IT'S ALIVE

Jeez, I remember when this came out. I remember buying one of the songs from it and it being my favorite Buckethead song for a while. That song was "Crack the Sky", one of Buckethead's coolest tracks. I had only been a Buckethead fan for around a couple years at the time of this album's release, and I had zero idea he would keep the Pikes series going along for so long. There have been 230 more Pikes released since the release of this one at the time of me writing this. That's a lot. Most of them have been of high quality too, but this one is actually not one of the best. It's good, very unique sometimes, but it's overall an enjoyable experience that I get a kick out of.

This album is kind of a jack-of-all-trades Buckethead album. He hadn't really gone full swing Pike-mode yet, so he was still in the mood for heavy metal with funk, electronic, and experimental influences. This album has lots of brilliant soloing and riffing and crazy funky bass playing. It also has a heaping helping of experimental craziness. Basically you can narrow this album down to two sections: the serious sections, and the experimental sections.

For the serious sections of the album, we've got three killer tracks, "Lebrontron", "Crack the Sky", and "Brooding Peeps". All of these are magnificent. They are all basic metal songs played in the classic Buckethead fashion, which means lots of interesting licks, brilliant soloing, and great riffs. "Crack the Sky" is absolutely freaking stellar. This song was one of my very favorites as a child, and it hits me hard with nostalgia. I remember jamming to this song on my way to school each morning. The riffing in this one is fantastic, and this was one of the songs that made me a heavy metal fan. The other two similar tracks are great too. "Lebrontron" is a great start to the album, with simple, warm solos and upbeat riffing that makes for an overall great track. "Brooding Peeps" is in the same vein, with some wonderful soloing and wicked riffing at the end that break this track into the top 3 on the album. The lead melodies on these songs, especially "Brooding Peeps", earn big points for me, he tempers the solos with some rather beautiful lead sections that add lots of dimension to some already great songs. These three are the crown jewels of this interesting crown, and are all worth listening to.

The rest of the album is all experimental and crazy. Expect odd note patterns, weird sound effects all over the place, and some deliciously funky bass playing. A lot of people forget to mention this, but Big B can absolutely molest your eardrums with his funky bass playing. Maybe that was a weird way of putting it, but yeah, he plays some great funk bass lines here. There are also lots of weird electronic drum beats that wouldn't be out of place in maybe a techno song. While some of Buckethead's experimental work can be brilliant, some of the songs here are examples of it being out of place. The best of the experimental songs on the album is definitely "Picking the Feathers", which is full of odd rhythms and some great (but weird) riffs. I also really enjoy "Tonka", with it's unique riff patterns and some pretty cool experimental sections. "Barnyard Banties" also has some wicked bass playing; slap-style goodness with lots of filter effects layered on. If you enjoy experimental rock or metal, you will love these tracks and I do recommend them.

Overall, this isn't bad at all, just a bit awkward at times. The Pike experience is a very long journey, and this might be a turn off for non- fans. It's not one of his best works at all, in fact, this one is probably a little below average for most of the Pike material. Not crazy enough to earn big points for me, but not straightforward enough to win big points in that respect either. This album isn't bad at all, it's a rather fun listening experience, and as a whole, I do really enjoy this album, especially "Brooding Peeps" and "Crack the Sky", both of which are really nostalgic with me. In the end, this is another quality Buckethead release, but definitely not one of the better Pikes.

Originally written for The Metal Archives