger on it. Been trying to figure it out for a couple weeks now and it's driving me crazy. Anyway, I love the textures and the space on this Pike. So much restraint in his playing. But the best part is after hypnotizing the listener for 11 minutes, he throws in a brutal riff out of nowhere. It totally catches you off guard and it's awesome. It's a great riff too. Such a spectacular buildup. The second track is cool too. He plays with the dynamics a bit more here, this time going back and forth rather than a straight buildup. This Pike proves that he's still capable of making great music when he puts in the effort.

Pike 117 - Vacuum: It has been a pretty long time since Buckethead did a Pike of shorter tunes, so I was interested to see where he'd take this. Hearing him jam on the bass is pretty cool for the first five minutes but it gets old really fast. This Pike isn't horrible, it's not nearly as bad as some of the others from this decade, but I lost interest in it about halfway through. If you're a big fan of bass you might get a kick out of it, but it feels like he recorded the rhythm tracks and never bothered to finish it. That being said, it was still nice to hear something different and I welcome the variety.

Pike 118 - Elevator: And we're back to uninspired riffs and shredding. I'd rather listen to Vacuum 5 times in a row than more of this, but it seems like what you hear on Elevator is his default mode lately. When revisiting these albums for review, I feel like I've heard the same song over and over again. Am I being pranked?

Pike 119 - Solar Sailcraft: Well at least we're closing out the 110's on a high note. Some great riffing on this. Love the driving riff of Flying Saucer. That's the sort of stuff he needs more of. I've also mentioned my love for his "pulloff riffs". Those are always a ton of fun. I could imagine music like this as the soundtrack for a rollercoaster or something. There's some shredding on this Pike but it's a lot more tasteful. There are even some downtuned riffs, but they work because he contrasts them with something else. There's a lot of variety and color on this Pike.

Yikes.

 

[Mosh]

Pike 120 - Louzenger: This was a mixed bag. Lots of noodly moments and some uninteresting electronic bits, but overall this was actually pretty good. The riff driven tunes were awesome. Stuff like Shade makes this Pike worth it. When he integrates the electronics into his actual songs it actually comes out pretty good. Lots of good riffs and melodies on here.

Pike 121 - Shaded Ray: Not sure why this Pike didn't connect with me, as I usually enjoy Bucket in this mode. But somehow the 19 minutes of the opening track really dragged for me. The next two songs didn't really pick up the pace. Both had their moments, but I found this one tough to enjoy. It's not bad though. You would definitely be better off listening to this than most of Pikes 110-119.

Pike 122 - The Other Side of the Dark: Another solid mellow Pike, at least with the first track. This is a lot darker and moodier than 116. The second track is more of a blues jam. Definitely not the main event of this Pike, but it's still listenable.

Pike 123 - Scroll of Vegetable - Great riffing on this one. The long songs work here. It's mostly just jamming over a few different chord progressions, but it works. Buckethead's playing is fantastic. Much more inventive than usual lately. The title track has a really cool groove too. Very middle eastern sounding.

Pike 124 - Rotten Candy Cane: Another noisy Pike. There are some interesting noises sprinkled throughout at least. It is one of the better noise albums, for whatever that is worth.

Pike 125 - Along the Riverbank: Another mixed bag similar to Louzenger. There are some really cool moments mixed with some less interesting moments, but there's at least variety and it's pretty entertaining for the most part. Some riff driven tunes, some shreddy tunes, an opening track with a big buildup. You get a little bit of everything which keeps this interesting.

Pike 126 - Tourist: Obviously the main event here is the opening track, which is awesome. A nice slow burning jam. Lots of really intense buildups. But the rest of the album is actually just as cool, if not better. There's a nice mix here. Some ultra heavy tunes with more groove oriented tunes. Like the previous album, there's a little bit of everything and it's all enjoyable.

Pike 127 - Paint To the Tile: I love the way this Pike develops. It starts out on the mellow side with a slightly heavy but melancholy tune with lots of restraint. The next song is a little more driving with some nice sludgy riffs. Then you get Shell which is bursting with energy. Then everything starts to come down again with the last two tracks. It's something I didn't expect and really helped my enjoyment. One of the few Pikes that actually feels really purposeful.

Pike 128 - Tucked Into Dreams: Loved the opening track on this. Buckethead is always in top form when he's inspired by Disneyland. Is this one of the tracks he plays while he's at the theme park? Seriously though, it's a very cool tune and one that really stuck out to me on first listen. The rest of the Pike is also great, but I'm mostly recommending it for Frontierland. Love that dark/western-y sound. Something different for him. The rest is what you would usually expect from a soft Pike. Lots of nice acoustic melodies. Probably the best of this set.

Pike 129 - Forever Lake: Another great mellow Pike. This one is a bit more sparse than the previous one. It's extremely dark, but I like it. Wooden Horses gets a little heavier but it never goes off the rails. Love how he switches rapidly between dark crushing riffs and pretty acoustic melodies. Definitely some of the most atmospheric music he's done.

A much better set of Pikes, but still very uneven. I noticed a lot more Pikes where I only liked half of the music. Usually with these I either like all of it or very little/none of it. This was not the case with several Pikes here, notably Tourist and Louzenger.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

@Mosh I'll comment in detail this weekend when I get time...

 

[Mosh]

Pike 130 - Down In the Bayou Part Two: This Pike has one of the most engaging starts. Love that opening riff. It's kinda low frequency but it totally works here. Really great riffing. You could maybe make the argument that it is on the monotonous side but I actually really enjoyed it. Just a lot of great riffs and some pretty atmospheric moment. L

Pike 131 - Down In the Bayou Part One: Some how this Pike didn't do it for me, despite supposedly being related to the previous one. There's not as much going on and it meanders quite a bit. In some ways it's atmospheric, but the music is less engaging overall. The riffs also seem less inspired. I wonder what happened here.

Pike 132 - Chamber of Drawers: Another Pike with an awesome start. The downtempo title track is pretty cool. It's sludgy but it works because of the shifting rhythmic ideas and Buckethead's tasteful leads. Love the pounding 8th note riff toward the end of the tune. All three tracks are pretty much the same style, but he manages to keep it interesting for the whole Pike.

Pike 133 - Embroidery: What I find so fascinating about Buckethead's music lately is that I'll hear a Pike I really like and then there will be a followup in a similar style that doesn't work at all for me, or vice versa. It's like he records an hour of similar material and then separates the good from the bad. This one has that downtempo downtuned riffing style of the previous Pike, but I found myself bored throughout much of it. Just a ton of moments where it feels like there isn't anything interesting going on. Once again it's 3 similar tracks, but here it feels repetitive.

Pike 134 - Digging Under the Basement: I suppose we were due for a noisy Pike. I dunno what's left to say about these really. This one at least had some melodies and riffs, but these always just come off as so lazy to me. I will say that these at least succeed at being kinda creepy. On this one I can at least kinda see what he's going for.

Pike 135 - Haunted Roller Coaster Chair: More noise tracks.

Pike 136 - Firebolt: We're back to real music, but unfortunately Buckethead seems to be stuck in another rut. This is filled with that downtuned slow riffing that I just can't get into. There's a moment somewhere on this Pike where he starts shredding and it mostly just seems totally out of place with everything else. There is one positive though: there's some interesting use of electronic sounds and noises here. This album still has the same creepy vibe as the previous two, but with more actual music. So it gets points for that.

Pike 137 - Hideous Phantasm: I had a funny moment while listening to this Pike. I found myself really enjoying it and knew it was one for the recommended list, but then I wondered if that was because this Pike was genuinely good or if the last several were so bad that I'm just grateful for anything half decent. Would this Pike hold up if it came 100 albums earlier? I'm still not sure, but nevertheless this felt like a breath of fresh air. There's some cool riffs and it gets a little shreddy but not too bad. There's some nice drum programming here too.

Pike 138 - Giant Claw: Now this one I definitely genuinely like. It's a little out there in places, but it's grounded enough to still be enjoyable. The songs are short but it hits hard. It's almost proggy at times. Also, the buildup in the closing track is immense.

Pike 139 - Observation: Love the dynamics in the first track. The way it slowly builds up into a climax and then comes back down. I also like how riff driven this album is until the closing track where Bucket goes all out on the soloing. That's tasteful shredding. Build up to it and then let the solo grow. Probably the best of this group.

Quality has dropped considerably, it's obvious at this point his quality control really drops. Hopefully in the 2016 Pikes things get back on track.

 

[Forostar]

You are experiencing the same as I Mosh. I raced through a lot of bad ones. I aim to continue my second round. But as you know, Cried, I wasn't impressed and I doubt if that changes.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

< Previous Review

So the first 100 has been & gone. How much of it will Mosh ever return to?

For reference I'm going to star putting my track ratings in any comments, if I remember. Not sure if I can keep this up, but thought it might me useful. Foro, I'm also going to make an effort to refer to tracks by name, which I think you maybe mentioned before. Mosh is on-it in his descriptions anyway; but in my comments "track 1" &/or "second track" is sometimes a bit unhelpful when reading back through these reviews/comments.

Onwards & downwards...

Pike 100 - Mighty Microscope: Good Pike. I like the 3 song format when the three songs are all different. The second song, Phase Yellow, is a skipper, but the rest of the album is worth hearing. The bluesy funk of the opening title track is a little played out by now IMO but this is actually an example of the style being interesting. The closing track is also great. A nice mellow tune with some really hypnotic leads. Very space-y.

Find the first track, The Mighty Microscope, actually the poorest of the three (3*); not that interested in this style, & certainly not for 13 minutes. Phase Yellow on the other hand is nicer & shorter; I quite like it (4*). Final track, Inner Space, is a keeper. Lovely track (5*). Without it this Pike wouldn't have been worth returning to. An uneven Pike.

Pike 101 - In the Hollow Hills: A more stripped down album. The music is sparse but hypnotic. Really nice guitar tones on here. The long psychedelic jam that is Ghosts of Broken Eggs reminds me of something from Miles Davis' fusion period, can't think of a specific tune though. Bumper Cars has the genesis of a good idea but it isn't given time to develop. Seas and Stars is a really nice tune with great ambience. Overall, one of his more "complete" Pikes. This one felt like a journey.

Agreed. I think this is a fantastic Pike (all 5* tracks), aside from the pointless Bumper Cars (3*).

Pike 102 - Sideways Streets: Another stripped down jam. Just guitar/bass/drums. Not much more to it. It's a fun jam with some great licks and a delicious guitar tone. Also features a nice mellow closer to give the album some variety. Another winner.

Surprised you liked this. I think the opening track, Sideways Streets, is probably about the most decent example of this fairly limited style. It's sort of upbeat bluesy rock. It's decent, but this is about as decent as this is ever going to get (4*). Orbits, coming in at over 16 minutes, is similar (I suppose) but is pulled down by that unwieldy length (3*). The final track, Pathless Road, I really like (5*). It has some really choice soloing in the second half of the track; well worth hearing, but not sure if it's enough to rescue this Pike. Again, an uneven release.

Pike 103 - Squid Ink Lodge: Not a big fan of his use of downtuned guitars lately. They sound muddy and it feels monotonous when everything is low frequency. Musically not too far away from the previous Pike but I find it less exciting. Also a lot more moments where it feels like he's just noodling. Overall, this feels like Sideways Streets' inferior younger brother.

Surprised at that. The opening track, Old Lunch Pale, has a nice mood & atmosphere; doesn't sound too muddy too me. I like it (4*). Second track, Squid Ink Lodge, is too long, but I quite like this too (4*). Personally think the two opening tracks on this Pike are better than the first two on Sideways Streets; a bit more going on. The final track, Drawing in the Dirt, is just okay (3*). Again, we're on the bluesy feel again & it's not overly interesting.

Pike 104 - Project Little Man: Now this is more like it! Classic Buckethead riffing. This is reminiscent of the early Pikes. I'm not really sure how to describe this musical style, other than heavy riff driven metal, but it has been a staple of Buckethead's repertoire pretty much since the beginning and it never gets old. Thorne Room is slightly less energetic but still stacked with awesome riffs. This is probably the most essential Pike since the 80s.

Just flat-out awesome. Production could be a little brighter, but there's no disguising (as you say) what a step-up this in comparison to literally anything (aside from some of the more mellow material) in the last 10 or so Pikes. You're probably going back to the early 90's (in Pikes) for anything comparable. The soloing, on Project Little Man, starts about eight minutes in and literally doesn't stop. Nobody compares to Bucket in this mode. Phenomenal (5*). Poor Thorne Room didn't stand a chance in comparison; it's a decent track though (4*).

Pike 105 - The Moltrail: Ugh. More low frequency generic blues riffing. I praised 100 and 102 which also had that bluesy sound, but they were much more exciting and less monotonous than this. I also feel like the riffs are a little too repetitive on this one. Moltrail Part 2 opens up the frequency spectrum a little bit more but it's mostly just mindless shredding. Some good licks here and there, but I am already turned off by this Pike. Then Woven Wires reverts back to the sound of Moltrail Part 1. One of his less inspired Pikes.

Hmmm, going to have to disagree with you here. I'll admit that this maybe took a few repeat listens to really grow on me, but nothing on this Pike disappoints. Yeh it's sort of blusey & this is never going to be amazing, but Moltrail part 1 is a decent listen (4*). Nothing too objectionable here for me. Moltrail part 2, "ugh"? The shredding is pretty lyrical here, not dissimilar to some of the soloing on Project Little Man. Rhythm backing track not so interesting maybe, but it's classic Buckethead, mingling soloing proper with a melodic return-to lead line (5*). Woven Wire, the final track, is reasonably entertaining, if a little scrappy (4*); could easily be a 3* under other circumstances I suppose. Looking at my ratings for individual tracks it might look like I've slightly overrated this Pike, but I honestly don't find anything on it poor. Maybe have to listen to this again...

Pike 106 - Forest of Bamboo: Same problem as the previous Pike, except this time it's in a single song format. Too bad, I actually usually like these, but this song just seems to switch back and forth between noisy noodling and muddy riffing. One of those Pikes where it seems like he made a quick drum track and noodled over it for 30 minutes.

Whaaat?! This is right up there with experimental tracks like Launched (Pike #12) and Chickephant (Pike #14); tracks that Foro loved... (Honestly, I can totally take this kind of experimentation. Cried says 5*.)

Pike 107 - Weird Glows Gleam: So I started listening to this for review and was wondering why it wasn't on my recommended list. It has a very promising start. Unfortunately, it quickly devolves into mindless shredding. Again, some cool riffs, but 107 Pikes later I want something a little more musical. The final track is a step in the right direction, but still not enough to save the Pike. I wish he would've developed more on some of the riffs here as there's some really good ones.

Yeh, kinda upbeat, pacey, and with loads of shredding. I like this, but I agree that 100 Pikes in there is nothing interesting about this kind of release. On it's own all three tracks (which are very similar to me) are decent. Nothing stands-out as especially good or poor (all 4*).

Pike 108 - Collect Itself: This one is the opposite of Weird Glows Gleam. Where that Pike started strong and got weaker, this Pike had a rocky start but gets really good once it picks up steam. There's still a lot of shredding, but there's also a lot of interesting riffs and some nice twists and turns. Love how he's playing with dynamics here. Still pretty heavy on the shred side, but it's enjoyable enough.

Yip, quite similar to Weird Glows Gleam. Both tracks, for me, are decent without rising to anything particularly memorable (both 4*). I think the problem here is that a lot of this is very samey, and not in a good way if you aren't particularly interested in this side of Buckethead. I admit I personally find all of these very unmemorable. When they come on shuffle I'm like "hey, this is cool"; but there's nothing truly worth keeping here on some of these releases.

Pike 109 - The Left Panel: A nice soft Pike. Love the arpeggiated chords in the opening track and the soft melodies. Buckethead's playing is very lyrical on this. I'll take 30 minutes of this over most of the styles presented in the last ten Pikes. It's unfortunate that he seems to be going in this direction less often lately.

Agreed. I'd prefer if Buckethead played this slow, moody, semi-acoustic stuff forever over him thrashing around with undistinguished rhythm work & blusey boredom.

Buckethead is starting to get a lot less consistent lately.

Probably not as poor as some decades, but average with few highs. I don't find any of this blusey style interesting enough to really enjoy many of these. Some of these would probably be more interesting live; but on a studio album (and I've always kind of felt this way about quite a lot of blues stuff) it's kinda lifeless. Disappointing decade.

Next Review >

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

< Previous Review

Pike 110 - Wall to Wall Cobwebs: Another three song Pike with a healthy dose of variety. The first track is a little rough, but the final two make this release worth it. I especially like Miracle Molecule, with its classic Bucket riffing. The leads on the closing tune are also great. It's a little heavy on the shred side but it works.

Yip, Runaway Carriage is indeed a little rough, but it's a decent track for all that (4*). Miracle Molecule is something new & just a great track. Would you agree we're more than just tuned-down here, Mosh? Sounds like a 7-string; some of those low notes sound way down in the low B's, maybe A's. Overall, pretty new for Buckethead. Really like it (5*). Great mood & feel to the last track, Wall to Wall Cobwebs (5*). Just a great Pike.

Pike 111 - Night of the Snowmole: Two tracks and neither of them really do it for me. The first tune is OK but meanders a bit too much. Lots of repetitive riffs and uninteresting leads. The second track is a total miss. Those low frequency riffs I dislike are back and there's a ton of mindless shredding thrown on top. He'll have a really cool riff idea but then abandon it for something less interesting.

Disagree with you here; Phantom Steamboat is a great track (5*). A bit muddy & not up there with similar tracks, but good nonetheless. Night of the Snowmole certainly isn't as good, but I quite like it (4*). I concede both tracks are definitely too long. And as a standalone release it would be pretty hard to recommend this to someone, being only two tracks. I thought it was good, but can understand why someone wouldn't think it was particularly worth buying or listening to. I've probably overrated this.

Pike 112 - Creaky Doors and Creaky Floors: More of the same. Lots of noodling and shredding, not much in the way of interesting musical content.

Threadbare as a release, I'll concede that. Don't think he's making much of an effort with releases like these, and at only two long tracks it's hard to recommend these to people. That said, I can easily listen to both tracks and enjoy them. Nothing special though (both 4*).

Pike 113 - Herbie Theatre: This was actually a major disappointment. After some really questionable releases, I thought this would be a step in the right direction. The song titles suggested a possible thematic Pike, but turns out it's not that much different from the previous two Pike. Just with shorter songs and a noise track.

Agree with your assessment. Very similar to Creaky accept with a different break-up of tracks. Doesn't make it any more appealing though. The opening (First Act) and closing (After Party) track are actually pretty decent (4*), but the other two aren't worth revisiting (3*). Coming hot on the heals of Creaky this just feels like more of the same. Distinctly average, bordering on poor.

Pike 114 - Glow In the Dark: The muddy riffing indicated right off the bat that this was probably going to be a miss. On the bright side, at least it's something more riff/groove driven than a vehicle for shredding. However, I can only take so much of that downtuned riffing and this album is nothing but that. It gets a little bit better toward the end but not by much. My problem with the shredding is that it's monotonous. There's nothing exciting about it. The riffs on here are slower and catchier, but it still has the same problem.

Glow in the Dark is groovy as hell; I love this track when I'm in the mood for this kind of tone (5*). It's on my "BucketSound III - Gloom" playlist. I like Vacant Space as well, but not so much (4*). Again, just super gloomy. Underworld Maze has some nice moments too. Overall, I dig this Pike. It's something different & I didn't really get the criticism e.g. I don't know what shredding you're talking about, there's very little on this Pike. It's just all gloom.

Pike 115 - Marble Monsters: At this point it's obvious that he's not even trying anymore. This one is all noise.

I think his ambience, drone, noise material has to be viewed in context; a separate discussion perhaps? That said, this release is fucking nonsense. None of this even made the Cried's "Ambient/Noise" playlist! All 1* and 2* stuff here...

Pike 116 - Infinity of the Spheres: Finally something remotely interesting. The opening melody reminds me of something I've heard before but I can't put my finger on it. Been trying to figure it out for a couple weeks now and it's driving me crazy. Anyway, I love the textures and the space on this Pike. So much restraint in his playing. But the best part is after hypnotizing the listener for 11 minutes, he throws in a brutal riff out of nowhere. It totally catches you off guard and it's awesome. It's a great riff too. Such a spectacular buildup. The second track is cool too. He plays with the dynamics a bit more here, this time going back and forth rather than a straight buildup. This Pike proves that he's still capable of making great music when he puts in the effort.

First track, Infinity of the Spheres, is lovely with that slow, dreamy first ten minutes. The heavy mid-riff is just totally unexpected, as you say. Strange tone he has going on there (quite muddy), but the riffing just keeps on going; he's in a total writing groove here. Whole thing is just flat-out awesome. Fantastic track (5*). Liquid Mantis is laid-back & super cool. Another fantastic track (5*). Probably my favourite release of anything post-100 so far.

Pike 117 - Vacuum: It has been a pretty long time since Buckethead did a Pike of shorter tunes, so I was interested to see where he'd take this. Hearing him jam on the bass is pretty cool for the first five minutes but it gets old really fast. This Pike isn't horrible, it's not nearly as bad as some of the others from this decade, but I lost interest in it about halfway through. If you're a big fan of bass you might get a kick out of it, but it feels like he recorded the rhythm tracks and never bothered to finish it. That being said, it was still nice to hear something different and I welcome the variety.

A backing-track release for budding guitarists perhaps? Strange release which is actually quite interesting. Never going to sit & listen to it from start to finish but, for what it is, quite an interesting listen (all 4*). I genuinely think this was Buckethead putting out some backing tracks. I totally support him doing crazy shit like this; I don't really support him doing this as an actual release & charging full price for it tho'.

Pike 118 - Elevator: And we're back to uninspired riffs and shredding. I'd rather listen to Vacuum 5 times in a row than more of this, but it seems like what you hear on Elevator is his default mode lately. When revisiting these albums for review, I feel like I've heard the same song over and over again. Am I being pranked?

I think you're getting seriously bored, that's what I think. Viewing this album in isolation (objectively) I don't think there's anything that bad on here. But at this stage (of my listening too) I was beginning to feel some serious burnout. I think Buckethead lost his filter quite a while ago. Listening to the first track, 10th Floor, this is awesome Mosh (5*); what you talking about?! The shredding is actually sounding pretty fresh here. Honestly, you're in burnout listening mode; you need a break. Please. Anyway, 11th Floor and 12th Floor are good too (4*). No? (*chuckle*). And 13th Floor, what's not to like about this track (5*)? The soloing is cracking when it kicks in! This is way better than the recent Pikes. The final track, Flower and Headcheese Festival, is solid (4*).

Pike 119 - Solar Sailcraft: Well at least we're closing out the 110's on a high note. Some great riffing on this. Love the driving riff of Flying Saucer. That's the sort of stuff he needs more of. I've also mentioned my love for his "pulloff riffs". Those are always a ton of fun. I could imagine music like this as the soundtrack for a rollercoaster or something. There's some shredding on this Pike but it's a lot more tasteful. There are even some downtuned riffs, but they work because he contrasts them with something else. There's a lot of variety and color on this Pike.

Absolutely love all of this Pike. Solar Sailcraft is an awesome mid-tempo rocky number; nice melodic rhythm stuff going on here (5*). Flying Saucer has this quite tasty crunchy tone going on, which I personally really like. Has this lovely early hybrid picking high lead line going on too. Awesome stuff with catchy riffing to match (5*). And then Toecutter's Cleaver suite; man, I love this stuff. Just relentless riffing & atonal lead lines. Quite unusual stuff going on here. All of it, for me, is stellar (all 5*). Closes with Fragments which just brings it all back round to some resemblance of sanity (5*). Love this release.

Yikes.

Frighteningly uneven, wasn't it? At this point, as I touched on, I really, really think Bucket started to loose his way a bit. Still plenty of ideas going on, still new stuff going on (detuned stuff, etc); but everything is just a bit poorer. In the run-up to the Halloween releases this really was the poorest period for the Pikes I think i.e. most of 2015. Just too many releases. The quality noticeably took a turn for the better in late-2015 after the Halloween madness...

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[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

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Pike 120 - Louzenger: This was a mixed bag. Lots of noodly moments and some uninteresting electronic bits, but overall this was actually pretty good. The riff driven tunes were awesome. Stuff like Shade makes this Pike worth it. When he integrates the electronics into his actual songs it actually comes out pretty good. Lots of good riffs and melodies on here.

I'm quite undecided about this entire release. Overall it's quite frustrating because, for me, the production is horrible. Louzenger has potential but I actually find it quite unpleasant to listen to this material mixed like this. The bass is too muddy & the drums are too high in the mix (& not very good). Meh (3*). Backwords Circle has some more guitar work going on, but again it's slow & muddy (3*). Some of the material at this stage had so much muddy production that I made a playlist called "Turgid Highlights". Anyway, it picks up a little after the two opening tracks. Standing on the Sidewalk has the same muddy feel but the guitar work is a more interesting & cleaner. Decent (4*). Now Shade is indeed a great little track. Nice chord work mid-track & finishing with that lovely hybrid-picking again (4*). Vehicleof just continues the theme & sound; some nice melodies going on here (4*). Now Hall Mark is a great track. Lovely opening sequence and moves into some nice riffing. The best track of the Pike I think (5*). Airship closes the Pike and is again a pretty decent track. Overall a pretty decent Pike; altho' I'm not overly fond of the tone/production/drums.

Pike 121 - Shaded Ray: Not sure why this Pike didn't connect with me, as I usually enjoy Bucket in this mode. But somehow the 19 minutes of the opening track really dragged for me. The next two songs didn't really pick up the pace. Both had their moments, but I found this one tough to enjoy. It's not bad though. You would definitely be better off listening to this than most of Pikes 110-119.

Hmm, don't know why you didn't enjoy this so much. Shaded Ray is a great track; quite upbeat for Buckethead. Sort of happy rocking with some melodic lead lines & some really clean shredding moments (5*). I agree it's too long. 4 Lands is decent with that crunchy sound again, but also some of that tone that some may find quite annoying. Decent, but again too long (4*). Junkyard Ridge has that swagger & groove going on that gets a bit tiresome in later releases. Right now it's fine though (4*).

Pike 122 - The Other Side of the Dark: Another solid mellow Pike, at least with the first track. This is a lot darker and moodier than 116. The second track is more of a blues jam. Definitely not the main event of this Pike, but it's still listenable.

Yip, reminiscent of Infinity of the Spheres (Pike #116) in terms of mood. I absolutely adore this flavour of Buckethead. A simply mesmerising track (5*). Three Wheeler has that similar tone/effect to Forest of Bamboo (Pike #106) going on. This is feet-stomping rocky and groove that actually works this time (5*). Great Pike.

Pike 123 - Scroll of Vegetable - Great riffing on this one. The long songs work here. It's mostly just jamming over a few different chord progressions, but it works. Buckethead's playing is fantastic. Much more inventive than usual lately. The title track has a really cool groove too. Very middle eastern sounding.

Opening track, Nest Boxes, has this incredibly catchy melodic riffing going on. It's pretty heavy too with great pacing (5*). Pirate Treasure has that walking-rock feet-stomping thing going on again, that I mentioned above. Great infectious groove (5*). Perchment is bouncey heavy. With a real band & slightly different production this would be absolutely brutal sounding. Good, but not quite up there with the opening tracks (4*). Scroll Vegetable is cool as fuck. Guitar work is really interesting. And for once he works an idea & really creates a memorable piece of music (5*). Overall a superb Pike.

Pike 124 - Rotten Candy Cane: Another noisy Pike. There are some interesting noises sprinkled throughout at least. It is one of the better noise albums, for whatever that is worth.

I'd agree with that assessment. But a "collage" Pike surely? I actually love his guitar tone on this; don't know why we don't hear more of this on other Pikes. R and n (track 9) marginally poke their heads (4*) above the others (3*) in terms of construction/quality. These Pikes actually sound like a lot of work goes into them. And in some ways I appreciate that over other stuff which just sounds ill though out.

Pike 125 - Along the Riverbank: Another mixed bag similar to Louzenger. There are some really cool moments mixed with some less interesting moments, but there's at least variety and it's pretty entertaining for the most part. Some riff driven tunes, some shreddy tunes, an opening track with a big buildup. You get a little bit of everything which keeps this interesting.

I think this is a great Pike. Opening track, Along the River Bank, starts as quite a mournful, beautiful piece of music; and then later picks up and becomes quite heavy rocky (5*). Mind train has that crunchy tone again & infectiously bounces along (in a Nest Boxes vein). Cool track (5*). View Masters crunches along and is a little heavier again with some quite Guns-sounding soloing late on which really showcases Bucket's effortless improvisation over this kind of rhythm work. Awesome (5*). All Ashore is fast paced & heavy. Starboard Bow is also more of the same. Both decent (4*). Shell is just another effortless sounding track that Buckethead seems capable of punting out whenever he feels like it. Lovely (5*).

Pike 126 - Tourist: Obviously the main event here is the opening track, which is awesome. A nice slow burning jam. Lots of really intense buildups. But the rest of the album is actually just as cool, if not better. There's a nice mix here. Some ultra heavy tunes with more groove oriented tunes. Like the previous album, there's a little bit of everything and it's all enjoyable.

Following a bit of a pattern here, another huge opening track. Glow Worm is fantastic; great tone, this just seems to effortlessly flow along (5*). Tourist chugs along nicely (4*) with some decent shredding. Ticket to Extinguish is totally different; it's like Bucket has got his groove back. Tasty guitar work with a funky bassline. Really works this time (5*). Bookend Alley is back to the heavy. Decent (4*). Break for the Slide is Buckethead fucking about on his acoustic. I could totally get used to this as filler (4*). Final track, Storage, is brutal, with this massive opening riff. Love this stuff (5*). A great Pike all-in.

Pike 127 - Paint To the Tile: I love the way this Pike develops. It starts out on the mellow side with a slightly heavy but melancholy tune with lots of restraint. The next song is a little more driving with some nice sludgy riffs. Then you get Shell which is bursting with energy. Then everything starts to come down again with the last two tracks. It's something I didn't expect and really helped my enjoyment. One of the few Pikes that actually feels really purposeful.

Another memorable opener here. Paint to the Tile has some lovely guitar & synth work and some really nuanced programmed drums going on too. All of these big opening tracks are a move towards a tone & feel I really like with Buckethead. It sort of started here; future releases would really stamp his mastery of it. Rattle is back to some cool foot-stomping rock again. Again, I love his soloing on these tracks, he's so good at it (5*). Shell has some of that fantastic right-hand guitar slap work going on; falls into some tasty riff work (4*). Faire Realm has some lovely clean guitar work gong on here. Again, an example of a good idea well developed & actually delivered. Has that twang sound to it which is bright & nice to the ear (4*). Imprint is laid back and groovy. I like it (4*). All-in, another great Pike I thought.

Pike 128 - Tucked Into Dreams: Loved the opening track on this. Buckethead is always in top form when he's inspired by Disneyland. Is this one of the tracks he plays while he's at the theme park? Seriously though, it's a very cool tune and one that really stuck out to me on first listen. The rest of the Pike is also great, but I'm mostly recommending it for Frontierland. Love that dark/western-y sound. Something different for him. The rest is what you would usually expect from a soft Pike. Lots of nice acoustic melodies. Probably the best of this set.

Another stellar opening track, in Frontierland; so laid-back & clean. Love, love, love this track (5*). Tucked Into Dream has a lovely use of harmonics with delay effect throughout. Track descends into quite a melancholic, reflective number. Fantastic (5*). Gills is another lovely, lovely track; with some nice subtle synth work going on. Love simple stuff like this (5*). Fog: only Buckethead can do filler this good! Has a strange 80's pop feel to me (5*). Pale Hill is so sad sounding. Again, effortless sounding stuff (5*). Finishes with the stripped-down Sand. A lovely ending to probably one of my favourite Pikes in the vein. Has Buckethead ever sounded this polished? He hardly puts a foot wrong here. Honestly, this is fantastic stuff.

Pike 129 - Forever Lake: Another great mellow Pike. This one is a bit more sparse than the previous one. It's extremely dark, but I like it. Wooden Horses gets a little heavier but it never goes off the rails. Love how he switches rapidly between dark crushing riffs and pretty acoustic melodies. Definitely some of the most atmospheric music he's done.

Sparse is a great word to describe this Pike. Forever Lake is very sad & low-key (5*). Wooden Horses picks up the pace a little, but is still so restrained. What a track (5*). Railroad Trail is heart-wrenchingly downbeat (5*). What a fucking Pike!

A much better set of Pikes, but still very uneven. I noticed a lot more Pikes where I only liked half of the music. Usually with these I either like all of it or very little/none of it. This was not the case with several Pikes here, notably Tourist and Louzenger.

I don't think this was uneven at all. For me, if you take out Louzenger (with it's debatable mix) and Rotten Candy Cane (altho', to be fair, some people really like these type of releases; and it doesn't lack in quality in terms of musical construction), this has to be right up there with some of the most consistent runs of releases in the entire series. I mean #125-129 are jam-packed with quality. It feels like a real return to form here.

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[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

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I feel there might be some disagreement here as there is quite a lot of material here that has benefited from repeat listening...

Pike 130 - Down In the Bayou Part Two: This Pike has one of the most engaging starts. Love that opening riff. It's kinda low frequency but it totally works here. Really great riffing. You could maybe make the argument that it is on the monotonous side but I actually really enjoyed it. Just a lot of great riffs and some pretty atmospheric moment.

Agreed. This album has really grown on me a lot. Critter is slow & melodic; and it really works. Pretty much all heavy rhythm work here, but really good (5*). Marshmallow picks up the pace quite a bit. Booming rhythm work, heavy, and with some groove. A little repetitive, but still fits right in on this Pike (4*). Water Gardens slows it down again. Just heavy & groovy as hell (5*). Down in the Bayou Part Two changes up the feel a little, but more big grating riffs. Love it (5*). This Pike has just grown and grown on me. There is some bewitching dark sorcery to it...

Pike 131 - Down In the Bayou Part One: Some how this Pike didn't do it for me, despite supposedly being related to the previous one. There's not as much going on and it meanders quite a bit. In some ways it's atmospheric, but the music is less engaging overall. The riffs also seem less inspired. I wonder what happened here.

Part 2 followed by part 1? Yip, it's Buckethead we're talking about here! Opens with Down in the Bayou Part One; it has that twang guitar tone and a lovely sustained drone dripping all over it. Definitely meanders, as you say; but I still really like this (4*). Swamplands is glum has hell. Slow & ponderous, but it really feels at home amongst the other tracks across these two albums (4*). Moss is so downbeat. The gloom continues & it's awesome. Has some sparse lead guitar lines towards the end (5*). Murky Waters seems to pick up the mood a little to begin with. The pace & groove has picked up but we still descend into deep melancholic melodies (4*). Not quite up there with Part Two but a solid release; and certainly something fresh & new sounding.

Pike 132 - Chamber of Drawers: Another Pike with an awesome start. The downtempo title track is pretty cool. It's sludgy but it works because of the shifting rhythmic ideas and Buckethead's tasteful leads. Love the pounding 8th note riff toward the end of the tune. All three tracks are pretty much the same style, but he manages to keep it interesting for the whole Pike.

The gloom continues. Tones aren't so clean here, it's slightly more sparse at times, but we're still in the same territory overall. Chamber of Drawers is just a great track. Downbeat but at the same time there are some nice melodies being woven here (5*). Where Winds Meet starts very, very slowly; six minutes in and we're really meandering. But then the pace quickens & the drumming picks up; by seven minutes in this awesome grooving riff rolls in. Great track (5*). To the Basement starts like you've jumped into the middle of a gripping drama story; so serious sounding. Just another awesome track. Overall, a highly enjoyable Pike.

Pike 133 - Embroidery: What I find so fascinating about Buckethead's music lately is that I'll hear a Pike I really like and then there will be a followup in a similar style that doesn't work at all for me, or vice versa. It's like he records an hour of similar material and then separates the good from the bad. This one has that downtempo downtuned riffing style of the previous Pike, but I found myself bored throughout much of it. Just a ton of moments where it feels like there isn't anything interesting going on. Once again it's 3 similar tracks, but here it feels repetitive.

Embroidery continues the depressing (in a good way) tone. This number really slumbers along. Decent (4*). 8 Thousand Mirrors is again very one-paced. Not much going on, as you say, but good stuff overall (4*). Plunged opens with real atmosphere. It's creeping slowness pulls you in; full of dark foreboding & creeping melodies. What a fucking track (5*). Overall, another very satisfying release. All four of these Pikes really benefit from repeat listening. I'm beginning to think they're the hidden gems in his canon to be honest.

Pike 134 - Digging Under the Basement: I suppose we were due for a noisy Pike. I dunno what's left to say about these really. This one at least had some melodies and riffs, but these always just come off as so lazy to me. I will say that these at least succeed at being kinda creepy. On this one I can at least kinda see what he's going for.

Pike 135 - Haunted Roller Coaster Chair: More noise tracks.

Uh. Digging under the Basement is pretty poor (2*), with only the track Second Dig rising marginally above the rest in terms of listenablility (3*). Haunted Roller Coaster Chair is marginally better overall with a few individual tracks that made the "Ambient/Noise" playlist: Any, Volunteers, Ghost, Will, and Fol are 3*; the rest are 2*.

Pike 136 - Firebolt: We're back to real music, but unfortunately Buckethead seems to be stuck in another rut. This is filled with that downtuned slow riffing that I just can't get into. There's a moment somewhere on this Pike where he starts shredding and it mostly just seems totally out of place with everything else. There is one positive though: there's some interesting use of electronic sounds and noises here. This album still has the same creepy vibe as the previous two, but with more actual music. So it gets points for that.

Back to the music. I totally agree with you that the shredding doesn't really fit that well here. I mean, the reason the last lot of gloomy albums worked is because soloing didn't fit and he didn't include any. There's like three or four guitar tracks going on here, which normally I'd be stoked about (since single-guitar recorded tracks often sound incredibly bare if on the heavy style side), but it's all pretty messy. Bolt is a decent enough opener (4*). e is back to the downbeat stuff, but here we have some synth work going on too and more creepy effects going on (unlike Bayou, etc). This one trudges along quite nicely & is in my "BucketSound - Gloom" playlist. I have to concede I quite like this (5*). r rocks in with quite a funny little riff; quite infectious actually. Here the bassline tracks the guitar line which works quite well in this instance (4*). i is pretty damn heavy, but the shredding returns. Not sure if I really think this fits. Decent (4*). f feels slightly different to the rest of the album; guitars are marginally cleaner & we're not detuned. More improvised soloing here, but the track doesn't really fit with everything else. Just okay (3*). Overall, a little uneven & not quite up there with the previous gloom efforts.

Pike 137 - Hideous Phantasm: I had a funny moment while listening to this Pike. I found myself really enjoying it and knew it was one for the recommended list, but then I wondered if that was because this Pike was genuinely good or if the last several were so bad that I'm just grateful for anything half decent. Would this Pike hold up if it came 100 albums earlier? I'm still not sure, but nevertheless this felt like a breath of fresh air. There's some cool riffs and it gets a little shreddy but not too bad. There's some nice drum programming here too.

Man, I think I thought the opposite. (Altho' I didn't just sit through those two noise albums! ) Hideous Phantasm has that really full guitar chord work going on, that I've never thought sounded particularly good. Mix is a bit poor & the shredding is not particularly interesting (3*). Vessel has a lot more going on for it though; some nice melodies and a better guitar tone for me personally. Doesn't, surprisingly, drag for a 17 minute track (4*). Glass Shade has a quite abrasive guitar tone going on. It's not used to great effect (3*). Can't say I noticed the drumming!

Pike 138 - Giant Claw: Now this one I definitely genuinely like. It's a little out there in places, but it's grounded enough to still be enjoyable. The songs are short but it hits hard. It's almost proggy at times. Also, the buildup in the closing track is immense.

Yeh, there's some decent tracks on here; but the division of the tracks doesn't really lend itself to easy reviewing; it's a bit of a listen-all-at-once kind of release. I'm not sure if I really like this very much. It does indeed hit pretty hard tho'. Giant is pretty cool, nice riffing, and some half-decent noise use for once (4*). Claw starts with some annoying tone work going on. It's okay, but as a single track with only that it's merely okay (3*). From bustles in and is slightly better (4*). The is better again; a bit slower & some decent grooving going on here (4*). Cen brutally heavy again (4*). ter similar to Claw in terms of annoying guitar tone; doesn't really go anywhere (3*). Of, The, and Earth all continue in the decent-but-nothing-spectacular mode (4*). Now, the closing track is something else entirely. Giant Claw Returns to the Centre of the Earth is a little masterpiece and deserves its place on Cried's Buckethead "Buried Deep" playlist; because it really is a gem of a track buried away on a totally, for me, average/forgettable release. Lovely stuff (5*).

Pike 139 - Observation: Love the dynamics in the first track. The way it slowly builds up into a climax and then comes back down. I also like how riff driven this album is until the closing track where Bucket goes all out on the soloing. That's tasteful shredding. Build up to it and then let the solo grow. Probably the best of this group.

Now this is a superb Pike. ob is hauntingly beautiful; Buckethead at his melodic best (5*). ser open with some delightful synth and guitar work and rolls into this (again) really effortless, natural riffing & playing. All of this sounds so easy & perfect. Stunning track (5*). vat is back to that crunchy rhythm rock work that we heard a while back. Seems out of place on this release generally, but still pretty decent (4*). ion opens with quite a different feel to it. Some freaky squeaks & noise guitar effects to begin with, but for once it works, serving the music rather than being the only sound in town. That all soon gives way around the thee minute mark when the tempo lifts & some decent riffing starts. Then the soloing starts and everything else is totally blown away! I'm always curious as to how much of this improvisation is worked out; it doesn't sound particularly constructed which is all the more remarkable. Stunning track (5*). Great Pike overall.

Quality has dropped considerably, it's obvious at this point his quality control really drops. Hopefully in the 2016 Pikes things get back on track.

Dunno, I thought quite a lot of these releases were really good. Far superior to anything in the 101-110 run.

Phew.

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[Mosh]

Hmmm, going to have to disagree with you here. I'll admit that this maybe took a few repeat listens to really grow on me, but nothing on this Pike disappoints. Yeh it's sort of blusey & this is never going to be amazing, but Moltrail part 1 is a decent listen (4*). Nothing too objectionable here for me. Moltrail part 2, "ugh"? The shredding is pretty lyrical here, not dissimilar to some of the soloing on Project little Man. Rhythm backing track not so interesting maybe, but it's classic Buckethead, mingling soloing proper with a melodic return-to lead line (5*). Woven Wire, the final track, is reasonably entertaining, if a little scrappy (4*); could easily be a 3* under other circumstances I suppose. Looking at my ratings for individual tracks it might look like I've slightly overrated this Pike, but I honestly don't find anything on it poor. Maybe have to listen to this again...

It seems we agree that Buckethead is probably at his weakest in this mode but we differentiate on which of these albums work and which do not. I'm sure there are growers in here but the high output makes it hard for any of those albums to stand a chance.

Yip, quite similar to Weird Glows Gleam. Both tracks, for me, are decent without rising to anything particularly memorable (both 4*). I think the problem here is that a lot of this is very samey, and not in a good way if you aren't particularly interested in this side of Buckethead. I admit I personally find all of these very unmemorable. When they come on shuffle I'm like "hey, this is cool"; but there's nothing truly worth keeping here on some of these releases.

Yea I can definitely see a lot of these tracks being cool on shuffle, which is why I look forward to hearing my Pikes playlist when I finish this project.

Probably not as poor as some decades, but average with few highs. I don't find any of this blusey style interesting enough to really enjoy many of these. Some of these would probably be more interesting live; but on a studio album (and I've always kind of felt this way about quite a lot of blues stuff) it's kinda lifeless. Disappointing decade.

Yea I had the same thought. If Buckethead did this stuff live, I'd probably get a lot more enjoyment out of it than I do listening to the album. I certainly wouldn't be disappointed with the show.

Yip, Runaway Carriage is indeed a little rough, but it's a decent track for all that (4*). Miracle Molecule is something new & just a great track. Would you agree we're more than just tuned-down here, Mosh? Sounds like a 7-string; some of those low notes sound way down in the low B's, maybe A's. Overall, pretty new for Buckethead. Really like it (5*). Great mood & feel to the last track, Wall to Wall Cobwebs (5*). Just a great Pike.

Yea I just tried the title track on my 7 string and had to tune down to A for that riff. So either he's using a baritone guitar or a downtuned 7 string. I would actually guess baritone just because of how thick the strings sound.

Agree with your assessment. Very similar to Creaky accept with a different break-up of tracks. Doesn't make it any more appealing though. The opening (First Act) and closing (After Party) track are actually pretty decent (4*), but the other two aren't worth revisiting (3*). Coming hot on the heals of Creaky this just feels like more of the same. Distinctly average, bordering on poor.

After Party was definitely a slightly redeeming moment. I've actually noticed a lot of these weak Pikes have good closing tunes and the stronger Pikes often have weak closers. Probably not a coincidence.

Glow in the Dark is groovy as hell; I love this track when I'm in the mood for this kind of tone (5*). It's on my "BucketSound III - Gloom" playlist. I like Vacant Space as well, but not so much (4*). Again, just super gloomy. Underworld Maze has some nice moments too. Overall, I dig this Pike. It's something different & I didn't really get the criticism e.g. I don't know what shredding you're talking about, there's very little on this Pike. It's just all gloom.

I'm going to have to come back to this one because I just sampled it on youtube and it seemed fine to me. I might've mixed it up with something somehow.

I think his ambience, drone, noise material has to be viewed in context; a separate discussion perhaps? That said, this release is fucking nonsense. None of this even made the Cried's "Ambient/Noise playlist"! All 1* and 2* stuff here...

Yea at some point I'm going to revisit some of his noise albums to see how it actually compares. Some of it isn't horrible, but it's jarring going from regular music to that. Generally speaking though, compared to other ambient/noise/experimental music I've heard, Buckethead isn't very good at it IMO. When he's managed to create an atmosphere (the first halloween album from way early on or Rotten Candy Cane for example) it can be kinda interesting, but these have been the exceptions not the rule.

A backing-track release for budding guitarists perhaps? Strange release which is actually quite interesting. Never going to sit & listen to it from start to finish but, for what it is, quite an interesting listen (all 4*). I genuinely think this was Buckethead putting out some backing tracks. I totally support him doing crazy shit like this; I don't really support him doing this as an actual release & charging full price for it tho'.

Didn't consider that, would be interesting if that's the case. The problem is if I decided to record my own guitar tracks over it I would probably get hit with a DMCA. But the idea of an artist releasing "backing tracks' and maybe holding a contest for people to come up with the rest is certainly interesting. I agree, if he's going to release an album every other week I want to see him do something unexpected or weird instead of an album of noodling. So while I didn't recommend this Pike, it is still an example of how the Pikes project as a whole can lead to interesting results.

I think you're getting seriously bored, that's what I think. Viewing this album in isolation (objectively) I don't think there's anything that bad on here. But at this stage (of my listening too) I was beginning to feel some serious burnout. I think Buckethead lost his filter quite a while ago. Listening to the first track, 10th Floor, this is awesome Mosh (5*); what you talking about?! The shredding is actually sounding pretty fresh here. Honestly, you're in burnout listening mode; you need a break. Please. Anyway, 11th Floor and 12th Floor are good too (4*). No? (*chuckle*). And 13th Floor, what's not to like about this track (5*)? The soloing is cracking when it kicks in! This is way better than the recent Pikes. The final track, Flower and Headcheese Festival, is solid (4*).

I actually am taking a break. Haven't listened to any Pikes in about a week so I could catch up on the writing. I'll take your word on this one and maybe check it out again at some point. Again, the playlist will hopefully help my appreciation with some of these tracks that didn't click the first time around.

Frighteningly uneven, wasn't it? At this point, as I touched on, I really, really think Bucket started to loose his way a bit. Still plenty of ideas going on, still new stuff going on (detuned stuff, etc); but everything is just a bit poorer. In the run-up to the Halloween releases this really was the poorest period for the Pikes I think i.e. most of 2015. Just too many releases. The quality noticeably took a turn for the better in late-2015 after the Halloween madness...

Good to know it gets better. I was expecting 2015 to be like this but I wasn't sure if he ever got back on track. Looking forward to 2016 when the releases slowed down a bit. Looks like he's speeding up again though, thoughts on 2017 so far?

I'm quite undecided about this entire release. Overall it's quite frustrating because, for me, the production is horrible. Louzenger has potential but I actually find it quite unpleasant to listen to this material mixed like this. The bass is too muddy & the drums are too high in the mix (& not very good). Meh (3*). Backwords Circle has some more guitar work going on, but again it's slow & muddy (3*). Some of the material at this stage had so much muddy production that I made a playlist called "Turgid Highlights". Anyway, it picks up a little after the two opening tracks. Standing on the Sidewalk has the same muddy feel but the guitar work is a more interesting & cleaner. Decent (4*). Now Shade is indeed a great little track. Nice chord work mid-track & finishing with that lovely hybrid-picking again (4*). Vehicleof just continues the theme & sound; some nice melodies going on here (4*). Now Hall Mark is a great track. Lovely opening sequence and moves into some nice riffing. The best track of the Pike I think (5*). Airship closes the Pike and is again a pretty decent track. Overall a pretty decent Pike; altho' I'm not overly fond of the tone/production/drums.

I pretty much agree with this. There's some good stuff there but there's also a lot of fluff and the production is not good.

Hmm, don't know why you didn't enjoy this so much. Shaded Ray is a great track; quite upbeat for Buckethead. Sort of happy rocking with some melodic lead lines & some really clean shredding moments (5*). I agree it's too long. 4 Lands is decent with that crunchy sound again, but also some of that tone that some may find quite annoying. Decent, but again too long (4*). Junkyard Ridge has that swagger & groove going on that gets a bit tiresome in later releases. Right now it's fine though (4*).

Yea I couldn't tell you. Thought I'd like it more the second time but it still wasn't clicking. There's nothing wrong with it but it didn't do anything for me.

I'd agree with that assessment. But a "collage" Pike surely? I actually love his guitar tone on this; don't know why we don't hear more of this on other Pikes. R and n (track 9) marginally poke their heads (4*) above the others (3*) in terms of construction/quality. These Pikes actually sound like a lot of work goes into them. And in some ways I appreciate that over other stuff which just sounds ill though out.

Definitely not going to deny any of that. Like I said earlier, this is an example of a well put together noise Pike. I would definitely take a Rotten Candy Cane over 30 minutes of him noodling without much of a purpose. But yea, I wouldn't be surprised if these actually take a pretty long time for him to put together. I also haven't heard the Halloween albums yet, but I have to imagine you can't produce 31 albums of that sort of thing without having a genuine interest in it.

Another stellar opening track, in Frontierland; so laid-back & clean. Love, love, love this track (5*). Tucked Into Dream has a lovely use of harmonics with delay effect throughout. Track descends into quite a melancholic, reflective number. Fantastic (5*). Gills is another lovely, lovely track; with some nice subtle synth work going on. Love simple stuff like this (5*). Fog: only Buckethead can do filler this good! Has a strange 80's pop feel to me (5*). Pale Hill is so sad sounding. Again, effortless sounding stuff (5*). Finishes with the stripped-down Sand. A lovely ending to probably one of my favourite Pikes in the vein. Has Buckethead ever sounded this polished? He hardly puts a foot wrong here. Honestly, this is fantastic stuff.

Yea this is one of the best Pikes since the project got started. It really puts most of the other recent Pikes to shame.

I don't think this was uneven at all. For me, if you take out Louzenger (with it's debatable mix) and Rotten Candy Cane (altho', to be fair, some people really like these type of releases; and it doesn't lack in quality in terms of musical construction), this has to be right up there with some of the most consistent runs of releases in the entire series. I mean #125-129 are jam-packed with quality. It feels like a real return to form here.

It's more that the albums themselves were uneven. While I enjoyed this set more overall, almost every album had its share of material I wasn't that enthusiastic about.

Embroidery continues the depressing (in a good way) tone. This number really slumbers along. Decent (4*). 8 Thousand Mirrors is again very one-paced. Not much going on, as you say, but good stuff overall (4*). Plunged opens with real atmosphere. It's creeping slowness pulls you in; full of dark foreboding & creeping melodies. What a fucking track (5*). Overall, another very satisfying release. All four of these Pikes really benefit from repeat listening. I'm beginning to think they're the hidden gems in his canon to be honest.

I will have to revisit that stretch at some point. They were all pretty gloomy so it kinda got old toward the end, but maybe given the right mood I could really enjoy that.

Uh. Digging under the Basement is pretty poor (2*), with only the track Second Dig rising marginally above the rest in terms of listenablility (3*). Haunted Roller Coaster Chair is marginally better overall with a few individual tracks that made the "Ambient/Noise" playlist: Any, Volunteers, Ghost, Will, and Fol are 3*; the rest are 2*.

Yea I could probably agree with that. I just didn't have anything to say about Haunted Roller Coaster Chair that I haven't said already about the noise albums.

Giant Claw Returns to the Centre of the Earth is a little masterpiece and deserves its place on Cried's Buckethead "Buried Deep" playlist; because it really is a gem of a track buried away on a totally, for me, average/forgettable release. Lovely stuff (5*).

Definitely a hidden gem. Obviously separate from the rest of the album and is quite a few levels higher in quality.

Dunno, I thought quite a lot of these releases where really good. Far superior to anything in the 101-110 run.

Maybe, but the bar has been set so low that it's not that big of an accomplishment IMO. On the plus side, the better albums are usually really good. So there's plenty of material here that is worth wading through filler for.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Bucket's started releasing random back catalogue material on vinyl!
http://www.bucketheadpikes.com/

Following on from my original post...
http://www.bucketheadpikes.com/BHland_vinyl.html

Some people are saying this might be a new album. There's also the option of made-to-order one-off personal recordings on cassette!

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Yea I just tried the title track on my 7 string and had to tune down to A for that riff. So either he's using a baritone guitar or a downtuned 7 string. I would actually guess baritone just because of how thick the strings sound.

Possibly an 8-string?

Yea at some point I'm going to revisit some of his noise albums to see how it actually compares. Some of it isn't horrible, but it's jarring going from regular music to that. Generally speaking though, compared to other ambient/noise/experimental music I've heard, Buckethead isn't very good at it IMO. When he's managed to create an atmosphere (the first halloween album from way early on or Rotten Candy Cane for example) it can be kinda interesting, but these have been the exceptions not the rule.

Some of his DCK albums are okay as far as they go. I certainly have a playlist going. But don't expect much from the Halloween run.

I actually am taking a break. Haven't listened to any Pikes in about a week so I could catch up on the writing. I'll take your word on this one and maybe check it out again at some point. Again, the playlist will hopefully help my appreciation with some of these tracks that didn't click the first time around.

Good. A break really is needed, as you genuinely start to loose a little bit of context listening to so many in a row.

Good to know it gets better. I was expecting 2015 to be like this but I wasn't sure if he ever got back on track. Looking forward to 2016 when the releases slowed down a bit. Looks like he's speeding up again though, thoughts on 2017 so far?

I'm only buying new releases in the $2 sales; not because they don't sound good, but for money reasons. So at any given point in time I'm usually about half-a-dozen behind. (The $2 sales don't usually included the Pikes that were released within roughly the last month.) I tend to find that means I'm downloading, say, 5-10 Pikes all in one go every couple of month or so. I then listen to them pretty intensively over the next month, and so on. I'm up to Meteor Firefly Net (Pike #256), which came out in mid-March. Yeh, 2017 has seemed pretty strong. There's been no flat-out nonsense Pikes, which is nice. Might be due one soon! There's been a few heavier ones that I don't really care for; I'm finding the production on the heavier stuff just isn't really working for me anymore. But there seems to have been a move towards more atmospheric Pikes; more (& newer sounding) synth work, a more developed sound, more variety. I've been quite impressed by them.

Maybe, but the bar has been set so low that it's not that big of an accomplishment IMO. On the plus side, the better albums are usually really good. So there's plenty of material here that is worth wading through filler for.

This playlist, if it's just one playlist, is going to be epic!

 

[Mosh]

Possibly an 8-string?

Could be, I don't have an 8 string so I can't try it out myself. Is Buckethead known to ever use an 8 string? I didn't look at the whole album, but what I sampled only went as low as 'A' so I don't think an 8 string would be necessary.

But there seems to have been a move towards more atmospheric Pikes; more (& newer sounding) synth work, a more developed sound, more variety. I've been quite impressed by them.

This sounds awesome. Those are always the best Pikes and I feel they are too few and far between lately.

This playlist, if it's just one playlist, is going to be epic!

Right now it's just two playlists. One playlist is all the Pikes, the other is all of Buckethead's pre-Pike material + my recommended Pikes.

Edit: This looks interesting http://www.bucketheadpikes.com/BHland_vinyl.html

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Edit: This looks interesting http://www.bucketheadpikes.com/BHland_vinyl.html

I already posted about this above!

 

[Mosh]

I already posted about this above!

Oops, missed that.

I'm really intrigued. The hype he's creating for this leads me to believe this won't be just another Pike. Also since it's a full priced LP, I would hope it's not just 30 minutes of music. Some speculating it's a reissue of Bucketheadland?

Anyway, I'll be buying this. Dunno if I need all the Slunk Pass stuff, although the t shirt would be cool, I'll probably go with the next tier down.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

I'm really intrigued. The hype he's creating for this leads me to believe this won't be just another Pike. Also since it's a full priced LP, I would hope it's not just 30 minutes of music. Some speculating it's a reissue of Bucketheadland?

Absolutely. And it's definitely not a Pike. Elephant Man's Alarm Clock and Crime Slunk Scene were announced on vinyl a few weeks back, so it's most likely that this is just a re-release but on vinyl for the first time. It's definitely at the very least a vinyl release of the original Bucketheadland (1992) album. None of these have ever been released on vinyl before. Did you see the personal recordings bit? How cool is that! Population Override is already out on vinyl; one for Mosh, perhaps? Bucketheadland 2 has been announced by ION records for this summer I think. It's all a bit exciting. In respect to this specific announcement, a few people are speculating (& are going to be pretty disappointed) that, with no mention of it being a double LP, and no mention of dropped tracks (like with CSS), that this might not simply be a Bucketheadland re-release; the original comes in at nearly an hour, so...

... peeps are saying this might be a new studio album, with CD & digital download still to be announced. It's possible. Don't know if Buckethead would even have the masters of the original or the rights to re-release this himself. People have been asking about "Bucketheadland 3" for years, jokingly. Maybe the title really is "Bucketheadland 5 13 10 31". I'm not convinced. Max Bob (of Deli Creeps) posted some pictures of Travis' TDRS studio a few months back & all of this has stoked the speculation.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

@Mosh @Forostar

It's a goddamn new album! Pikes services just confirmed it!

Oh my, this just got exciting!

 

[Mosh]

Pike 140 - Hat and Glasses: Lots of cool twists and turns in the opening track. The low electronic grooves work really well here. I like how he switches from riff driven sections to more noisy grooves. They complement each other really well on this track. This tune is like if Buckethead took all his heavier styles and put them in a blender. Almost like a collage Pike but a little more organized. My only complaint is that some of the more interesting parts are cut too short, which he has a tendency to do. But overall it's an enjoyable track. Just a solid jam. The second track, Glasses, is just classic Buckethead. Really awesome melodic guitar playing here. It's nice he's focusing on an area in this tune that he only scratched the surface of in the previous track. There's some shredding, but he builds up to it and the soloing is well developed overall. Nice dynamics too. Love how it mellows out in the middle with this really sinister groove and some tasty soloing. My only complaint is that it never really builds up from there until the very end, it just sorta stays in that dynamic. The ending is short and not all that satisfying. Would've liked more variety in this tune. Overall, this track isn't quite as strong as the opener but it's still enjoyable. A good Pike that has me more enthusiastic about this next set.

Pike 141 - Last Call For the E.P. Ripley: A bit of a collage Pike. Not exactly noise but not all that musical either. Some cool grooves sprinkled in but overall nothing especially engaging. I do like the emphasis on the bass playing though. This is one of those Pikes that would probably be more entertaining in a live setting. On the record it's a little too all over the place for me. The last track is really cool though.

Pike 142 - Nautical Nightmares: Very similar to the previous Pike. Neither of these are bad, they're actually pretty listenable. But Buckethead meanders quite a bit in this mode. If the Pikes series makes anything obvious, it's that Buckethead isn't capable of self editing. I think I slightly prefer this one to E.P. Ripley (there are some really cool riffs, check out Shell 8) but still not something I see myself revisiting often. That being said, you could probably combine these two Pikes and make something awesome. It'd be interesting to see him in xenochrony mode again and reedit some of these collage Pikes to make something new. Like an hour long "Best Of" compilation, but it's new music. Either way, if this is what constitutes as "filler" for this set of Pikes, it's already going to be a much stronger group than what we've had lately.

Pike 143 - Blank Bot: Yet another "collage" Pike and easily the best of the three. I came really close to putting this on the recommended list, but it just barely misses the cut. When this Pike is good, it's really fantastic. QZ 5 is awesome. The closing track is also very cool. The main highlight of this Pike is the drum/percussion programming. Buckethead really gets creative here. So even the noisy sections are far more interesting than what he usually produces in this category. Those noisy sections still make up too much of this album's time and I found myself losing interest in those parts by the end, especially when he was giving hints of really awesome musical moments. Still, not bad at all.

Pike 144 - Scream Sundae: Great jam to start this one off. Kinda going back to the Hat and Glasses sound with this Pike. It seems improvised but then the drums follow the guitar indicating that there is at least some planning. Either way, there's a ton of great riffs and melodies in this track. Not a whole lots of shredding, but Buckethead's classic soloing style is on full display here. He's in his best mode. Second track is going back to that funky/blues style and is significantly less interesting, but not too bad. Luckily it's only 5 minutes which is a more acceptable length for that sort of thing IMO. The album ends with him in shred mode, but there's still some cool riffs in there. Overall, this Pike is recommended mostly for the opening track, which is about half of the album. The other half is still pretty good though and I really like when he opts for variety.

Pike 145 - Kareem's Footprint: The solo bass in the first track immediately reminded me of Vacuum, which was interesting but too same-y overall. This Pike remedies this by mixing the solo bass tracks with guitar driven tunes. It's primarily bass, but the guitar tracks help keep it interesting. The bass tunes (which are the main event anyway) are also way better than what's on Vacuum. They're funkier and don't feel incomplete the way a lot of Vacuum is. Anyway, I'm glad he's trying out different formats and styles for the Pikes.

Pike 146 - Carrotcature: This one is basically just a single long jam. There are some cool ideas here and there, but overall a bit too noodle-y for me. Another one of those Pikes that would be more enjoyable in a live environment. In this context, I found myself frequently getting bored.

Pike 147 - Popcorn Shells: This one gets a half recommendation. The opening track has too much noodling for me. There's some cool licks here and there but it never seems to go anywhere in the entire 14 minutes. That's already half the album gone, which is not a good sign. However, somehow the last two tracks manage to pick things up in a big way.
Stetzab is like something out of Bucket's early electronic period. My opinion on that material still stands: it's fun for a song or two before it gets annoyingly repetitive. Since it's just the one song, it works here.
The last track is a really cool riff driven synth/guitar thing. Very nice track. Interesting to hear him experimenting with more electronic sounding drums too. They have been present in the past few Pikes too, but they really help shape the sound here more than ever.

Pike 148 - Inivsable Forest: Finally a softer Pike. Some great buildups here. His lead tone is also fantastic on this Pike. You always know what you're going to get with these Pikes but it's always satisfying. Great melodic stuff throughout with some nice atmosphere to top it off.

Pike 149 - Chickencoopscope: The variety in this Pike makes it worth checking out. Kinda like Louzenger but with better sound and more interesting songs. The shreddy parts make their return but it's not as bad as usual. There are some interesting funky bits too, particularly during that clean guitar solo. The electronic sounding drums continue, but it's still working for me. Overall I felt like this was a compilation of leftovers from that past several Pikes. I wonder if he ever goes over the 30 minute mark and just saves that stuff until he has 30 minutes of leftovers for a newer Pike. "Compilation Pikes"?

Very interesting decade. Not a single bad Pike in the bunch and some of his most interesting and experimental work that he's done in a long time. Even the ones I didn't care for were still interesting and much better than the weaker moments in other decades. Overall this set feels much more inspired than what he is usually doing in 2015.