CREAKY DOORS AND CREAKY FLOORS

PIKE 112 - CREAKY DOORS AND CREAKY FLOORS is the 11th album released by BUCKETHEAD in 2015. This one is just shy of the half hour mark and clocks in at 29:16 and has only two long tracks each comprising one half of the title.

CREAKY DOORS is the first track and clocks in at 16:01. It starts in with a no-nonsense hard rock guitar riff and virtuosic soloing. The bass is extra beefy and the rhythm guitar is fast and punchy with some occasional jangly interludes. Like many of the PIKES this one is a long-ass guitar jam with BUCKETHEAD playing all the instruments. This track is very typical and extra heavy on the ripping solos that wind their ways across an otherwise fairly meh soundscape. There are meager variations going on and i find this one fairly boring.

CREAKY FLOORS is the second track and clocks in at 13:15. This track starts with a hard rockin' guitar riff but it has intermittent electronic embellishments making it sound a bit like that talk box effect in Alice In Chain's "Man In The Box." The bass has a repetitive role and the guitar has a bit more variety on this track. The soloing is pretty much like the first track. Kinda bluesy but also has that virtuosic flair. There is more of a bass feel to this track. There are a few little moments with some unpredictability but basically is a near quarter wankfest with a solo here, a solo there each one trying to out-blues the next while staying fast and furious but eventually has touches of brilliance in the middle with some weird slides, electronica and soloing with a droning repetitive bass. I wish more of this album was like this part.

Overall very decent playing going on here but song structures very weak despite some parts toward the end that i find quite interesting. Ultimately not enough to warrant the time lengths. Cool album cover though. 2.5 rounded down