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Reviews
Helmet: Meantime
15/09/10 || InquisitorGeneralis
I should be putting this wonderful slab on 90’s alterna-metal-rock-grunge-core in the Class6(66) section but I have been milking that tit pretty hard lately and the milk’s gone bad. Not that there are thousands of Helmet fans on this site who will take umbrage at the snuff…but there should be because Helmet was, and still is to some degree, a damn fine band that swam the murky waters between many heavy music genres. Hey, our resident Norwegian nihilist Kampfar even likes ‘em. “Unsung” was the album that put Helmet on the map, gave them modest popular success, and still stands as their finest release. “Unsung” is simple, catchy, riff-heavy rock done right. Sadly, Helmet’s heavy but not quite metal sound helped influence the dreaded nu-metal wave of the mid to late 1990’s. Fuck it though, I can’t penalize them for what other (shittier) bands and artists did with their sound. If that was the case, we would all be saying In Flames sucks. Oh wait…
I bought this record way back when after seeing the video for the hardcore-heavy title track. However, I was surprised to find out that “Meantime” is much more than a tuned-low brocore album. “Ironhead” is similar to the title track but after things get different in a very good way. “Give it” is a more melancholy, alternative track but still great. “Unsung” is probably the most well known Helmet track courtesy of the Grand Theft Auto video game series. “Unsung” is a genre tossed salad with hardcore riffs, melodic vocals, and the chorus to me sounds like it has a 50’s surf music feel to it! Either way, it is a great song. “Turned out” is one of the more upbeat songs on the album while “He feels bad” take things back to a doomier, sludgier feel and really showcases the bass heaviness that shines though on much of the record. That’s right, I’m giving a shout out to the bass. Praise the Lord K, everyone can kiss my bass…ha ha ha.
Enough bad puns in this bad review. Go get “Meantime” and relive the glory days of the early 90’s when heavy music was simple and it was ok to have core associated with your band. When I want simple, easy, enjoyable music that is still considered heavy I turn to “Meantime”, put on my flannel shirt, grab a big glass of crystal Pepsi, and remember a better time when metal and hardcore, they actually played videos on MTV, and it was totally cool to not wear a condom.
- Information
- Released: 1992
- Label: Interscope
- Website: www.Helmetmusic.com
- Band
- Page Hamilton: guitar, vocals
- Peter Mengede: guitar
- Henry Bogdan: bass
- John Stanier: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. In the Meantime
- 02. Ironhead
- 03. Give It
- 04. Unsung
- 05. Turned Out
- 06. He Feels Bad
- 07. Better
- 08. You Borrowed
- 09. FBLA II
- 10. Role Model
