JOSÉ'S BAND OF THE WEEK: HELMET
By José on Sep 1, 2010 | In Features, Features
Nope, it's not some new atmospheric electronic sludgegrind band with the same name that I discovered in Tajikistan and who've just put out their debut 7". It's really Helmet, plain old Helmet, Page Hamilton's Helmet. We all know Helmet, they even had some mainstream success way back when, so there's no need to go over their long career, but I get the feeling that we don't know them enough. Terrorizer and a few other illuminati have indeed praised them like they deserve, but the far-reaching influence of Helmet's unique, understated mix of rock, metal and hardcore (still pretty much uncategorizable to this day) has been mostly recognized by other musicians rather than by the general public and press.
That isn't a huge surprise. Not every band names their albums inspired on Ezra Pound poems, and not that many frontmen are articulate enough to give constantly engaging and interesting interviews, or simply talented enough to just keep on writing great song after great song, without pigeonholing themselves in any comfortable scene (Page is also heavily involved with various jazz projects).
So, around my 50th listen or thereabouts of the brilliant new album 'Seeing Eye Dog', it was obvious who the band of the week would be. Helmet are still around, stronger than ever, and that's cause for celebration anywhere where good music is properly valued.
And now, that Ezra Pound poem, 'The Seeing Eye'.
The small dogs look at the big dogs;
They observe unwieldy dimensions
And curious imperfections of odor.
Here is the formal male group:
The young men look upon their seniors,
They consider the elderly mind
And observe its inexplicable correlations.
Said Tsin-Tsu:
It is only in small dogs and the young
That we find minute observation
(photo up there by Lauren Dukoff)
--
José's Band of the Week is a Wednesday thing and your participation is always encouraged through jose.bandoftheweek@gmail.com. Thanks to all the Finns and Canucks who wrote in during the past two weeks, your suggestions have been greatly appreciated!
Share this article:
Comment on this article:
\| « BARONESS HEAD DOWN UNDER | KILLING JOKE TO RELEASE NEW SINGLE » |
