Helmet – Size Matters
(Interscope)

I suppose it’s only fitting that Page Hamilton should eventually return to music and attempt to stake his claim on the very trend he helped create. The musical climate is much different now than it was when Helmet were starting out; bands that use drop-D guitars and crunching riffs are tearing up the Billboard charts and getting massive airplay on MTV. Many of these bands site Helmet as a major influence on them, from Korn to the Deftones to Limp Bizkit, and yet despite all their underground impact Helmet spent their career under the radar of commercial music fans.

In recent years it seems that Page has “gone Hollywood”, after moving from the band’s early creative base of NYC to the glitz of L.A., the man was even dating Wynona Ryder a while back… perhaps he still is. He started up a new musical project called Gandhi and recorded some solo demos, even contributing a song to the Underworld soundtrack, before he was offered the opportunity to continue making music under the name Helmet once again. And how could he turn down an offer like that?

Certainly no one would argue that Page Hamilton was always the primary creative force behind Helmet, but the misleading part of the band’s reformation is that his usual partners in crime, bassist Henry Bogdan and drummer John Stanier, are notably absent this time around. (Bogdan lives in Hawaii, while Stanier is busy stretching his percussive skills to the max with avante-garde bands like Tomahawk and Battles.) Some will make mention of the fact that guitarist Chris Traynor has returned, but his role in Helmet history is rather short and, to be blunt, insignificant. Listening to Helmet’s first album in 7 years, it becomes clear that the pounding juggernaut of a rhythm section was one of the things that really pushed Helmet into a league of their own, and without it, there’s a definite void left behind. John Tempesta (Rob Zombie) and Frank Bello (Anthrax) do their best to fill the shoes of Stanier and Bogdan, but they take a backseat to Page’s guitar work and newfound vocal harmonies. This time around Page is completely running the show, and even if he can’t do it all, he does manage to prove that he can still rip out powerful, no bullshit riffs like few others.

The lead off track “Smart” was available as a free download for people who bought Helmet’s recent greatest hits compilation, and it promises a solid return to form for the band. Page’s gruff snarls are seething with his usual sarcasm: “Aim low / Just let yourself go”, and the melodic chorus cruises over those trademark guitar textures. It’s not a huge stretch to say this song sounds like a logical extension of their last album, Aftertaste, with more singing and generally accessible sounds than their earlier Amphetamine Reptile records. “Crashing Foreign Cars” follows in a similar vein, and gives the impression that the album is about to settle into a familiar groove.

However, the album’s first single, “See You Dead”, was previously recorded as a Gandhi song and clearly sounds a little different from your average Helmet tune. The verse is built over a single repeating note and an oddly conventional rhythm, while the chorus is so catchy as to almost invite a sing along. Then the song “Enemies” downshifts gears, with Page nearly whispering lyrics over barely audible guitars before rallying the rest of the instruments into a plodding, lacklustre progression and one of the most awkward sounding guitar solos I’ve ever heard.

By the time I come across “Unwound”, I realize that Page is really going for it on this album. He wants to get his due, he wants some serious airplay for once in his career — and this song could very well be the one to do it. I can already hear it being played in dentist’s offices and on telephone hold lines across the country. It is Helmet’s version of the Foo Fighters’ “Learn To Fly”. Which is not to say it’s a horrible song… just that this is about as watered down as Helmet could possibly get.

Thankfully, this radio friendly ditty is followed by “Everybody Loves You”, another classic Helmet song with crunching riffs and a bitter, angry refrain. From here the album continues mostly on an Aftertaste vibe, with Page exploring his vocal harmonies where possible, but not at the expense of the riffage. Another highlight is “Throwing Punches”, the song Page originally recorded solo for the Underworld soundtrack.

Helmet have always thrived on simplicity, but then relied on their musical talent and unique chemistry to bring the songs to another level. One of the disappointing things about Size Matters is that the songs all follow a pretty standard verse-chorus-verse formula. Gone are the extended musical breakdowns that often occurred in the middle of Helmet’s songs, and Page’s jazz influences are simply nowhere to be found.

However, there are enough familiar elements here that most Helmet fans will be able to appreciate it at some level. I doubt many would claim that this comes anywhere near the quality of their other albums, but it is nice to see Page back in the music industry, and it’s nice to see that he may finally reap a little reward from the popularity of the genre he helped define. The truth is that Size Matters is also head and shoulders above most of what’s popular right now. There will be those that claim Helmet have somehow joined the ranks of the nu-metal clones that they spawned, but I have to disagree. There is still something different and interesting about the music on this record, but with only 1 of 4 original members still in the band I wonder if it would have been more appropriate to release this album under a different band name after all. If there’s one thing the album proves, it’s that Page Hamilton may be the heart and soul of Helmet, but he’s not the only reason that they rocked so hard all these years. — Sean