HELMET

"Blending Noise Rock and Hardcore Punk to Heavy Music"

"To die unsung would really bring you down,
Although wet eyes would never suit you
Walk through no archetypal suicide to
Die young is far too boring these days."

Lyric section from

Song: - Unsung

Album: - Meantime

Year: - 1992

Introduction

Helmet is another one of those obscure bands that are not known to many people, especially to the mainstream audience. It was the early 90s and the Grunge movement was blowing up all over the world. Nirvana released their ground-breaking “Nevermind” in 1991, Alice in Chains released their debut and sophomore hits “Facelift” (1990) and “Dirt” (1992), Soundgarden released back-to-back hits “Badmotorfinger” and “Superunknown” in 1991 and 1994. Pearl Jam’s “Ten” in 1991 and Stone Temple Pilots’ “Core” and “Purple” in 1992 and 1994 were huge hits respectively.

The grunge movement was so huge that so many other bands went unnoticed at that time. A few examples are TAD, Malfunkshun, Quicksand, Mudhoney, Toadies, and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Helmet was one such band.

Helmet defied having an “edgy” rock-and-roll image at a time when having a rock-and-roll lifestyle was the dream for any band playing rock and metal. The band members of Helmet looked like some normal dudes whom you would meet at a supermarket buying groceries. None of the band members had flashy long hair, wore denim jackets or cargo shorts, had tattoos or wore piercings, or any other form of showmanship that was otherwise considered the typical rock-and-roll lifestyle. They were all about the music and rightfully so, their music did all the talking.

Monstrous riffs, and satisfyingly tight rhythm sections incorporating elements of Noise Rock, which was heavily influenced by the New York Hardcore Scene, a big regional scene at that time. Let’s discover Helmet and their influences.

Background and Members

Helmet is primarily a four-piece band but has undergone numerous line-up changes since its inception, with Page Hamilton being the band leader, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the only constant member through the years. Let’s talk about Page Hamilton for a bit, because he is one of my favorite modern guitarists.

Page Hamilton was born in Portland, Oregon. He went on to study music and guitar and specialized in jazz guitar at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. That’s where he got introduced to the New York Hardcore Punk scene which was gaining popularity in the underground music scene. During his course of studying music, he played in avant-garde composer Glenn Branca's guitar orchestra, performing the composer's Symphony No.6 (Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven), and joined noise rock band ” Band of Susans”, performing on their Love Agenda album and Peel Sessions before finally forming his own group, Helmet. Page Hamilton is a huge guitar, musical gear, and tone nerd and gets into the nitty-gritty of setting up his tone when it comes to playing.

Band leader Page Hamilton

Helmet’s most successful line-up was with their albums “Meantime” and “Betty”. Especially with John Stainer on the drums. Known for his impressive snare tone, playing alongside Page Hamilton and Peter Mengede on guitars and Henry Bogdan on bass to produce some of the meanest, hardest, and tightest riffs and rhythm sections coupled with Noise Rock influenced chaotic guitar solos, Helmet cemented their sound and tone to heavily pioneer the alternative metal that we listen to in today’s times.

Meantime and Betty – A benchmark for Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, and Post Grunge

Meantime (1992) and Betty (1994) were outstanding pioneering albums for their time. So ahead of their time, that so many popular bands that came out later like Korn, Deftones, Chevelle, Slipknot, Disturbed, Rammstein, Static-X, System of A Down, Three Days Grace, Tool, Staind, Linkin Park, Silverchair, Limp Bizkit and a plethora of many early 2000s bands would be directly and heavily influenced by them. There are still countless other bands that have been indirectly influenced by Helmet.

Especially the way they played their tight rhythm sections is what set them apart. Tight sections are often characterized by drums and bass simultaneously played in a very super precise way and perfect syncopation, often complementing the guitars playing power chords propelling the groove of the song forward making it an instant headbanging delight.

While they don’t experiment much with complex stuff like time signatures and tempo changes, they do experiment with guitar tones and adopt different tuning standards for each album. He looks out after the guitar tone and overall song structure during production.

Meantime by Helmet

Betty by Helmet

Lyrical Analysis

Page Hamilton’s lyrics are often abstract for analysis. Being the core creative member of the band, he often writes stuff mostly about broad topics such as

Philosophical Musings (songs like “Wilma’s Rainbow” and “Better”)
Existential Crisis (songs like “Driving Nowhere” and “Pure”)
Self-Introspection and Isolation (songs like “In the Meantime”, “Unsung” and "Milquetoast")
Socio-Political Commentary (songs like “I Know” and “Speechless”).

Hamilton's heavy emphasis on rhythm also reflects in how he sings his lyrics, often incorporating substantial use of metaphors and symbolism to convey messages. Phrasing and poetic quality follow a rhythm flow. This attention to lyrical structure contributes to the band's distinctive style.

Conclusion

Helmet is an excellent gateway band to get into if you’re just getting into metal. Page Hamilton’s vocals are excellently balanced, perfectly well-adjusted between harsh and clean vocals with a twangy flavor of rasp in his voice. On the other hand, Helmet’s unwavering commitment to sonic passion, musical accuracy, and intellectual lyrics has earned their place as one of the most influential bands, more so for pioneering a subgenre altogether. It's criminal that they don’t enough credit for all their contributions to the genre. Makes total sense that they made a song entitled “Unsung”. If you like any of the bands mentioned above, don’t hesitate to check out Helmet.

Thanks for reading through.

Check out these songs by them.