TO CROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE

I was introduced to Pike when they were featured as supporting act for Baroness during the band's 2012 Yellow & Green promotional tour. My initial impression of the band wasn't all that great while the trio performed their first composition, held back by pretty weak vocal performance by Alex Risberg on the track Nothing But Dust. Luckily the music had quite a few interesting twists to it and the instrumental interplay between the three members was surprisingly effective once the band entered the mellow experimental section of the track.

Still, it wasn't until the energetic second track, titled Mountainous, that Pike slowly began to win me over. There was a genuine feeling of excitement on my part as the trio progressed through this relatively short composition and, little did I know, the best was yet to come! The band took a short break as the front man, Alex Risberg, gave a short introduction to what would be their last track for the evening. Reassuringly, the composition in question was a 14 minute At The End Of Existence and it was a performance unlike any other that I've seen in quite some time! The intricate passages leading to the sludge metal meets James Hetfield vocal section was a huge improvement over the style I previously heard on Nothing But Dust as the track slowly progressed to the next section of its multi-part layering. The fast and heavy section that starts right around the forth minute is easily my favorite as it really takes the listener by surprise, especially on the album which until now has featured 40 minutes of slow experimental sludge metal! I'm really not going spoil the ending of this masterful composition as it really has to be heard to be believed.

To Cross The Great Divide is a colorful re-imagining of Pike in their live mode, professionally recorded on a disc in a studio for everyone to enjoy. I can't say I enjoy the first half of the album as much as its glorious second part, starting with Mountainous and Ned Land. But, overall, this is a solid record well worth discovering!

***** star songs: At The End Of Existence (13:38)

**** star songs: Nothing But Dust (9:03) Mountainous (5:39) Ned Land (11:32)

*** star songs: Rituale Romanum (10:55)