Helmet
Betty

THE REVIEW

Writing a review about an album from 1994 that no longer holds much value in the current rock scene compared to bands of much greater acclaim is anachronistic, but Helmet was famous not only for giving birth to a fusion between metal and grunge with stratospheric and very repetitive riffs, but also for inspiring bands like Tool, Deftones, and Korn.

Compared to the first two, "Strap It On" and "Meantime", where sonic violence was dominant, in "Betty" they chose to present more stylistically varied songs with various tempo and riff changes. The first three are a pleasure to listen to; "Wilma's Rainbow", "I Know", and "Buiscuits for Smut" are true metal in-your-face songs, especially the second one where the sonic deviation is emphasized with an intro in which the tempo increases, climbing the very tough-sounding verses and choruses to sing at the top of your lungs.
The fourth track "Milquetoast" is the best of the whole album with the last minute and a half being instrumental, also used for the film 'The Crow'. From here, you have to wait until the seventh track to hear another noteworthy song, "Street Crab" with industrial post-grunge style riffs, and it is, along with "I Know", the one that most reflects the origins of the band that date back to 1991, although in 1998 they would release an album of demos from "1988", and indeed, listening to it one cannot help but think of the innovation for those years.

The great "Vaccination" is what I mean by sonic deviation; a great interweaving of guitars, few words, continuous rhythm changes, leading to the instrumental track before "Speechless", followed by another instrumental, preceding "Overrated" the last track that ends with a grand solo. The work of drummer John Steiner, who continued to play with Mike Patton's Tomahawk, ex Faith No More, is superb, imbuing each song with style, moving from constant nuances to defined tempos that accompany the tracks.

As a fan of Helmet, I adore them because they have always conveyed to me a great sincerity in their way of making music, followed by a sound twisted and noisy with a devastating impact. Unique because they are the kind of band everyone would want to play in.