In 1991,
Interscope won a ferocious multi-label bidding war (which according to firsthand accounts, pitted an estimated 18 to 22 different labels against each other) and signed
Helmet for a reported cool one-million-plus dollars. Under the watchful eye of the record biz, and on the heels of
Nirvana's huge commercial breakthrough,
Helmet were curiously touted as the next big thing. Unsurprisingly, expectations would never be fully realized. Arguably one of the most influential and overlooked rock records of the '90s,
Meantime threw the rule book out the window. Led by the classically trained
Page Hamilton,
Helmet's bludgeoning riffs combined with their stop-go-stop-go minimalist attack changed the face of aggro-rock. Its importance cannot be overstated. From the
Steve Albini-produced title track through "Role Model," the band is relentless. On "Give It,"
Hamilton spews "killing hurts/has to be done/peace and love/who's number one," and later "the right to give/learn to bleed/it's free/pain is outside/lift it up to see." As the hypnotic riff and
John Stanier's piccolo snare echo throughout, the band thrashes through the song like a ten-ton hammer. Again, every song is colored by Teutonic riffs, with only "Unsung" hinting at a gasp of commercial accessibility. [A vinyl LP edition of
Meantime was released in 2017.] ~ John Franck
