THAW (PIKE 20)

PIKE 20 - THAW is the 10th album released by BUCKETHEAD in 2013 and the 50th overall solo studio album. Another zany all instrumental album finding BUCKETHEAD delivering all the musical performances but at this point the production is still handled by Dan Monti and Albert. This PIKE was simultaneously released with "Pike 19 - Teeter Slaughter" and delivers another wild and whacked out ride in BUCKETHEADLAND

"Thaw" (8:07) starts out with highly distorted jangly guitar chords striking and sustaining and then it becomes even more distorted and turns into very slow grungy doom metal. The tempo picks up with drums but it stays mid-tempo that eventually turns into an alternating clean guitar section and a thrash metal section. Generally speaking, this one throws a new style at us and sustains it for a few measures and then tries something new bases on the same melodic development. The true grit is in the heavy distortion and doom inspired dreadful mood

"Melting Season" (2:26) is a much more energetic and frenetic number with a screeching guitar giving way to low tuned chugging riffs sounding rather sludgy

"Room of Frozen Combs" (3:12) is back to slow and doomy feeling with a strange slide guitar thing going on. Sounds like the guitars are tuned down as humanly possible. Has a weird drone section between a section with percussion and a clean guitar unaccompanied arpeggio section. Reverts back to grungy doom metal and continues to trade off sections

"Kept in Batteries" (2:46) is another screecher with a strange high pitched guitar lick that becomes joined by a grungy doom inspired mid-tempo guitar riff. The two styles trade-off and heavier parts become heavier. Has very strange time sigs at times

"Dry" (3:05) is another heavily distorted doom-fueled guitar intro that suddenly gets joined by a funky bass line that funkifies the doom guitar grunge. Then back to mid-tempo doom metal and then back to doom funk etc and even gets thrashy

"Fragmented" (6:53) is a slower doom metal track that reminds of early Sabbath only more distorted and incorporates some thrashy riffs that sustain alternate with the slowed down doom metal. Patterns repeat with some swirling electronic effects in the background. This one has a solo and clean guitar parts as well and has a little freak out towards the end

"Dust Filter" (2:15) is a bluesy metal rocker with a mid-tempo grungy riff workout with the same doom distortion effects that sounds like a demo or something

"In the Bin" (1:54) is a short little bluesy rocker that is quite uninspiring

"Fountains in a Wire" (1:32) is a short clean arpeggiated guitar riff with bass and drums that breaks into classic 80s metal fury and then a bit of doom metal and then poof it's gone

This one has some great stuff on it but many of the tracks use the same ideas albeit in different ways. The cool parts are really cool but there is a bit of repetition to this PIKE and the last three tracks are just filler

3.5 rounded down