Helmet

Aftertaste (Interscope)
by Robert Parsons

“Sting and Helmet would rock.
Garth Brooks with Helmet would kick ass.
Linda Ronstadt with Helmet? I’d love it.
Alvin and The Chipmunks with Helmet –
anything with Helmet would be the best concert in the world.”
-posted by a fan to the Helmet internet mailing list

Aftertaste brings us back to square one. After a not-so-Helmet effort with 1994’s Betty, Page Hamilton and company come back with full knuckle-busting, abrasive force. Aftertaste is a complete Helmet offering, leading us back to 1990’s two-day recording session of their breakthrough album, Strap It On (Amphetamine Reptile). 1992’s Meantime marked the band’s major label debut with Interscope. With Betty, the band semi-successfully flirted with funk, jazz, and blues. Aftertaste, on the other hand, is a return to the basics: Page Hamilton’s signature blood-curdling yell linked with no-frills vocals, and the spine-crushing, metal-mechanical rhythm section of bassist Henry Bogdan and drummer John Stanier. The distinctive feature of this album is the addition of more grooves to their sound and Hamilton’s borderline melodic singing.

Produced by Dave “Barkmarket” Sardy, Aftertaste explodes with its first track, the AC/DC-influenced “Pure.” The album then slides into the chubby power pop of “Renovation,” followed by Hamilton’s rant-rage, “Exactly What You Wanted.” “Like I Care,” “Driving Nowhere,” and “Birth Defect,” carry the crisp noise-crawl and angst that defined Helmet’s earlier days, while “Broadcast Emotion” and “It’s Easy to Get Bored” are probably their catchiest songs to date. Aftertaste finishes strong with Hamilton’s spazzed-out guitar in dropped D (the low E is tuned down a step) and the incredibly tight bass and drums of “Insatiable” and “Crisis King.”

Helmet is a rock band, probably the most influential noise metal band of both the pre- and post-Nirvana era. Silverchair cite the band as a major influence, while both Korn (who toured with Helmet) and Pantera borrow from Helmet’s stripped down metal, open-shut timing, and detuned guitars.

Helmet is not a band without their share of problems. Hamilton is Helmet’s creative leader. He writes most of the band’s music and all of their lyrics. Because of this, Peter Mengede (co-founder/original rhythm guitarist) left the band and went on to form another group, Handsome. Mengede was replaced by Rob Echeverria, who also left the band and was later picked up by Biohazard. Eventually, Orange 9mm co-founder Chris Traynor picked up the band’s rhythm guitar duties. Although he doesn’t appear on the album, Traynor has adapted well to Helmet’s “king of urban grunge” sound and will be a welcomed addition to their live act. For Helmet fans, Aftertaste is a much-anticipated album that lives up to all expectations. This is Helmet’s Back in Black. Get it.