Howdy...

Hey there - Happy New Year. Apologies for the lack of posts. The last week and half has been crazy as all get out, what with the holidays, out of town visitors, and travel. I'm hoping to get back on track this week, including a new site layout (that was supposed to be done today ), and answering the pile of mail in my inbox.

In in the interim, why not enjoy some Helmet? I'm an unabashed fan of Page Hamilton and company, and I'm not afraid to admit that I even liked the latest CD Size Matters (well, 3/4 of it). A fan run website has a decent page of audio files that apparently has the blessing of the band. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Helmet - Blacktop.mp3
from 1990's Strap It On LP. While I've enjoyed all of the albums this is the one to have, if only for 'Sinatra'. God, I still can't get over how dirty and sludgy this sounds when compared to their later albums.

Helmet - Impressionable.mp3
Far and away my favorite Helmet song. This is taken from AmRep's Dope, Guns, and Fucking in the Streets series of compilation EP's. I think 'Impressionable' was recorded around the same time as Strap It On, but don't hold me to it. Fast, noisy, and chaotic, this one is just on another level.

Helmet & House of Pain - Just Another Victim.mp3
From 1993's Judgement Night soundtrack. 'Just Another Victim' is one of the more effective collaborations brought forth for the film. Yeah, the whole concept feels kind of kitschy and contrived, but I still like this one as I was always a sucker for Everlast's vocals. I just happened to hear this one while I had the player on shuffle and it sparked this post. Note that the end is truncated about 20-30 seconds too soon.