I was just going through some of my old radio playlists from the early-to-mid '90s, and I was startled how much I played a band that I have barely thought of since: Helmet.
Talk about rocking the rectum! The very respectable and preppy-looking band led by Glenn Branca-alumnus Page Hamilton, laid down massive slabs of sound in a precision-tooled aural assault of shouted/barked vocals, massively powerful guitar ripped from the very bowels of Hamilton's amplifier, and stop/start rhythms meant to dislocate and disturb.
The band broke periodically from the abrupt stops, and through repetition of sledgehammer riffs, built momentum to a fever pitch before breaking down again.
All of this required exceptional musicianship and is perversely addicting. Strap It On from '90 established the parameters of the band's attack, but the gold Meantime from '92 took them to another quantum level of precision, sonic clarity and power - it ranks with Nirvana's Nevermind among the greatest HARD rock albums of the decade. "Unsung," which cautions against the easy way out of suicide, builds to such an unbearable level of intensity that I threw up the first time I heard it. This is a good thing.
The band's followup, Betty, went in a much more complex and varied direction, but lost its power in the process. Then they just went away. Come back Page Hamilton and bring your HEAVY guitar with you.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i always wondered if anybody got Betty, thinking it was some nice pop album....they had a leeetle suprise comin' their way.
2 - Tom Johnson
Dammit, Eric, I haven't thought much about Helmet in years, but I bet I'll be out picking up a used copy of Meantime this weekend because of this . . . damn, there goes my budget again.
It just occured to me - isn't there a best-of coming out soon? I seem to recall seeing "Born Annoying - the best of" listed somewhere (and yes, I realize that this is the title of an early EP they put out . . . )
3 - Eric Olsen
A best-of could be interesting but I wouldn't change anything about "Strap It On" and "Meantime," especially the latter. Thanks guys.
4 - dnordquist
betty wasn't the end of it; an album called "aftertaste" followed.
hamilton has done work for films, and just put a track down for the underworld soundtrack.
he also assisted limp bizkit in the studio, but I don't know if he worked on anything that made the LP. his name also comes up with winona ryder.
he had a band that sounded pretty awesome called gandhi, but I guess that's being back-burnered or something. hamilton told some magazine that he's actually considering renaming the band "helmet" and putting another record out.
5 - Eric Olsen
Thanks D, I hope he comes back after this relatively fallow period.
6 - Tom Johnson
I actually picked up Aftertaste a couple days after this post appeared. It's not what I expected out of Helmet - much more variety than they'd exhibited in the past - but it has proven to be quite good, if not excellent, and stands as a precursor (and superior) to the nu-metal of today. Definitely recommended - but don't read reviews relevant to the release date - they slay the album unfairly for not sounding like the Helmet we all fell in love with.
7 - BRICKLAYER
BRICKLAYER'S 3 PERFECT 30 MINUTE (OR SO) ALBUMS
HELMET-MEANTIME
HATEBREED-SATISFACTION IS THE DEATH OF DESIRE
SLAYER-REIGN IN BLOOD
I once had the priveledge of seeing Helmet and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a roller rink-it was too sweet!
8 - Eric Olsen
Did they fall down a lot or were they pretty good on skates?
9 - BRICKLAYER
The guys in Helmet were pretty good, as they are all experienced sportsmen, but the Blues Explosion resembled a GBH saturated, psychotic roller derby team. Jon just sat in the middle of rink, yelling "Blues Explosion!" at his rented skates.