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Helmet (band)

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Helmet
Helmet The Hifi Bar, Melbourne May 2008
Helmet The Hifi Bar, Melbourne May 2008
Background information
OriginNew York City, New York, US
GenresAlternative metal, groove metal[1]
Years active1989–1998, 2004–present
LabelsAmphetamine Reptile, Interscope, Warcon, Work Song Records
MembersPage Hamilton
Kyle Stevenson
Dave Case
Dan Beeman
Past membersSee Members
Websitewww.helmetmusic.com

Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member.

Helmet has released seven studio albums and two compilation albums. The band found mainstream success with their 1992 major label debut Meantime, which debuted at number 68 on the Billboard 200, with singles "Unsung" and "In the Meantime". After the release of Betty (1994) and Aftertaste (1997), Helmet broke up in 1998, but reformed in 2004. The band released their fifth album, Size Matters, later that year and it was their last release on their longtime label Interscope Records. They were briefly signed with Warcon Records, who released their sixth album, Monochrome, on July 18, 2006. Currently, Helmet are signed to Work Song Records, who released their seventh album Seeing Eye Dog.

History

Early years (1989–1991)

After Hamilton had left the Band of Susans, Helmet formed in early 1989. They were spotted by Tom Hazelmyer and signed to Amphetamine Reptile Records, releasing their debut 7 inch single, "Born Annoying", later that year. AmRep released their first album, Strap it On, in 1990.

Helmet was acclaimed as a "Thinking person's heavy metal band." Eschewing the traditional heavy metal image of long hair and black clothing, the band stood out with their preference for simple t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers, and short haircuts. Their music is characterized by repetitive, syncopated, staccato guitar riffs, often in distorted time signatures, and almost always in a minor key with drop-D or drop-C tuning. The guitar sound is heavily distorted and dissonant, with choruses that often involve guitar feedback waves.

Before Hamilton had settled on a name, the guitarist Peter Mengede's then-girlfriend suggested the name "Helmut". Opting for the Anglicized spelling, Hamilton thought Helmet "sounded like a cool name for a band."[citation needed] Other names considered were "Cry Ruth" and "Poly Orchids", along with the more esoteric "Tuna Lorenzo" and "Froth Albumen".

Mainstream success (1992–1998)

The band rose to the mainstream after signing to Interscope Records in early 1992. It is rumored that the members received in excess of $1 million at signing, along with an unprecedented amount of control over their work. Their first Interscope release, Meantime, was released in 1992 and certified Gold in 1994. The album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and remains Helmet's top-selling album.

Former drummer John Stanier.

Helmet toured the United States, Brazil, Europe, and Asia relentlessly, generally with other AmRep recording artists. Internal tensions rose high at times. In early 1993, guitarist Peter Mengede left the band and was replaced by Rob Echeverria, guitarist of hardcore band Rest in Pieces. The band's third album, Betty, was released in 1994. Despite managing the band's highest-ever chart position on the Billboard 200 at number 45, the album failed to sell as much as Meantime. Total U.S. sales of Betty are just over 275,000 as of April 2006.[citation needed] After recording and touring in support of Betty, Echeverria left to join Biohazard; however, his departure was much more amicable than Mengede's.

The band elected to push on and record 1997's Aftertaste as a three-piece. After recording was complete, guitarist Chris Traynor (formerly of Orange 9mm) was recruited for the supporting tour. Although the song "Exactly What You Wanted" became a moderate radio hit, the album spent only a few weeks on the Billboard 200 and has sold 135,000 copies as of April 2006.[citation needed] The Aftertaste Tour in 1997–98 would prove to be the band's last. Amid long-standing private disputes, the members decided to call it quits. Asked about the breakup, Hamilton replied, "9 years, 1,600 shows, 5 albums, and we found it hard to look at each other anymore"[2]

Aftermath and subsequent projects (1999–2003)

After the dissolution of Helmet, the members went on to numerous different projects.

Hamilton relocated from New York to Los Angeles, California and became involved in many different projects, from playing guitar for David Bowie to doing sessions for film scores, working with composer Elliot Goldenthal on the 1999 soundtracks to In Dreams and Titus; Hamiltons second time working with Goldenthal, the first being the 1995 soundtrack to the movie Heat. When working on film scores, he was part of a "guitar orchestra" called "Deaf Elk"[3] with other guitarists of which he was the primary. He periodically returned to New York to work with his band Gandhi, which is where several of the songs appearing on Size Matters began.

Bogdan formed the Moonlighters, for which he played steel guitar, in New York with Bliss Blood, before returning home to Oregon to play for the Midnight Serenaders. Stanier took a break from drumming for over a year, but returned to play drums for Tomahawk, The Mark of Cain and Battles.

Reunion (2004–present)

After moving to Los Angeles, Hamilton began working with drummer John Tempesta (formerly of Testament and White Zombie) on a new project. After searching for a record label and a name for the project, Hamilton was urged by Jimmy Iovine of Interscope to release the new project under the established Helmet moniker, to which Interscope held the rights. Hamilton had resisted for some time, but since his relationships with Stanier and Bogdan had not improved since 1998, and his previous offers to reunite had been rebuffed or ignored, he decided to move on and release more music as Helmet without them.

Page Hamilton circa 2008.

Chris Traynor, still on good terms with Hamilton, soon came on board to cover bass and guitar parts. With Tempesta on drums and Hamilton covering vocals and guitar, the three recorded Size Matters in early 2004. Frank Bello was later recruited to play bass on the supporting tour; however, he left before its conclusion to reunite with his original band, Anthrax. Jeremy Chatelain replaced Bello for the duration of the tour. John Tempesta left in early 2006 to join The Cult.

In late 2005, Helmet parted ways with Interscope. Helmet then signed with Warcon Enterprises and announced that a new album was in the works. Helmet performed at the 2006 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, with a temporary lineup consisting of Charlie Walker on drums, Chris Traynor on bass, and Anthony Truglio (formerly of Gandhi) on guitar. The new album, Monochrome, was recorded and co-produced by Wharton Tiers, who recorded Helmet's first two albums, Strap It On and Meantime. For the album, Hamilton and Traynor returned to the studio with newly recruited drummer, Mike Jost (formerly of Adair). Helmet headlined the 2006 Warped Tour in support of Monochrome, with Jeremy Chatelain reprising his role from the 2005 Size Matters tour.

In September 2006, Chris Traynor announced that he had left the band after nearly a decade of working with Page Hamilton. A few days later, Mike Jost also left the band to attend to his duties as a new father. Jeremy Chatelain also made other commitments. Hamilton announced in early October 2006 that the new drummer and bassist was Kyle Stevenson and Jon Fuller, respectively, both from Milwaukee, and both previously members of The Big Collapse. Jimmy Thompson also joined the band on guitar in 2006, but was replaced by Dan Beeman by late 2008. Due to line-up changes, Hamilton was forced to cancel many shows scheduled for late 2006 in the U.S. and Europe. Helmet opened up for Guns N' Roses for the remaining dates of their tour in December 2006. The band toured Australia in April and May 2008, playing shows throughout the eastern and southern coasts.

In 2007, the band recorded the song called "Revenge Destroys Everything" for the movie soundtrack, TATUA. Based from the comic book of the same name by Paul Jenkins. A music video was made for the song. Helmet did another music video on "Money Shot" from their album, Monochrome, for another movie soundtrack, The Dreamless.

Helmet set Seeing Eye Dog as the title of its new album. It was released September 7, 2010 via Work Song, the label imprint shared by singer/songwriter Joe Henry and Helmet frontman Page Hamilton's manager. Stevenson and Beeman both reprise their roles for Seeing Eye Dog along with new bassist Dave Case.

Most recently, Helmet have contributed to a compilation album released by Engine Room Recordings titled Guilt by Association Vol. 3. On the album, Helmet covered the song "Crazy Nights" by Loudness.

On 20 November 2011 Helmet announced the European Meantime Anniversary Tour running from 5 March to 8 April 2012 encompassing 28 shows in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and the UK during which they intend to play the whole of the 20 year old Meantime album.[4]

Musical style

The majority of critics mainly agree that Helmet are an alternative metal band,[5][6][7] however the band have been categorized under many genres over the years, including post-hardcore,[8] alternative rock,[6][9] noise rock,[5] experimental metal,[10] post-metal[11] and groove metal.[6] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News has labeled Helmet as smart rock.[12]

Legacy and influences

The New York Times called Helmet "a band that made important connections between indie-rock and metal."[12] They have had a large impact on many alternative metal and nu metal groups, with bands such as Tool, Pantera, System of a Down, Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Silverchair, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Chevelle and Deftones citing Helmet as an influence.[9][13][14][12] Helmet have also influenced modern post-hardcore and metalcore groups, such as Killswitch Engage and Norma Jean.[12]

They are considered early pioneers of the nu metal genre,[15][16] with the band's use of drop d tuning influencing many in the genre. Frontman Page Hamilton said "it's frustrating that people write [us] off because we're affiliated with or credited with or discredited with creating nu-metal and rap metal or whatever the fuck it is, which we sound nothing like."[17]

Discography

Main article: Helmet discography

Studio albums

Members

Further information: List of Helmet band members
Current members
  • Page Hamilton – vocals/guitar (1989–1998, 2004-present)
  • Kyle Stevenson – drums (2006–present)
  • Dan Beeman – guitar (2008–present)
  • Dave Case – bass (2010–present)
Former members

See also

References

  1. ^ "Terrorizer Magazine Helmet Melvins tour".
  2. ^ "Web Chat with Page Hamilton". Bowie Wonderland. September 28, 2000. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  3. ^ "Deaf Elk". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  4. ^ "Tour Dates - Helmet". Helmetmusic.com. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Alternative Metal". Allmusic. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Sharpe-Young, Garry. "Helmet". MusicMight. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  7. ^ "SPIN - Google Books". Books.google.com.au. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  8. ^ "Music - Review of Helmet - Seeing Eye Dog". BBC. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  9. ^ a b Meredith, Bill. "Helmet". Allmusic. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  10. ^ Senft, Michael (July 6, 2006). "Warped Tour a hit in new digs". The Arizona Republic. Gannett Company. Retrieved May 7, 2012. Early arrivals were able to see experimental metal pioneers Helmet as well as retro punks the Casualties.
  11. ^ "Helmet Rediscovery". X-Press Online. March 28, 2007. Archived from the original on August 31, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d comments policy  4  comments posted. "Helmet Return With 'Monochrome' | News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2013-02-26. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Official Biography Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  14. ^ "Helmet Biography - Music Artist Band Biographies - Artists Bands Bio - FREE MP3 Downloads". Music.us. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
  15. ^ Condran, Ed. "Nu metal pioneer Helmet returns". Courier Times. Retrieved 2012-10-17. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Prato, Greg (2006-07-18). "Monochrome - Helmet : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
  17. ^ comments policy  155  comments posted. "Helmet: We're Better Than 99.9% Of The Other Bands Out There | News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 2013-02-21. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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