Buckethead

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No use wasting time, I'm just gonna jump right in. Pike 1, here we go!
  1. "Lebrontron" - After the last two albums, this is exactly what I needed. Spinal Clock and Captain EO's Voyage were great, but I also love the heavier, faster, more rockin' Buckethead, and he's delivering here. It's the first Pike's first track, but it doesn't feel different from the non-Pike material, which is a good thing - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, eh? The soloing it great here, as is the riffing. The part where it drops out but comes back is great. Honestly, the riffing is something I might expect from a Mercyful Fate song, but done Buckethead style. That beating five minutes in is great. This may just be one of his best songs ever. It's got a lot of different parts of what he does all mixed together. May just be the kind of thing to show to new Buckethead listeners. Awesome song, great stuff.
  2. "Tonka" - Oh, but this sounds great too. Cool opening before getting into a very thrashy riff. Yeah, this sounds like Buckethead trying to make a Metallica song, and he's succeeding. And now slowing a bit to absorb the guitar sound. Glowing, pure Buckethead. And now sliding out before returning to thrashiness. I like this. It feels very much like the cover image. Great guitarwork, nice feel. The opening noise returns to end out the song.
  3. "Peeling Out" - Just some noodling. Cool but it's too short to say much about.
  4. "Barnyard Banties" - Holy shit it's Seinfeld gone metal. Bopping stuff, much groove, but that riff is awesome too. It's hard to not bob along with it. Great shredding bits. Cool song.
  5. "Crack The Sky" - Awesome stuff, wow. Nice fast pieces and quiet ones here and there. Flying off the road, so to speak. The riffage here is insane. This solo sounds awesome. Almost sounds like Death in the way it's played. Oooh, nice change up to keep it fresh, along with another great soloing section. This is the kinda thing you'd air guitar too. And now the riff comes back for a spectacular ending, and I've gotta say, this is really up there songs-wise.
  6. "The Hatch" - Ooooh, weird opening here. I like it! Oop, Seinfeld's back. Full-throttle bits, feels like a sports arena. No wait, this riff sounds like a Rust In Peace song. Back to a video game thing. Ooh, I like the Megadeth sort of guitar sound. This part is flying - no, slower, no, wow... cars. Bopping. Whew.
  7. "Brooding Peeps" - Damn, I love the guitar on here. Noodly in places but with rime and reason. The riffs are great too. Damn, this is really awesome. Riffs are awesome. Solos are awesome. This song is pretty fucking awesome.
  8. "Picking The Feathers" - At first this sounded like a Bermuda Triangle kinda thing but then it changed... sorta. It's definitely reminiscent of it, but there's cool riffings here too. Weird studio wonkery but a lot of cool stuff within it as well. It's just a very experimental piece that is a good example of that style and makes for a cool album closer. Cool ending to it.
1 Pike down, 274 to go (and problem even more by the time I get there). I've broken through the wall now, and nothing's gonna stop me except laziness and procrastination! Really awesome album, all his styles are represented here quite well, but it's also a very heavy, very metallic affair that I like a lot. Awesome. Perfect way to begin the Pikes. Can't wait to see what else is in store. The shorter runtime will definitely help in digesting them and will eliminate some of the filler down. Here goes nothing!

Rating: 9.5/10
 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
I promise I'll finish my "review-of-reviews" soon, then do some sort of chart based on my ratings; probably for just the Pikes, but I can do everything if you guys want...

By the end of the year. Just keep reminding me.
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Wait, are you serious? Cause I wasn’t.
 
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Pike 2/275
  1. "Comb and Wattles" - Zany stuff here, with some heavy riffage. I'm liking it. 9/10
  2. "Wormers" - Cool stuff, feels like a Stars Wars film. Then dissolves into a shredfest, before righting itself and going into a nice solo section. But it lasts not long, for then it heads into a nice, classic metal riff. Yeah, this wouldn't be amiss on a King Diamond or Mercyful Fate release, only it's done Buckethead's way. Nice chugging + drum section here. Then it changes up into a different feeling song, and we're back into a cool solo section. Mostly weird, but there's a lot of nice elements to this song. 9/10
  3. "Empty Space" - The guitar stuff at the beginning here feels like a space battle. Boppy shit here. The riffs are nice. This section feels like a video game, but then this riff feels very classic heavy metal, or something from '90s Megadeth perhaps. Noodly stuff now. Just guitar wankery but damn does it sound cool. Then there's this Megadeth feeling section coming in. Cool song. 8/10
  4. "Dummy Egg" - Cool classic metal riff opens up the song, followed by a quieter piece that reminds me of those classic metal ballads like "Children of the Damned", or even "Wasting Love" or "Son of a Gun". But Buckethead is still in command as the guitar starts moving. Yeah, I love this song. It feels like it just needs vocals and it'd fit on an '80s metal album. 10/10
  5. "Pullets" - Cool thing, utilizes that Seinfeld-esque thingamajig. The riff is nice. This clicking bit is cool, as it that spacey thing. Riff returns. Cool sound effects here. Shreddy bit! Watery stuff. My ears are orgasming or something. Weird boppy shit. Wow ma, the wall caved in! Cool randomosity. 7.5/10
  6. "Perched" - Christ, what zaniness hath now come? Cool sound. Interesting recurring bit. Feels like an earwig is crawling in my ear... Cool blopping bit. Uh-oh, change-up. Cool ending bit. 7/10
  7. "Hatched" - Interesting stuff. Ooh, nice riff. Weirdness returns. Nice shred. Weirdness but these riffs are great, and this soloing piece is awesome. Cool ending bit. I like it. 8/10
  8. "Portable Pen" - Interesting stuff, this. Not a stand-out track though. 6.5/10
  9. "Leghorn" - Oh this is cool. 8/10
  10. "Scrape The Dirt Off" - Cool wobbings. Short but sweet. 8/10
Cool second album of the Pike series. This one feels more experimental and more like Bucket's just going "Hey, lemme do this and this and this and throw all that shit together!" I like it, but it's not his strongest effort.

Rating: 8.5/10
 
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Pike 3/275
  1. "Griffin's Spike" - Cool riff, but the soloing is outstanding. Much stronger than the previous album. Good stuff. 9/10
  2. "Rammelzee: Hero Of The Abyss" - Very strong riffings. This is like a tank crushing its enemies. Insane ending. Great stuff. 9/10
  3. "Floating Graveyard" - Spooky opening before plunging into a heavier bit. Really feels like a graveyard. Nice Metallica-like piece at the end here. 9/10
  4. "Ballad Of Jerry Mano" - Ooh, I like this. Nice ballad piece. Bright and happy with a twinge of sadness somewhere. Cool guitar. I feel like I'm with Mr. Rodger, and I like it. Now it feels like Shawshank Redemption's rain scene, only less bleak. Or like Sesame Street. Any way, I really like it. 9.5/10
  5. "HD Autopsy" - Nice fast riffings. Great riff now, very metal. Soloing guitar sounds great. Really groovy track. I like it a lot. 9.5/10
  6. "Droid Hunt" - Very representative of its title. Feels like a planet and they're... hunting or fighting droids. Cool guitar stuff, and I like this heavy section. 9/10
  7. "Battlefields" - Ooh, I'm like this. Chugging riffs, blast beats, cool stuff. Feels like a battlefield. Really nice riffs. 9.5/10
  8. "Handprint Ornament" - Cool stuff. Love the soloing here. 9.5/10
  9. "3 Headed Guardian" - Cerberus, anyone? Really feels reminiscent of that creature. 9/10
  10. "Harpoon The Goon" - Cool opening bit here. Great guitar sound and feel. 9/10
  11. "Critical Assignment Leg" - Interesting stuff, but not the best thing he's done. 8/10
  12. "Siamese Butterfly" - It's good but not great. 7/10
  13. "Xray" - Cool ending to the album. 8.5/10
Big step up from Empty Space. Everything here feels like it was written and not just booped together on the spot. For the longest of the Pikes, this was pretty great. Started to dip near the end but doesn't hold it back much.

Rating: 8.9/10
 
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Pike 4/275

Oh, it's one of those albums. Well, I rather liked it. It's obviously just mindless guitar wankery but unlike some of the other albums, it's actually pretty cool, especially coming off the back of the previous albums. It isn't one that you need to really put your mind to like certain others, and works best as a background piece to whatever you're doing at the moment. Still, the shorter runtime really helps keep it interesting and it's got a lot of cool sections. The idea of having one long piece (split into different sections, but not apparently on the actual CD) is cool, and the different changes going on keep it alive. So not outstanding, but better than several others of these sorts of albums. On the whole, I lean positive. This is the kinda thing I'd come back to if I was in a Buckethead mood but didn't want to give my full attention to it for one reason or another. Good experimental affair.

Rating: 8/10
 
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Pike 5/275
  1. "Golden Eyes" - This was a cool song. A little too long, maybe, but it's a return to the elements of stuff like "Soothsayer", "Nottingham Lace", and "King James". Not as imaginative, maybe, but not bad. Lots of interesting moments. I'd give it a 9/10 because while it keeps scraping the edge of greatness, it stays just a bit too standard for me. Drums are interesting, though. Overall pretty great.
  2. "Look Up There" - Cried summed this up quite well:
    CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
    the title track is lovely, just too long.
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    Its length is massive but passable, I was actually surprised when it ended. Good stuff, but maybe needed a bit cutting down. Still leaning positive though. 9/10
Good Pike, I liked it. Tracks were a bit lengthy but the positives outweigh the negatives.

Rating: 9/10
 
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This is one I've been interested in listening to for a while, as it feels disjointed from the rest of his discography due to being the final non-Pike but released in the middle of the first ten Pikes. So I'm fairly hyped. Let's see if it's worth the fuss.
  1. "Electric Sea" - Damn, I'm loving this already. The acoustic with electric on top mix is beautiful. This is so peaceful, so relaxing, so emotive, conjuring up images of a calm blue sea... this is great. Even if the rest of the album is a bust, this song is awesome. 10/10
  2. "Beyond the Knowing" - Ooh, this is a bit faster-paced than the first song. Nice acoustic stuff so here. It starts to get even faster partway through. It feels so peaceful. Just acoustic Buckethead, but I love it. 10/10
  3. "Swomee Swan" - The 'electric' part of Electric Sea is back, and it's still great. Dr. Suess title, right? Anyway, awesome stuff. 10/10
  4. "Point Doom" - Starts off eerily before changing its gears a bit and moving forward... and then we're in a faster bit that sounds like something off of Virtual XI. Oh shit, the opening's back, and I think it actually sounds like something off of Fear of the Dark. Okay, some electricity has entered the song now. The VXI bit is back now, and yeah it definitely feels like something Maiden could have done then. I like this thing a lot. 10/10
  5. "El Indio" - I'm getting Rawhide / Gunsmoke vibes from this, but it remains very emotive and peaceful, unlike the content of those two shows. It starts to change up after a bit and represent the sea and the album's theme a bit more. This one actually went by faster than I expected, given its longer running time than most of the others songs on here. Anyway, I like it. 10/10
  6. "La Wally" - Some really singin' guitars here. The song sounds like a hymn. I don't like it quite as much as the other songs thus far, but it's a welcome respite from all those heavy-hitters. 9/10
  7. "La Gavotte" - Pretty nice. Feels rather Spanish-influenced, with that hymn-like vibe remaining. Nice. 9.5/10
  8. "Bachethead" - No wait, this sounds like a German kids' song. Is that what I've been hearing? Hymns... Spanish... Deutsche... Hold on, now it's in a Scottish-feeling bit. I'm liking it at any rate. Clansman vibes, not the Maiden song, but the actual people. 9.5/10
  9. "Yokohama" - So peaceful. I love this. 10/10
  10. "Gateless Gate" - Simple, peaceful, sparse, empty, and yet full at the same time. Nice little song. 10/10
  11. "The Homing Beacon" - Such a beautiful song, such a beautiful ending to a beautiful album. 10/10
So far, I haven't found a perfect mellow Buckethead album, but damn, this just might be it. Tracks 6-8 are a little weaker than the rest but don't hold it back much; with repeated listens, this could be up there with Bermuda Triangle in terms of favorites. I loved it a lot. Mellow, peaceful, beautiful. Such an incredible album. And now I really need to go to bed...

Rating: 9.8/10
 
Went through a few of my favorite Buckethead songs, and I keep coming back to the fact that "King James" and "Soothsayer" are his two finest ones. On the whole, lately, I'm leaning towards "King James"...

I'd seriously like to do a ranking poll in future for the non-Pike songs and a survivor for the rest, but that would depend on everyone's willingness. Ah well, back to the Pikes. It's a long road ahead of me now...
 
I can tell you right now I wouldn’t participate in a ranking poll. Survivor depends on the format. I just don’t think going over every song with a fine toothed comb does justice to this type of music, which is why I didn’t review most of the albums that way.
 
Forostar said:
@Mosh, just 6 to go. What about all this, let's say, six months later. How on earth will you remember which pikes you liked the most?

I for one would be very interested in a list of your favourite pikes. Yes, @CriedWhenBrucieLeft, you too. A fecking list.

Favourite 20, 25 or even 50 pikes. Let's have it.
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Over a year later and I have to say recording all my thoughts here has been helpful with revisiting the music. Usually reading the reviews of each Pike is enough to jog my memory on which each sounded like and which are worth hearing again. The only problem is that there isn’t much chance of me revisiting any album that received a negative review (unless Cried or someone else gave it a positive review, every now and then Pike fatigue affected reviews). I also have playlists of my favorite songs/Pikes.
 
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