siLLy puPPy BUCKETHEAD (as Bucketheadland) / Pike 255 - Abominable Snow Scalp / 12th release of 2017 / All instrumental / Contains 7 tracks / Clocks in at 29minutes 20seconds / everything played by Buck-buck-buckethead

“Abominable Snow Scalp” (4:10) begins with a heavy metal epic riff sounding like something from the 80s with a similar type of melodic march incorporating crunchy chops with solos and fills. Very decent but would sound better with vocals as it seems like the missing dimension. Near the two minute mark it slows down with some nice arpeggiated guitar work and then picks up steam again with some ruff-and-tumble riffage. Very traditional metal sounding here

“Floorascents” (3:02) after a huge pause between tracks, this one finally jumps in with a similar 80s style classic metal sound complete with the melodic crunch of the riffs and nice fret work that has a rather epic style of flavor. It also has a rather 70s hard rock with bluesy touches as well that is amplified by a bluesy solo

“Headless Reflection” (6:32) begins with a rather Hendrix inspired sound effect but quickly jumps into heavy metal riffs with some jittery Van Halen type runs all peppered with quirky BH styled solo runs. This one has some nice changes and makes a nice mix of classic 80s metal with 90s industrial and alternative type styles

“Pluriverse” (3:22) is mellower than previous track with an anthemesque type melodic development and then changes it up between softer and harder passages. Another nice track that focuses on the melody instead of acrobatics

“Crator Ridge” (5:29) is a harder and heavier 90s grungy sounding alternative metal track with some more focus on classic 80s metal melody. It has a nice run of lead guitar. Towards the middle a nice slide and slower passage that really adds some variety to the track. The chord progression is slightly progressive and sounds a bit jazzy at times. One of my favorite tracks

“Door Along the Wall” (1:58) is a short little heavy metal rocker that has nice riffs but ultimately comes off as unnecessary filler

“Pincushion” (4:47) is even more upbeat with heavy riffs and sizzling solos and keeps up a frenetic pace with hyperactive riffs throughout its entirety. Nice melodic delivery and changing of riffs, licks and solos. Very well done

This is a well done PIKE that shows BUCKETHEAD’s mastery of traditional metal styles and focus on the melodic aspects of music with nice counterpoints to keep it interesting. While many of his PIKEs are rather by-the-numbers or extremely experimental this one shows how well he can pull out the classic tricks as well. I’m loving this one and one of my faves of 2017