PANCAKE HEATER

PIKE 25 - PANCAKE HEATER is the 15th album released by BUCKETHEAD in 2013 and the 55th overall solo studio album. Another PIKE in his prolific 2013 output where BH once again handles all instrument duties while Dan Monti and Albert deliver the production. This one is divided up into 9 tracks and the total length is 31:23 where all the tracks are clearly separated. This one is mostly based in groove metal with some progressive and experimental touches

"Pancake Heater" (3:24) begins with a clean jazzy guitar and whacked out bass line that breaks into heavy metal. This one has a strange little time signature frenzy and incorporates jangly dissonant chords making this sound like tech doom and thrash and a little like Kayo Dot's early stuff on the slowed down parts

"Spires of Space Mountain" (3:28) doesn't waste anytime and just starts out with a heavy groove metal riff joined in by bass and drums. There are breaks that allow the guitar to groove unaccompanied. It really doesn't do much else

"Crumbled or Pelleted" (2:25) starts out slow and breaks into an alternative metal riff and not much else

"Topspin" (3:26) starts out slow and then breaks into metal riffs. It alternates between the crunchy guitar parts and then having them drop out. The riff is rather bouncy

"Trough Feeder" (3:34) starts out as a heavy alternative metal riff monster and pretty much stays that way and like the previous track alternates between the crushing metal guitar riff and letting it drop out. Pretty monotonous in how repetitive it is

"Omni Mover Assistance" (3:25) starts out with just a bass and light percussion. It soon breaks into the same kind of crunchy metal riff that every other track has. In fact it sounds very much like the other tracks in both timbre, bouncy bass lines and compositional style

"Sprinkled" (2:57) starts off with a clean guitar riff that surprise, surprise'. turns into a groovy metal riff! This one has a staccato delivery for the guitar. Same type of alternating guitar riffs in and out of the bouncy groove

"Beak to Scoop" (3:28) starts out as metal and pretty much repeats the same crunchy groove

"Storing Feed" (5:16) pretty much continues the march of groove metal that alternates crunchy metal parts with slower guitar free moments. This one has some extra echoey sounds that add an atmospheric layer to the metal madness making this the best track on the album since it actually does something a bit different

Nah, this one is fairly generic and as about as exciting as watching PANCAKES being HEATED, well it's not bad but the tracks are all too similar actually. There are a few moments of innovating interest but the overall contents are too few to keep me from going gaga over this one. Average groove metal experience. Don't expect Pantera! 2.5 rounded down