Helmet Kicks Ass At Highline Ballroom In Return To NYC; November 12, 2016

Regarding the first album by his group in six years, according to Page Hamilton: “People who hate Helmet are not going to like the record…and the people that love Helmet; some of them may take a minute to wrap their head around it and others will get into it immediately.  This rings true as Dead To The World is not the kind of dramatic departure from earlier work that would endear the group to a new audience nor is it Seeing Eye Dog Part 2 or More Meantime.  It’s what a new album should be from a group led by a guy as accomplished and broadminded as Hamilton is.  It’s rooted in the ferocious intensity that defines them while offering fresh flavors, textures, tempos, and lyrical observations.

I employed the adjective broadminded there to describe Hamilton’s musical interests as he has a love for jazz (he reveals some of his favorite players and talks in some detail about it in the video below) and classical among other non-rock forms.  However, it’s also an apt adjective to describe his views on social issues.  That is to say, he is as flummoxed, horrified, and sickened as any of us about the election results last week. Among the bonus bits of our conversation that follow, he relays a disturbing experience at a post-election Helmet show that suggests Trump’s win has empowered those with loathsome racist attitudes.  Attitudes which Hamilton spoke about in no uncertain terms in both our conversation and the show on Saturday.

Hamilton also shared some details about living in LA what he’s been up to the last six years.  He spoke about the elements of a song and the tools that a songwriter has at their disposal as well as some specific seeds for songs that appeared on Dead To The World.  Bono, cocaine, Bowie, The Melvins, double-jointed fingers, and God are also mentioned!

Final note: Kyle Stevenson is such a monster on drums that I can’t say I missed John Stanier as much as I love him and figured I would.