Buckethead Pike Album Reviews
A review of Pike 94 'Magic Lantern' by Buckethead, released November 27th 2014
Good evening everybody, today we're back with another trip to Bucketheadland for Buckethead's 94th Pike album 'Magic Lantern'. So, let's begin. Woo!!
Released November 27th 2014, Pike 94 was the 3rd of 4 albums released that month alone, with the 5 track album kicking off with its title track 'Magic Lantern'.
The song immediately locks you in with a fantastic riff that's utilized effectively throughout the track, intertwined with some crazy shred guitar sequences and the occasional killswitchery. It does go slightly too long toward the end, but still a solid opening track, classic riff and one that'll surely get your head banging!
Track 2 'Chess Roof' again kicks off with a solid riff and really gets into gear around the 80 second mark with an outstanding lick that thankfully it revisits later on in the track. Solid song.
Track 3 is the albums longest track, the 10 minute 'First Corridor'. A funk jam, the first 3 minutes toll on a fairly unremarkable riff before picking up some what toward the middle and then losing its momentum nearer the end. There's some nice moments sprinkled throughout but overall this feels more of a throwaway jam that would be revisited with far more focus 1 month later on Pike 99 'Polar Trench'. Likely recorded during the same sessions.
From the longest track to the shortest, with track 4 'Wind from Where'. And in all honesty, its an extra 4 minutes of the same thing we just heard in the previous track, just slightly better. The track does hit a really nice section around 2.5 minutes that shouldve been explored more but unfortunately is soon thrown away.
The album concludes with the 5 minute 'Land of the Lanterns'. And it's a completely different shift and tone to anything played previous. A slow crawl ballad, that despite feeling out of place on the album is a welcome addition. And even though it might not reach 4th or 5th gear, its an enjoyable listen and a good song to end with.
Overall, Pike 94 isn't one of the better flowing Pike albums. The first 2 tracks lead with some outstanding riffs, the following 2 tracks are funk jams that Buckethead has done multiple times before but better, with the final track being an enjoyable crawl. Its certainly not a bad album, it's Okay, but it's not one that I revisit often, and is far better suited throwing tracks 1, 2 & 5 in with other Pike songs, and setting your ipod to shuffle.
After adding up the rating I gave for each track, It came to exactly 62%, which I'd categorize as Good, just slightly above Average. And you can find my song ratings and breakdown on our website natternet.com
So, what's your rating for Pike 94?
To work out what percentage you'd give the album, rate each song out of 5 stars, add up your total and divide it by the total score possible, which for Pike 94 is 25. Then times it by 100.
Pike 94 'Magic Lantern' RATINGS (out of 5)
1. Magic Lantern ***½ (3.5)
2. Chess Roof ***¼ (3.25)
3. First Corridor **½ (2.5)
4. Wind from Where **¾ (2.75)
5. Land of the Lanterns ***½ (3.5)
Album length: 29:27
Total = 15.5 out of 25 (Album = 62%, Good)
1-20 % = Poor
20- 40 % = Below Average
40-60 % = Average
60-80 % = Good
80-100 % = Awesome
Buy the album HERE