Helmet's new Interscope album, Aftertaste, is twelve tracks of conviction that re-define the scope of what people regard
as "heavy." Produced by Barkmarket guitarist Dave Sardy (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cop Shoot Cop), Aftertaste cuts
through the morass of cookie-cutter-alterna-music now being heard in a shopping mall near you.
Back in 1989, Helmet's coruscating riff-centric sound sucker-punched New York City's jaded underground scene.
Amphetamine Reptile released Helmet's first single, "Born Annoying," which has since then become a highly coveted
aggro-rock artifact. Helmet's debut album on AmRep, Strap It On, was released in the fall of 1990, and underground rock
fans marveled at John Stanier's propulsive drumming, the tightly-wound attack of bassist Henry Bogdan and guitarist
Peter Mengede, and Page Hamilton's searing guitar work and hostage-taking vocal style.
Helmet signed with Interscope in 1992 and recorded Meantime, a crushing album that bridged the gap between protective underground rock fans and the
conventional metal audience that was getting fed up with the comic excesses of that genre. Meantime went gold on the success of the single "Unsung,"
which was a favorite at MTV as well as on college radio.
The group's second album for Interscope, Betty, showed a diversity that hadn't previously been displayed on their previous records, with such intricacies as a
fragmented take on jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery's "Beautiful Love," a Bogdan penned streetwise number "Silver Hawaiian," and Hamilton's "Sam Hell," a
track sounding like a summit meeting between blues legend Robert Johnson and Captain Beefheart. The release of Betty also marked a change in personnel
on guitar: Rob Eccheverria joined the band as a replacement for Peter Mengede.
After completing an exhaustive tour schedule in support of Betty, the band took some time off prior to the recording of Aftertaste. In the interim, Helmet
contributed songs to the movies Johnny Mnemonic, The Jerky Boys, and Feeling Minnesota. Hamilton recorded an instrumental album with German guitar
fulcrum Caspar Brotzmann (Zulutime, released on Atavistic), played guitar on Joe Henry's album Trampoline and was responsible for leading the guitar
ensemble on the score of Al Pacino/Robert DiNiro film . In April of 1995, Amphetamine Reptile released Born Annoying, a collection of various singles,
b-sides, compilation tracks and demo versions. The band also donated a Helmet-ed version of Bjork's "Army Of Me" for Interscope's recent Music For Our
Mother Ocean benefit release.
The band have since parted ways with guitarist Rob Eccheverria, opting to record Aftertaste as a trio, with Hamilton playing rhythm and lead guitars.
Producer Sardy's unconventional recording techniques, as well as his drill sergeant finesse in pulling out optimum performances from the band gave Page,
Henry, and John a kick in the pants. "Your fingers will be bleeding," laughs Hamilton in hindsight, "and Sardy will tell you to do it again. He really knows how
to get the best out of everyone involved in the project. He made John set up his drums in the rest room. John put up a fight about it, but Sardy won in the
end." (Pay close attention to the pistol-fire snare cracks of "Harmless" to hear the results of Stanier's water-shedding). During the recording of the album in
Los Angeles, Helmet did an unannounced show supporting Sardy's band Barkmarket, with the producer pulling double-time in both bands.
Aftertaste bristles with the same energy and hunger that the band had when they recorded their debut album Strap It On six years ago between flipping
burgers, tending bar, and driving limousines. Relentless in its attack, yet by no means limited to just repetitive guard dog snarling, the twelve tracks exhibit
new textures to the power-riffing menace on which the band has built their reputation. The duck-and jab intro to "Diet Aftertaste," the layered harmonics in
"Driving Nowhere," the hail of burning guitars at the end of "Crisis King," and the interesting cello stylings on "Like I Care" show an intriguing depth, without
debilitating the band's trademark power. Lyrically, Hamilton hasn't fallen into a subterfuge. "Exactly What You Wanted" is purposely ambiguous; it could be
for friends or fans. "It's Easy To Get Bored" is an ironic invective (with the scathing line "I'm busy cultivating useless good taste") pointed at cultural snobs.
And when Page snarls "l'd rather be insulted by you than someone I respect" in "Birth Defect," it's obvious that he's not buying into the mellower-with-age
theory.
"It boils down to developing a language I started working with," says Hamilton on Aftertaste's sonic diversity. "The idea was to expand upon Helmet
language. We're not out to reinvent it, it's not about being eclectic or jumping on the marketplace's next big thing. I want to stay true to the reasons I got into
music. Writing songs and music that I want to hear. It's about making music; it's not about who is the producer, what is your statement or how it was
produced. For a lot of people who listen to music every day, there isn't a whole lot out there that resonates. I write it because I like it, and not because I'm
trying to make money quick. A lot of bands that come out of nowhere and put out records need to know the difference between creativity and careerism."
With the addition of former Orange 9mm guitarist Chris Traynor, Helmet are ready to do what they do best; throw it on top of the heads for people who want
to be excited by music again. A grueling tour schedule -the only kind, the band will tell you- is slated for early next year, and with that comes the
high-powered enthusiasm that fuels their muse.
Aftertaste, more than ever, pursues the relationship between Iyricism and physical expression. "There's still a lot more to be done in music," says Page.
"Every once in a while I hear a band that gives me hope and inspiration. I can listen to the first song on the new Elvis Costello album that is one of the most
beautiful songs he's ever written, and he's been writing songs for 25 years. In the course of one week I saw two nights of Costello, Ron Sexsmith, and Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan. This gets me excited about getting up in the morning, writing songs and making music. There might not be something 'new' per se, but
there's always going to be someone to carry it on. I'd like to think Helmet is doing that as well."
