BUCKETHEAD — Pike 124 - Rotten Candy Cane (review)

BUCKETHEAD — Pike 124 - Rotten Candy Cane album cover Album · 2015 · Avant-garde Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
PIKE 124 - ROTTEN CANDY CANE is the 23rd album by BUCKETHEAD in 2015. This one clocks in at 29:44 and has 15 tracks each being a one letter title that spells out ROTTEN CANDY CANE! Once again BUCKETHEAD plays all the instruments and hits a home run on one of his most wild eclectic adventures that i’ve ever heard from the chicken lover.

Right away this album sets itself apart from anything else i’ve heard from BUCKETHEAD. It starts with a xylophone type sound that is then accompanied by a ferocious metal riff and lead and then suddenly drops into a slow paced spacey and echoey bass with a guitar lead over it. Then a bird chirping noise joins a hip hop type beat and then the lead guitar starts in again playing fast for a few seconds and then dropping out. Hey! I’m really digging this one. The music just keeps twisting and turning. Soft and mellow funk for a few measures then an outburst of thrashy metal, then a dark ambient segment with pig squeal type guitar sounds with a fog horn type bass.

The changes just keep coming and the change between track one “R” and track two “o” is imperceptible, but as “o” continues it is the same alternating styles with ambience, metal, funk and well, you name it taking turns shining in the light changing into something else without notice. The rest of the album pretty much continues this approach but despite the onslaught of ideas, there is usually a theme, beat or ambient drone that keeps it all tied together.

ROTTEN CANDY CANE is like Mr Bungle or Fantômas 2.0 with a constant parade of styles, sounds, beats, rhythms, leads and eclecticness that you have to hear to believe. This definitely falls into the avant-garde camp but despite being wickedly strange has plenty of parts that sound like some kind of normal music albeit in short bursts. This album kinda reminds me of “Kaleidoscalp” that took the same approach but this one is on steroids.

There are just too many musical ideas to list and after countless PIKES that bore me to tears with mediocrity and repetition, this one more than makes up for all that. This IS my favorite PIKE that i’ve heard so far. This is the creative genius who i knew had something special lurking in that chicken coop. This album is highly recommended for the most adventurous music lovers who dream of the day when Mr Bungle collaborates with Faust, Squarepusher and Steve Vai with brief cameos from Slayer. LOVE IT!
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Unitron wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Great review, this sounds like a really good one. I'll have to check this one out.

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