siLLy puPPy After a tidal wave of live Pikes, BUCKETHEAD has finally returned releasing a torrent of substandard studio Pikes with the occasional gem to be found. One problem these days is that the gems seem to have ceased while the lame crap continues to flow like a broken spigot.

Just in time for Christmas, BUCKETHEAD has released a nauseating coal-in-the-stocking crapbomb of a Pike for its 400th edition titled DECORATING. Just when you think this guy can’t deliver something more nauseating than before, he continuously surprises.

DECORATING is basically a continuous 30-minute recycled loop of clean guitar. It’s like a torture device for interrogation purposes during war time P.O.W. intelligence extraction. There have been many awful Pikes but i do believe this is the most awful of all.

I’ve grown tired of BH’s never-ending stream of mediocrity and downright rubbish as even the more adventurous cool prog metal Pikes have become nothing more than recycled been-there, done-that affairs.

This one is so bad i would truly consider this to be on the playlist of hell. I would give this ZERO stars if possible so i’ll have to give it as few as possible in zero’s stead. The only thing worth DECORATING with this lump of caca is the trash can.

BH seems to think this is amusing? Seems like his legend is being replaced by an image of irrelevance since even the cream of the crop lately is rather ho hum compared to the legion of new music on the scene. No wonder that few if any have bothered even giving a single rating to the wasteland of live Pikes but these newer studio Pikes are even worse.

ZERO stars but i guess 1/2 will have to do

siLLy puPPy And for the 22nd release of BUCKETHEAD in the year 2022, the chicken lover throws another curve ball and revisits an old friend only in all instrumental form. ENTER THE CHICKEN INSTRUMENTALS has been released outside of the PIKE series and is sort of the companion album for the original ENTER THE CHICKEN album which was released all the way back in 2005. Unlike the original album which was released on Serj Tankian’s Serjical Strike label, this one is only available on BH’s Bandcamp age as a lossless digital recording.

Honestly i don’t see the point in instrumental versions of albums that feature lyrics. I’ve never been a fan and i almost always ignore such releases as they are nothing more than cash in on the diehards endeavors. Having said that even though i wasn’t keen on listening to this, i have to admit that these tracks do indeed make decent instrumentals even if not as awesome as were with the myriad vocalists that appeared on the original ENTER THE CHICKEN. The original is one of my favorite older BUCKETHEAD releases and the fact he teamed up with so much talent was a major plus, something sorely lacking in the PIKE series.

This one doesn’t feature twelve tracks like the original ENTER THE CHICKEN but rather only seven. This one is missing the “Intro,” “We Are One,” “Three Fingers,” “The Hand” and a short “Interlude.” It does feature the track “Shen Chi” which was only featured as a bonus track on later editions of ENTER THE CHICKEN. Actually there are a few vocals featured on this but only on the spoken word sample starting “Botnus,” one of BH’s most popular live tunes and for great reason, this one showcases BH’s guitar shredding abilities as well as a serious riffing machine.

This release is sort of cheating in the fact that both “Nottingham Lace” and “Shen Chi” were already instrumentals on the original ENTER THE CHICKEN so really there are only five stripped down vocalless selections. It seems odd to find an all-instrumental pick of tracks of a 17-year old album but considering BH just lost a bunch of expensive guitars perhaps he’s cashing in to replace them. While i was expecting to hate this instrumental album i was pleasantly surprised that it works somewhat although i still much prefer the original. Another glaring reality is that the material here makes many of the more recent PIKEs sound like generic crap. Luckily there aren’t a lot of vocal-filled BH albums so i doubt this will be a trend.

siLLy puPPy PIKE 327 - CARNIVAL OF CHICKEN WIRE 26th installment of 2022 Everything played NOT by BUCKETHEAD. It’s LIVE, duh! Total playing time 28 MINUTES and 41 SECONDS All instrumental as always! Yep, still true despite being a live album

Well i guess BUCKETHEAD is trying to cash in on some live recordings to replace all those stolen guitars that he lost in recent times. Suddenly a flood of live releases are finding their way out of the coop and for the first time BH has released several live releases simultaneously. Following the odd PIKE out album cover of “Live From A Boombox” comes another set of live numbers titled CARNIVAL OF CHICKEN WIRE.

This one features six tracks and keeps it under a half hour of playing time. A lot of these tracks have been featured on other live releases such as the feisty opening “Jordan” which seems to be a crowd pleaser. After the energetic opener BH slows the tempo down a bit with “The Interworld And The New Innocence” which emphasizes those famous echoey guitar sounds and then builds up steam to a bluesy rock shredding extravaganza. 
 “Redeem Team” picks up the pace again with a melodic guitar riff. The track picks up pace and becomes a crunchy alt metal rocker. “Toy Store” features a nice processed guitar effect sound. This one features some interesting technical workouts. It merges perfectly into another long time crowd pleaser, “Welcome To Bucketheadland” which is basically a BH anthem at this point. “Siege Engine” finishes this release off with an energetic guitar performance but the track itself is rather generic and monotonous.

Overall this is an OK live set but not as interesting as “Live Sprinkles.” Basically the track selection is not that wonderful and although everything is interesting to hear in a live setting, i’m not a huge live album fan in the first place and BH doesn’t do anything remarkable to distinguish from the studio recordings. It truly seems like cashing in is the modus operandi du jour. Oh well. Another PIKE i will never be revisiting.

siLLy puPPy PIKE 326 - LIVE FROM THE BOOMBOX 25th installment of 2022 Everything played NOT by BUCKETHEAD. It’s LIVE, duh! Total playing time 28 MINUTES and 48 SECONDS All instrumental as always! Yep, still true despite being a live album

I absolutely knew once the floodgates were opened for live releases to come out as PIKEs that there would be an incessant flow and it turns out i was correct. PIKE 326 has emerged as another live release titled LIVE FROM THE BOOMBOX. The album cover is notable for falling completely out of character from the comic book PIKE design. This simply features a photo with a BUCKETHEAD and a BOOMBOX photoshopped and posing on a slap of concrete on the shore.

Unlike the previous “Live Sprinkles” which was a staggering 50 minutes long, LIVE FROM THE BOOMBOX clocks in at a standard PIKE running time of around 30 minutes which is personally all i really have an attention span for PIKEs these days so thank dog for that. This one features only six tracks but there are some crowd pleases on board here. The picks are mostly out of the alternative metal camp with “Big Sur Moon” and “Flare” leading the way. BH feistily performs with passion.

“Gory Head Stump” is a bouncy fun number with an incessant bouncing groove that also keeps the energy high however it wouldn’t be a BH live release without a slower number, in this case a classic live number in his playbook called “Soothsayer.” Although it starts out mellow it climaxes with a scorching guitar solo. Likewise “Ghose of Broken Eggs” dishes out some psychedelic wah-wah pedal effects in the beginning and slowly ratchets up the blues rock intensity. The concluding “Fountains of the Forgotten” closes the PIKE with a bit of energetic heft with squealing guitar licks and heavy metal fortitude.

This is a decent LIVE PIKE that features some excellent material from BUCKETHEAD’s vast canon but at the same time there is nothing super compelling about this release either. It’s an OK half hour of live energy but not something that beckons a return visit either. Nice but only good and not much else. Considering the number of LIVE PIKEs coming out i’m sure there will be a whole lot more where this came from.

siLLy puPPy PIKE 325 - LANGUAGE OF THE MOSAICS 24th installment of 2022 Everything played by BUCKETHEAD Total playing time 26 minutes and 45 seconds All instrumental as always!

BUCKETHEAD is back with one chicken attack after another. LANGUAGE OF THE MOSAICS is the 24th PIKE of 2022 and there are still fourth months left in the egg hatchery! While BH is throwing in some live albums here and there this year, this one is a bonafide studio album that features BH’s most intense and energetic guitar wankery. This is experimental, progressive and avant-garde as well as pedal to the metal head banging splendor.

This one features seven tracks all titled “Mosaic” plus the corresponding number. This is also one of those blitzkrieg PIKEs where all the tracks run into another. This one is primarily metal oriented with crazy fast tempos, face melting guitar workouts and crunchy riffing however this one is also one of those shapeshifters that allows various stylistic approaches to seep in. Any given style usually takes a few bars before changing it up but then again BH is full of surprises.

This one is truly for the tech guitar lovers. Those who crave wild unapologetic frenetic guitar abuse and love those roller coaster compositional approaches where hairpin turns and upside down loops are guaranteed all but the most adrenaline seeking junkies out there lose their lunch and run far away. Unlike some of BH’s most avant-garde PIKEs of the same ilk, this one is more on the melodic side with catchy riffs and traditional heavy metal compositional approaches but then there are those weird crazy turns towards the bizarre and experimental.

Personally these are the types of PIKEs that suit me best however many of these exist at this point so this is just one more in a large collection. There’s not really much to distinguish this one from many others that have come before which is why i can’t rate it higher. At this point even PIKEs of this caliber which showcase BH’s most technical workouts have been done to death. I just wish BH would up his game in the compositional department or start playing with other musicians and make a totally unique band. Oh well. This is a very good PIKE but not to the point where i will probably ever feel the need to revisit it.