siLLy puPPy PIKE 108 - COLLECT ITSELF is the 7th album released by BUCKETHEAD in 2015, which pretty much continues the long drawn-out instrumental approach with BUCKETHEAD playing all the instruments. On this one we get two long tracks that add up to 29:09.

The beginning title track clocks in at 18:04 and is a hard experimental rocker with a metal edge. It begins with bombastic riffing and solos. It quickly changes into a funk riff and then back to borderline hard rock / metal. This is pretty much a long jam session but there are several parts that change it up and added electronic effects to keep it from getting too dull. The soloing shows BUCKETHEAD really in a caffeinated mode as he is on fire wailing up and down the scales with finger tapping, bends and all the virtuosic goodies. There are a few time signature changes here and there.

Track two “Garden Mold” clocking in at 11:05 begins less aggressively and has a funk aura although the guitars are highly distorted and the beat has a strange electronically hued ambience to it. There are slow keyboard parts that are slightly out of sync with the main beat and rhythms which gives this track more of a progressive feel. There are some strange industrial “tinny” guitar solos and slightly bluesy riffs. This one is hard to describe as there are so many elements weaving around each other and trading off but one of the more interesting tracks i’ve heard from this year’s hatchlings.

Overall, a decent album but not enough to warrant more than 3 stars. Some interesting parts but too much redundancy.