The first song from the once iconic 90s band leaves me wondering what happened to Paige Hamilton's voice. He used to havea very commanding bark, it lacks the oomph it once had on the opening track. The guitar mix could stand to be a little more in your face as well.In factr the vocals should sit back in the guitars more. The first time I heard this song I had to check to make sure I had the right band. But the more syncopated attacked the song builds into it bcomes more apparent I have. "Gun Fluf" has a more straight forward almost punk attack. The vocals flow better, but most to the punch you expect from these guys feels sacrficed in the mix. Without of the major sonic offenders being the lack of bass.
"NYC Tough Guy" the begin to sound a little more like themselves here. "M ake Up" findsd them closer to Hum territory than make you might expect from them as it leans into melody. There is more grit on "Big Shot". It also finds the lyrics improving as they have been a weak spot on this album as well. "Bombastic' finds some of them take an experimental step away frojm what is expected , while also incorporating many of the staple of their sound to finds a perfect balance they should have been aiming for all along. "Dislocated" also finds them returning to more fmailar sounds and packing more of a punch., There is a pseudo blus section in the song which works while allow ing the band to stretch their legs/
"Tell Me Again' starts off with the twang of blues guitar, and the strum of acoustic guitar that sounds like it would sound more at home on a Foo-Fighters album. To Hamilton's credit, this is some of the album's best singing , even it it does not really sound like Helmet. "Powder Puff" finds the dreamier melodic nature of their newer sound in place, but it works against the groove of the guitar. There are some strong moments that find the band moving their sound forward while retaining their indentity, but a weord mix, and uneven vocal preformance finds me giving this an 8.
If you have had a hard time keeping up with Mike Patton's side projects, then this one is the closest to Faith No More, though darker , heavier and with a rougher edge since he has the guitarist from the Jesus Lizard on board and Helmet's drummer. You can not say this is a super group as all of his projects that are not Mr. Bungle or Faith No More are collaborations with his little corner of the music industry. This album is marked with an increased tension reminding me more of their first two albums. Patton's lower throaty whisper is one of the more reoccurring voices that pops up in his ever shifting arsenal. The explosive dynamic the first few songs works off owes more to the Jesus Lizard. I prefer the riff to the second song. Lyrically it is a collection of ugly metaphors which is another staple of Patton's work. Though with a song like "Scavengers & Predators" is was watching animals in the back yards that caused pondering the state of society. The band said they avoided politics on this album.
The slower simmer of "Doomsday Fatigue" gives Patton a little more room to flex his pipes. At the end of the day any project he is in the focus becomes his voice. This songs breaks from the formula by not going to the expected explosion. Trevor Dunn's tone propels "Business Casual". Compared to what he does in Mr. Bungle, he gets to lay back and ride a groove. While politics are not their thing , they do take great glee in the barbed social commentary hidden under the surface. Patton sort of raps out the lyrics here. "Tattoo Zero" continues to make an inside joke of the world around them. No one is safe, most certainly not any flavor of hipster. The sinewy metal tinged riff it winds up into is impressive . "Fatback" continues the trend of slithering grooves. They vary in levels of creepiness sometimes boiling over into a more steamy haze with "Howlie" which sheds some of the more metallic sensibilities until they build it up.
There is a more melodic come down with " Sidewinder" . It is some what of a power ballad and perhaps the most Faith No More like song. Patton takes cracks at trust fund kids in the lyrics turning the sugar sweetness into something with venom. There is almost a reggae vibe to "Recoil" , it is more up-tempo than the previous song , but not as finely tuned as "Dog Eat Dog" which is more Faith No More like. I will give this one a 9.5, I like it more than most of the more recent effort's of Patton's. It is better than the last Faith No More album, though not the others that followed '" the Real Thing " but think how high of a bar that is.;
Well I just got finished reviewing the new Whores album so the opener feels almost more like Weezer in comparison. The pounding drums sit back and the vocals are too forward in the mix are my first thoughts, when thinking about what made Whores punch more than this. Going into the second I turn up the volume to see if that's the problem. The vocals really leave something to be desired as the melodies are not as locked into the rest of the song as their earlier work. The more lead like passages of guitar are mixed way back in the distance. The stompy parts that were once their calling card seem to be dialed in and obligatory. Even with the more Beatles like vocal "Bad News" feels a little more like Helmet to me. If the vocals were more forceful on "Red Scare" it might feel more like Helmet as well.
The bass adds a little more weight to the title track, though the vocals undermine this effort. I am not sure why the guitars are sitting that far back, the mix is a hug problem on this album as it takes all the balls out of it. I think what the fuck when we get to "Green Shirt" it might as well have been titled "Green Shit" as Everclear is heavier than this. Page needs to stop listening to the Kinks. Things improve a little when "Expect the World" kicks in. It feels more like a 90's alt-rock power ballad to me than what these guys are best at. It often sounds like he is not committed to the grit needed to get mean and crack heads. He tries to juggle two different directions on "Drunk In the Afternoon" and it comes across like L.A. Guns.
The last song "Look Alive" works better with it's more relaxed vibe as it comes across more like Jawbox or one of those early slacker indie rock bands. For my money...if I was going to pay for this album, this would be a let down, I think despite the few moments this album does have even for Helmet fans this has to be a let down, the really bad moments are really bad and the stronger songs don't really compensate for them< so I am rounding this album down to a 5.5, mainly because the vocals are so bad. If you want something more in line with classic Helmet go check out the new Whores album. br />
When the source material is this solid it's hard to wrong. Vocally most of these band's are going a harder route. It's not until Ken Mode bellies up to "Turned Out" that I recognize a band. Iron Weed goes with the more melodic vocal for "Give It" and makes them a band that I would like to take further note of. The first two bands I Become Death and Earthship, could basically be the same band they just happen to be covering really good songs. Sunflo'er takes on the song that would put them under the most scrutiny. They try to give more of their own touch, and fail big with the iconic chorus.This is a poor choice all the way around even in the face of their most creative efforts. I normally like these sort of things as it gives me a familiar forum to experience new bands, but in this case it also shows me bands to avoid.
Ken Mode doesn't really do anything special with "Turned Out". I would say the first three bands to a better job with their songs. Kings Destroy does a better with their take on "He Feels Bad". Meek is Murder's "Better" is easily tuned out and becomes background noise. The bare bones vocal of Iron Weed's "You Borrowed" is a bold move and instills more urgency to figure out what those guys are about.The Glorious Rebellion Plays it much safer on "FBLA II". Fuck the Fact doesn't really do much with "Role Model" .
Then come Helmet tributes from other albums. Fashion Week does a pretty good job with "I Know' to offer some redemption from the earlier mishaps. The best thing I have heard fro Rosetta might be their version of "Like I Care". Livver's version of "Sinatra" is ok, I don't feel much of a sense of who they are as a band. Heads are pretty true to "Blacktop" while altering the guitar tone it make it their own sluggish dirge. This version might even be more interesting than the original. Blackwolfgoat does a fine job with "Bad Mood". Brief Lives uses a gruffer vocal tone for their shot at "Milquetoast" which I think after "Unsung" is going to be the song under the most scrutiny. Overall if you are a Helmet fan this is worth your time. Iron Weed seems to be the best band on here. I'll give this a 7.5.
