PIKE 23 - TELESCAPE

PIKE 23 - TELESCAPE is the 13th album released by BUCKETHEAD in 2013 and the 53rd overall solo studio album. Yet another all instrumental PIKE finds BH performing all instruments and Dan Monti and Albert picking up production duties. This PIKE clocks in at 32:14 and has six tracks

"Pyramids Rising" (3:17) starts out with some ambient noises and then breaks into alternative metal guitar riffage. This one is pretty normal after two avant-garde PIKEs. This track keeps itself firmly placed into the metal world without changing. Rather generic sounding though

"Between Sea and Sky" (3:00) starts with a clean guitar and then bursts into a chuggin' metal riff attack where it remains only changing up different parts but maintains its intensity with only a couple slowed down parts

"Land Drawings" (3:44) begins with a slow distorted guitar riff and then let's loose into another chuggin' metal riff. In the middle there is a very slow part but mostly it remains hard and heavy

"Launch Pad" (4:04) is yet another that starts out slow and doomy and then turns up the heat and starts the metal riffage. This one has a talking guitar part that simulates vocals. The heavy and softer parts trade off and the extra weird effects stick around

"Telescape 1" (10:28) takes up 1/3 of the album and begins nice and slow with a clean guitar and atmospheric feel and then has some echo riffs before following suit and becoming another heavy alternative metal riff based track. There are some sporadic electronic effects. Despite its length its pretty much like the other tracks only it lets the different parts go on longer. It has the same pattern of alternating softer and heavier passages. It is a more satisfying track because the heavy metal and addition of what sounds like video game noises brings the old school arcade game Asteroids to mind while looking at the album cover

"Telescape 2" (7:41) after the long spacey outro of the previous track, this one just breaks straight into alternative metal riffage and THEN softens it up after a minute. It slowly creeps back up the intensity and heaviness but never exceeds mid-tempo. I like the riff. It has a nice looping effect that allows repetition to infinity. Half way through it enters crunchy chuggin' metal territory without speeding up and it continues on by alternating the softer and heavier passages

This is a great alternative metal album instrumentally speaking but this is the kind of music that needs some good vocals over it. It sounds rather naked and incomplete actually as there are no extra touches for the most part except the electronic effects on "Launch Pad" and "Telescape 1." Not even many guitar solos except on last track. An OK but not outstanding PIKE