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Rating: Henry Bogdan (bass), John Stanier (drums), Peter Mengede (guitar), and Page Hamilton (vocals and guitar) are Helmet.
They are the flag bearers of that sub-genre baptized as “noise” born in New York at the turn of the '80s and '90s. It's music with great physical impact and power. The four do nothing but take hardcore punk and rein it in by slowing it down and giving it a cadence, thus inventing a powerful sound where compressed riffs seem to suffocate in the metronomic beats relentlessly dictated by Stanier's drums.
Ten solid and monolithic tracks, obsessive rhythms but also melodic threads to discover among the riffs with a vague blues flavor. This results in an original album that can be enjoyed with pleasure, even though the dominant sensation is quite claustrophobic and tense, reminiscent of some R.A.T.M. solutions.
Notable tracks include at least “In The Meantime,” “Ironhead,” “Unsung,” and “Turned Out” for an album that should not be missing from the collection of any fan of "amphetaminic" rock and also appreciable by the metal audience while having the merit of never crossing into it.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 In the Meantime (03:09)
earth tone suits you
so give it a smile
if i could hold your feet down
get to know for awhile
to make due is a promise
hard to keep without help
never taught to look in
i'm too concerned with my health
helpm me spread right, ash is
cow fertilized
come down in a feed town
strength to minimize
hold it...
in the meantime x3
(screams)
in the meantime...the meantime
02 Ironhead (03:22)
Safe to kill
It all comes back or
Stick it out and
Wage my own attack
Lift me up through
What I've found
Bite my lip
How far down is down?
Time to take
What I know
Keep it in and
Live here all alone
What's the worst or
Better dead
Wear it out
The pain is in my head
03 Give It (04:17)
killing hurts
has to be done
peace and love and
who's number one
the right to give
learn to bleed it's free
pain is outside
lift it up to see
step ahead
always wear the past
dying soothe me
beneath the smell of grass
no world secret
kept is too intent
i've got my nerve
self-help confidence
confidence
04 Unsung (03:57)
Your contribution left unnoticed some
Association with an image
Just credit time for showing up again
Attention wandered I'm left with it
Gone by sin too slowly
Can't pass it up
Then I thought nothing is right
I turned it off
To die unsung would really bring you down
Although wet eyes would never suit you
Walk through no archetypal suicide
Die young is far too boring these days
Your will to speak clearly
Exposed too much
Unsung once too often
Could not rub off
05 Turned Out (04:14)
come off crisp and play up to cynic
clean and schooled right down to the minute
you need to hear that your life is rough
speaking out and cold that you've had enough
you know how to live and your heart's gone "bi"
substance rush is giving art a try
your righteous squat's been burned to the ground
pass the buck
never utter a sound
high times, hard times
downtown julie brown
you turned out
wasted time
need escape me
missed it, right?
you turned out
take my time
give it to you
get out
07 Better (03:10)
get it right
my last word sins
i taste it now
omission wins
for keeping down
my better side
i still ignore
and try to hide
so get out
the easy word
will never slip
i brought it down
to take the lip
don't need to know
don't have to feel
your better side
i had to steal
your better, you die better
write down the day, expend it
work it in again, death ends it
08 You Borrowed (03:45)
i'll throw you scraps and talk
the bad things
the language or the motive
affected shown is
self imitating
trust the dying breed
the pitch i made has been
on my end i trust in
what's left here
to lie is
admired you trust in
without fear
you borrow
my world of one speak up
the good things
the guidelines let me follow
offense is borrowed
10 Role Model (03:34)
assume my stance
i could certain lose it
reach out
show you help
look down and take a chance
feel like i've gone
too far the reason comes
beg to know
talk to hear
wonder how it came out wrong
one saves
gone right
one begs
lost sight
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Other reviews
By supersoul
Helmet is ruthless in rejecting captivating embellishments, surgical in controlling their aggressive anger.
The tons of riffs they unload on you are so granite and edgy that you find yourself catapulted with shocking realism onto the streets of the Big Apple.
