Pike #256

Another album, another batch of recycled riffs, but just like the previous one, I think that it's more enjoyable than it is boring. It's definitely incredibly predictable, which leads to it being less interesting than it could be, but all in all, it's a fun and decent album. Nothing too great by Buckethead's standards, but it doesn't need to be. It's just a good time.

Pike #255

Surprisingly another damn fine album. This one doesn't bring any new ideas to the table, and at times it does sound recycled, but it's still a fun album. I mean, I doubt I would return to this, and at the end of the day I wouldn't be recommending this album to anyone, but it was still a good time regardless.

Pike #254

Buckethead's usual craziness, and I love it. I just love when Buckethead does this weird, all-over-the-place style album where it's pretty much just one continuous song but it constantly switches up the sound. It's so much fun, and this album ends up being one of his better releases of 2017.

Pike #253

I guess it's kinda alright? This is a very inoffensive metal album with hints of thrash and prog all over the place. However, it isn't all that interesting or original. Great performances from the bucket wearing guitarist, but as a whole it's just another standard release.

Pike #252

Okay, this album just left me bored out of my mind. It's all over the place with its style, with the first track being another dull mellow song, and with the rest of the album being more hard rock. The hard rock tracks are definitely what saved this album with them actually being interesting, but as a whole this album is just a dull mess that lacks any creativity.

Pike #251

Yeah, this is pretty fucking boring. It's just the same as usual. There are some experimental elements to this, like some unique sounding electronic parts, but overall is just far too safe and predictable to be considered a top-tier Buckethead record.

Pike #250

We in the endgame now, boys. 250 Pikes down, 25 left to go.

For Buckethead's 250th Pike, he hasn't really done anything new, it's just another instrumental rock album. I guess it's just the overall vibe of the album, feeling more bittersweet than anything. It's definitely the atmosphere that makes this album as good as it is. As its own album, it's good but not great, but in context with it being the 250th album in a series, it's actually quite impactful.

Pike #249

Wow, this was a disappointment. This Pike has a sound that usually works for me, being an upbeat, distorted metal album, and the guitar performance is, as usual, really good. The problem is just how tiring it is to listen to. It sounds so unoriginal, like (unsurprisingly) I've heard this exact same album hundreds of times before, which I have. Like most of Buckethead's releases this far into his catalog, it's mostly just rehashed riffs again.

Pike #248

A great performance, but an extremely uninspiring sound. This just sounds so basic that it just doesn't feel like it fits in the Pike series. I mean, this isn't the first time that Buckethead has sounded this simple and predictable, but that doesn't mean this album is any more passable. It's okay at best, but stupidly dull for the majority of its runtime.

Pike #247

Yeah, this one isn't doing anything for me. I can see why some people would like this as it does have a really good performance from Buckethead and an overall pleasant sound, but this just isn't for me. It isn't giving much enjoyment at all. My score is mostly due to my appreciation for the guitar work being genuinely good and that's it.

Pike #246

A pretty fun hard rock/heavy metal album, but it's unfortunately very apparent that this is mostly just recycled riffs yet again. Definitely a highly enjoyable listen, but giving it a score higher than this would be unfair to the many, many, many other albums that were far more creative and fun than this.

Pike #245

After a promising start to the year, Buckethead reverts back to the worst parts of the previous year and makes an album that is just as boring and predictable as many of his releases from 2016. So far 2017 has had one great album and one dud, so I wonder how the rest of the year is going to be.

Pike #244

Buckethead really got his shit together for the start of 2017. This album is actually a great Pike. Although the ideas here are certainly not anything new, the album itself is so much fun and is so full of fantastic guitar performances and interesting electronic sections that this is definitely one of the most welcomed additions to this series in a long time.

Pike #243

Yet again, Buckethead's final release of the year is a very solid outing, and ultimately ends up being one of the better releases of the year. This album is different from most other Buckethead albums as there are actual human vocals. I mean, the vocals are nothing more than just some random people saying "Yeah!" repeatedly, but it's definitely something that is unique to this album. This is the first in the Pike series to actually include vocals of any kind, and even when ... read more

Pike #242

This album is straight-up insanity, and I love it. This is just Buckethead's creativity flowing. Some weird riffs, fast shredding, and just an all-round cool atmosphere makes this one of his strongest releases from 2016.

Pike #241

ANOTHER Pike that is just decent but nothing more. As I get closer to the end of 2016, the more convinced I am that this was Buckethead's all-time worst year for music. Even the bloated 2015 had more noteworthy albums, and that year was filled with some of his all-time worst albums. This album is yet another uncreative and incredibly predictable album that fails to captivate me in any way outside of me being able to appreciate Buckethead's musicianship. He's a good guitarist, and he ... read more

Pike #240

Fairly decent, but unfortunately nothing more. This is yet another Pike that I feel is really far away from being within Buckethead's worst releases, but it is also nowhere near being one of his best. This one has some entertaining moments, but is far too repetitive and feels too recycled for it to be anywhere close to his best.

Pike #239

Another mellow album, and it's kinda boring. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's even close to being one of the weakest entries into the Pike series, but damn is this such a chore to get through.

Pike #238

This is the kind of music I want to hear from Buckethead - crazy, off-the-walls, experimental. It's so weird and creative that there's no way I couldn't love it. One of his best albums to come from 2016 by far.

Pike #237

Another boring, predictable, and redundant album. Another Pike that instantly fell into being nothing more than just background noise, only unlike the previous album it didn't seem entertaining in the slightest. Just background music and nothing more.