| Helmet - Strap it On Interscope, 1990 Gloon: Firstly, this is possibly the worst band name/album name combination I have ever seen and had I not known Helmet previously I wouldn't have purchased purely on principle (what were they thinking?). Secondly my motivation behind the purchase in the first place was due to the infamously risky 'backtracking' habit, after being blown away by the bands second release 'Meantime'. Strap it On is Helmet's debut effort, and though their trademark guitar sound and approach is present the production is a little thin and the songs fairly average. Page Hamilton's vocals aren't quite on song either lacking the power and conviction of future releases. The album still has its moments however, 'Sinatra' and 'Blacktop' coming to mind, however as a whole this is hardly a 'must have' album. I fairly competent debut and Helmet fans will no doubt purchase anyway, for those of you unfamiliar with Helmet I suggest you give this one a miss and look at their more recent efforts. Favourite Tracks - Blacktop, Sinatra Rating - 6/10 Helmet - Meantime Interscope, 1992 Gloon: This album was where I was first introduced to Helmet, wow what an introduction! Helmet hits you hard, fast and LOUD!!!! with 3-4 minute hate anthems that will have you rocking and banging like a son of a bitch. The guitar sound is now perfected with a better production job the riffs are distorted and crushing sounding totally unique and ultra heavy. Page Hamilton's vocals are also improved and more aggressive than ever especially on the end of 'Turned Out'. Helmet has a very unique sound that's is hard to describe but as a very basic reference point take Rollins Band and The Mark of Cain and chuck in a little groove and a shit load more power and you might be starting to get the picture. What however is most impressive with Meantime is its consistency, every song is enjoyable and capturing with no dud tracks or dreaded fillers. In Summary this can be described as Helmet's 'Reign in Blood' or 'Master of Puppets' as the album they will most likely be remembered for and most likely never surpass. Favourite Tracks - In the Meantime, Turned Out, Unsung Rating - 9/10 Helmet - Betty Interscope, 1994 Gloon: Just look at that cover, possibly the nicest, gayest, warm fuzziest cover to ever disgrace metal, though looks can be deceiving.......Underneath this pretty exterior lurks one hell of a ultra heavy, crunching album, Helmet style. The first thing you notice after the first spin of Betty is the vocals. Page Hamilton displays more variation and melody than on earlier releases more extremely shown on the Bluesy-Swinging 'Silver Hawaiian' and hick banjo distortion fest 'Sam Hell' (very weird). Betty is also Helmets most experimental and varied album with tracks such as 'Biscuits for Smut' with its Primus similarities and the 70s feel of 'Rollo' leading Helmet into previously uncharted territory. However there are still a shitload of good old fashioned Helmet tracks to keep the more traditional fan happy. The opener 'Wilma's Rainbow' is classic Helmet with crunching riffs and haunting vocals, and then there is the awesome 'Milquetoast' (can be found on The Crow soundtrack) and the Unsungish 'I Know'. Overall a bit of a weird progression from Meantime, yet still enjoyable, different yet the same. Favourite Tracks - Milquetoast, Speechless, Tic Rating - 8.5/10 Helmet - Aftertaste Interscope, 1997 Gloon: With their last album 'Aftertaste', Helmet manages to wed the feel and aggression of their earlier releases with the production and melody of 'Betty' to create a solid medium for their swansong. The sometimes weird and humorous experimentation found on 'Betty' is absent, as the band return to their roots for their final outing. The production is once again high and the guitars once again cranked with the opener 'Pure' laying to rest any doubts of where this album is heading. As mentioned 'Aftertaste' is a return to the 'Meantime' days but with a more polished finish, songs such as 'Renovation' and 'Exactly What You Wanted' are some of the strongest material they have written. However 'Aftertaste' neither has the consistency of 'Meantime' or diversity of 'Betty' with some of the later tracks blissfully passing the listener by without leaving any lasting impressions. Still a great album and highly recommended, just lacking that little bit extra. Favourite Tracks - Renovation, Exactly What You Wanted, Like I Care Rating - 8/10 Helmet – Size Matters Interscope, 2004 Gloon: After 7 long years in the wilderness Page Hamilton finally has come to hes sense and reformed one of the legends of 90s alternative rock, Helmet are back baby bigger and better than ever. Returning from the glory days with Page is his six string partner in crime Chris Traynor and metal heavy weights Frank Bello (yep Anthrax’s ex bassist) and drumming journey man John Tempesta (White Zombie/Testament). Size Matters in many ways sounds as if Helmet never left as musically and production wise it is a perfect companion for the bands last outing in ‘Aftertaste’. Where it differs however is in the improved song writing and consistency of quality as it boast a horde of great songs with out any dreaded fillers or so-so tracks. Page’s voice has again improved and while he rarely reaches the anger and intensity of the bands earlier days he still maintains a great balance between the melodic and the menacing keeping the songs heavy and powerful. Its amazing that while not changing their sound for well over a decade, the Helmet guitar crunch and power still sounds as fresh and unique as it did all those years ago. A great return album and lets hope Page keeps the band together this time and we don’t have to wait another 7 years for a new record. Favourite Tracks – Smart, Everybody Loves You, Crashing Foreign Cars Rating – 8.5/10 Helmet ‘Monochrome’ Warcon Rec, 2006 Gloon: ‘Size Matters’ was a personal highlight with the band returning after a long layoff with an all star line up and rejuvenated front man to produce a strong and satisfying comeback album, Monochrome unfortunately fails to maintain that positive vibe and sees the band fall into a limbo of past and present. Page Hamilton for whatever reason has chosen to return to the feel and production of Meantime but has failed to also return to that style of song writing and approach resulting in a sort of half arsed nostalgia that wont satisfy the old or the new fans. ‘Brand New’ is just a terrible rip off (riff for riff) of older greats while tracks such as ‘Monochrome’ would have been much better served with the new production and more polished feel of the more recent albums. There are some decent cuts on offer such as ‘410’ and single ‘Gone’ but overall the album just lacks spark and fails to recapture either their past aggression or recent polish and class, ultimately disappointing. Favourite Tracks – 410, Gone Rating – 6/10 |
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