Meantime

I'd like to start out by saying that I don't consider Helmet to be a metal band; rather, I consider them to be a heavy alt-rock band. But this isn't the pop-influenced accessible variety of alternative music, as demonstrated by modern In Flames. If you're the kind of person (as I am) who hates the following of musical formulas, sickening melodies, and all the things that make a lot of mainstream music less than desirable, good news: you won't find much of that on "Meantime". This is an album of alternative music for people who don't listen to alternative music, and one that's gone rather unappreciated alongside albums like Nevermind.

With "Meantime", Helmet changed their sound minimally from their 1990 debut, "Strap It On". They became slightly less noisy, ditched the gated reverb, and created an album that was better than most alternative music on the market back then - simply because it sounded real (as cheezy as that may sound). Certainly, the grungy guitar effects at the beginning of the bone-crushing title track/album opener would be enough to put off any mainstream listener who enjoyed the heavy-rock-turned-pop themes of Smells Like Teen Spirit. The only moments on this album that might be considered "mainstream pandering" are in the obligatory radio-friendly lead single, "Unsung". Loud, abrasive, and something of an acquired taste for those with an ear for more melodic material, this album is set apart from other notable alt-rock releases of the era by its unconventional structure and creative composition.

Frontman Page Hamilton is the songwriting mastermind on this album, and he makes simplicity work in a way that few can. All of the simplistic elements that define Helmet's music are epitomized here. Hamilton's endless re-imaginings of the 0-2-3 and 0-3-5 riffs are the building blocks for the guitar parts, which are fit to odd time signatures quite often. By no means are the guitar riffs metal. They're not nearly "note-y" enough to be considered so, and are mostly atmospheric power chords or staccato chugs which are definitely more rooted in hard/alt-rock and noise rock than metal. There's even a prototype for Korn in the middle of "He Feels Bad". Not that the guitars aren't interesting, though. A lot of it sounds like an improvised jam session, as do the arrangements, which are always original and creative, leaving you guessing with each new section. Usually there's room for a very noisy guitar solo. Each time you listen, you hear something different in each song, due to the lack of formulas which have invariably plagued radio rock and radio metal from day one. Those who listen to albums like Three Days Grace's self titled album remember every song, and why? Because they all follow a formula. There is no formula-following to be found on "Meantime". The songs are catchy, but not catchy at the same time. You'd have to listen to them twenty times before you could play them back in your head. They make you want to listen over and over again, just so you can pick them apart beyond the hard-hitting main riff.

Vocal-wise, Hamilton alternates between semi-harsh non-melodic barks which can sound painful, snarky, or unintentionally hilarious (like Phil Anselmo, but with less forced aggression) and a double-tracked clean singing style, which improved noticably here when compared to what he attempted on "Strap It On". The vocal melodies, like the guitars, have a distinct improvisational air to them - they are sparse and fit the equally sparse lyrics perfectly. Suffice to say, Helmet isn't much of a vocal-driven band. It's difficult to interpret the lyrics, which seem to be just random lines that rhyme thrown together. Who knows if there's some kind of preachy message or emotional appeal hidden within somewhere.

The rhythm section is handled by drummer John Stanier and bassist Henry Bogdan. Although Bogdan's bass guitar mirrors the guitars most of the time, it's still clearly audible in the mix - a trait of many alt-metal bands that can't seem to carry over much to other areas of metal, and the reason why many alt-metal bands are so "heavy". Stanier's drumming, while not necessarily rooted in a metal style, is inventive and only slightly imprecise. He plays with the song perfectly, never making any fill or groove sound programmed or planned out. There are a couple times when he even pulls out the heel-toe technique (I'm assuming he didn't use a double pedal). His drums sound amazing, too. The signature tight snare sound of this album, along with the snare on its predecessor and successor, would go on to be endlessly imitated by less impressive bands such as Korn. They simply don't make drum sounds like they used to.

As a final thought, the phrase that could probably sum up this album best is "raw, real, and full of attitude". The music is raw and unprocessed (the 90s killed wet mixes for a while, and I am thankful for that). All the instruments share an equal role, with each one displaying the same amount of simplistic creativity, all played by a bunch of guys who just went into the studio and did what they did best. Nothing's overdone one way or the other. The attitude of the album is as ambiguous as the lyrical themes, but it's in there for sure and there's a mood for every occasion to be found. I re-iterate that I do not listen to this album as a metal album, because it is clearly not a metal album. It's one of the many cases where heavy rock has been disguised as metal by popular opinion and definitions read on Wikipedia. However, it turns out to be slightly better than most heavy rock that has been labeled as metal. It's authentic music from the early 90s that's not entirely annoying or influenced by the mainstream. An alternative rock classic, right here.

Whenever I come across a record like this, I always have to appreciate how a band can convey more than one tone into an album and make it work, but not by using the "mostly angry but one soft song" formula. Page Hamilton has a way of making the listener feel like he hates you, such as in the title track, while also giving off the idea that he is your friend, such as in "Unsung". While most of the music stays true to groove driven and semi-noisy compositions, the vocals swap the tone back and forth with long, drawn out shrieks of anger, and clean, friendly alternative rock type vocals.

Noisy music typically translates to underproduced or messy output in most people's minds, but really, the only reason why I say it's kinda noisy is because of how heavy the bass gets, and the way it can really surface to the level of the guitar on some tracks. But at no point is anything inaudible or drowned out. Everything fits together so well, and perhaps it's not too difficult due to the riff work being somewhat simplistic, and solos being small in numbers. Though it may get boring at times, the steady use of slower guitar and bass-lines makes it relaxing to a degree. "Ironhead" displays this in a great way, with the repeating use of certain chords, but my favorite riff lies in the track "Better". The song as a whole really showcases everything that this album has to offer in one track better (no pun intended) than the others. No signs of speed here, but groovy enough to jam out to, and the way that both singing and screaming are used to get a message across is pretty phenomenal. The drums stand out on this record as more than just a beat-keeper. Since the slow, crunchiness of the guitars don't go very above and beyond, it's up to John Stanier to rattle the cage, and compose beats that add to the grooviness a little bit more, and prevent Meantime from dragging out.

There's no better way to sum this up other than saying that it's about as '90s as it gets, as if Pantera met Red Hot Chili Peppers. Maybe that's a bit extreme, but any album that sounds angry, but is easy enough to kick back with deserves at least a listen.

In 1990, the New York based alternative metal act Helmet unleashed their debut album, Strap it On, through the noise rock label Amphetamine Reptile Records, a label known for releasing music from the Melvins and The Jesus Lizard, among others. While Helmet's debut did have a leaning for the noisier side of things, there were strong hints of the then-up-and-coming grunge scene masked underneath post-hardcore sentiments and massive staccato riffing. Why does this even matter? Well in the early nineties, the growing grunge scene was becoming the most marketable commodity in music, as 1991 saw major labels trying to cut a deal with anyone even remotely associated with grunge.

Somehow Helmet got swept up in the drama, landing a huge deal with Interscope records, who fronted them, as the story goes, one million for the recording of their next album. The result of that record deal is one of my all time favorite metal albums of the 90's, Meantime, which was released in 1992. Although Helmet never really achieved widespread fame, this was their breakthrough album, as it landed on the Billboard charts at #68. It's also Helmet's only album to be certified gold in the United States, having sold over two million copies to date. Riding on the coattails of this album, the band managed to snag a few spots on soundtracks throughout their career (like The Crow, Johnny Mnemonic and The Jerky Boys).

While I have a huge soft spot for Helmet's swansong album, Aftertaste, I think that Meantime is, truly, the band's best work. I use swansong because even though Aftertaste is technically not the band's last album, what's been released since their reformation doesn't nearly match the quality. Betty, this album's follow up, showed Helmet forging a more melodic, experimental path and with Aftertaste the band returned to a forceful, grunge-laden style with tons of hooks, but the dissonant heaviness and staccato riffing were cut back from Meantime. Surely, most people who have heard of Helmet, and even most of those who are into the band, came across their music via the heavily rotated on MTV track “Unsung”. While the rest of the album really isn't as melodic as that track, it really gives a good feel for what the band was all about; thumping bass, grooving drum beats with one of the loudest snares you'll hear, Page Hamilton's distinct vocals and catchy, hook-laden guitar riffs that brush the edges of grunge, hard rock and heavy metal.

But that grooving, somewhat alternative style isn't the only style dancing through Meantime. The album opens with a monstrous wall of sound in the form of “In the Meantime”, with its rangy, fast paced riffing and rolling drum fills. We get a taste of Page Hamilton's heavier vocals, which sound like a gruff bark. It's two sides of the same coin, really. Where the magic is, though, is Helmet's merging of these two elements into a cohesive beast that spans nearly forty minutes.

Tracks like “Better” combine the grooving, heavy handed riffing and Page's barked vocals with some melodic accoutrements while he shouts “get out!”. “Give It” shows a slower burning groove to the catchy guitar riffs and pummeling drums, while Page's clean vocals are spot on. It's a mix of both worlds, the clean and the dissonant, and it's remarkable when both come crashing together in a grand upheaval of grooving, rollicking swagger with a bitter, metallic edge, like on “Turned Out”, with possibly the grooviest, catchiest, sink-your-teeth-into-est riff of the album. Meantime is an album full of hooks, heavy hitting guitar riffs and one of the best rhythm sections of the time period.

If you've never listened to Helmet before, this is a great starting point, but really you can't go wrong Aftertaste or Betty either. Meantime features ten tracks of hard hitting alternative metal and is an album that deserves to be played from start to finish. Although Helmet is still alive and kicking, this is where it's at. Despite million dollar contracts and grunge band bidding wars, Helmet's sophomore album is one of the heaviest and most grooving of the scene. Over twenty years after its release, Meantime remains essential metal listening material.

Written for The Metal Observer.

A lot of people regard this as Helmet’s best album and they have a good point. This album is much easier to get into than their previous one and thus I find it much more enjoyable. All of the songs featured are at worst decent while most are very good.

In The Meantime is a good opening track and has a nice main riff. Ironhead is where the album really gets going. That main riff always gets my head moving whenever I hear it! It’s definitely one of my favourite songs on this album. I also notice the quality of the production improves quite a bit from In The Meantime which sounds strangely muted in comparison. This is due to that particular song being recorded at a different studio by a different producer. It’s not terribly distracting but I thought it would be worth mentioning.

The other song I really like is Turned Out which is one of my favourite Helmet songs. This is one of the most energetic songs on here with heavy riffs that never fail to give my neck muscles a good workout! It also features one of my favourite guitar solos on the album. The pause right before the end of the song is also a nice touch.

FBLA II is the sequel to the previous album’s FBLA and it rocks just as hard as the original. Only this time it has much better production and has another great guitar solo. Unsung was the main single from the album and actually became a minor radio hit. I don’t like it as much as most of the other songs on here although I do like the frenzied drumming at the end. Give It has a memorable bass intro and Page Hamilton actually tries to sing for a change. He’s not very good at it but it fits the music surprisingly well.

I really do think this was one of the most underrated bands of the 1990’s. Even today, they still don’t get the recognition they deserve. This, along with the next album, is one of the 1990’s most overlooked albums.

Of all the albums released by Helmet, this is easily their most metallic and unrelenting musically in its stark and straightahead manner. And it was one of the few "alternative" albums I really liked back in those days since it had catchy and strong riffs and attitude to spare as well as being well-produced and just plain mean in delivery.

Most of the alternative type bands back then mocked and ignored metal (even though many of them were shitty attempts at metal--but with no solos because they couldn't play them, so this was why they poked fun, out of jealousy), but Helmet embraced it full-on, adding free jazz style overtones and influences as well as gloriously noisy and chaotic (not to mention lengthy) solos worthy of Messrs. King and Hannemann in their prime. And the ringing, metallic snare drum sound only adds a more industrial edge to the wall of sound Helmet unleashed on this album.

The deliberate feel Helmet had on much of their material also influenced a whole new generation of "hardcore" bands who felt this was a new way to be heavy but not be metal. The surging feel that they had was like unto a tank moving over the bodies of its enemies, and from the wild and head-turning intro of "In The Meantime" to the ending riffs of the album, you will indeed be flattened if you give this album a chance.

For standouts, look to the title track with its thunderous wall of guitars for a primer in the essential Helmet sound; pile-driving drums, the guitars in question, a growling bass that was heard loud and clear unlike most metal, and Page Hamilton's screaming, roaring vocals that radiated sneering contempt as well as utter psycho mania. He sounded pretty good when he sang cleanly as well, but for me his screaming psycho style is archetypal and an important part of Helmet's sound.

"Iron Head" has the first solo of the album, over a driving syncopated riff that is actually rather funky, and a wild ride it is--how can I not like a man who has the stones to start off a solo with 8 bars of elephant mating call sounds? "Turned Out" is another driving and propulsive song with a nice placement of silence at the end before they roar back into the riff, and "Unsung" is a good little turn in the more melodic side of things.

This album often showcases Henry Bogdan's mean-ass bass rumble both in intros and in bridges, making for more relief in the wall of sound, and it only makes the overall soudn heavier when the guitars come roaring back in. Page and co-axeman Peter Mengede generate an amazingly dense din and racket that will have your ears ringing for a good hour or so after each listen.

Definitely look this album up, as it came out on Interscope and still ought to be readily available. It's not your typical metal album, and for that reason, as well as the guitar part of things being a fresher approach than usual, I recommend this album quite a lot.