This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
The question is not whether size matters; it’s whether this comeback album from underappreciated ’90s post-grungers Helmet matters.
On the downside: Frontman and founder Page Hamilton is the only original member in the lineup, along with the band’s final guitarist and a rhythm section of refugees from Rob Zombie and Anthrax. On the upside: Even with the new faces, it’s still pretty much the same old Helmet. Hamilton’s jagged guitar shards and ominous howl, along with the bruising beats and avant-noisy textures, invest these 11 cuts with the same aura of intelligent malevolence the band made famous more than a decade ago.
Granted, the plodding tempos and one-dimensional production get to be a bit samey-sounding after a while. And even at their best, Helmet are still basically a poor man’s Soundgarden. But there’s no denying this is an unexpectedly strong comeback from a band most people had written off for dead.
Whether that matters to you, of course, is another question entirely.
