Live Review: Helmet - Nottingham
6th December 2023
Words: Patrick O'Reilly
Photos: Sean Larkin
Looking a lot older than when I last saw him around twenty years ago, elder statesman of rock Page Hamilton rolled into town with a new look Helmet band. It was a weird night already as there was no support band, but I was happy for this trade off as it meant Helmet were able to play a long set of 24 songs!
Opening with ‘Milquetoast’ the first single from 1994’s ‘Betty’ album, made famous for its appearance in ‘The Crow’ movie was a good choice, it was a familiar track that sounded amazing in the small confines of the Rescue Rooms, and it set the tone for what would become and incredible night.
Songs old and new came at us over the course of the next two hours, with a huge majority of the set being dominated by tracks from classic albums ‘Meantime’ and ‘Betty’. Highlights from these included ‘Give It’ early in the set, ‘Tic’ and ‘Wilma’s Rainbow’ from ‘Betty’ later on and a double punch of ‘Unsung’ and ‘In the Meantime’ in the encore.
Other highlights of the set included songs from the new album ‘Left’ of which four were played, all of these sounded great in the live environment, powerful and clear.
Personal highlights included ‘Enemies’ from ‘Size Matters’ album, one of my favourite Helmet tracks and a crushing rendition of ‘Just Another Victim’ the track that Helmet made in collaboration with House of Pain for the ‘Judgment Night’ movie soundtrack, though sadly this lacked the rap section of the song!
Performance-wise the band were immense, playing with precision, energy and power, just what you would expect from Helmet. The bass tone was huge and rumbled throughout the venue, yet it never overpowered the guitars. The drummer was incredible, pure passion and exertion, beating the kit to within an inch of its life, but always maintaining that regimental rhythm that defines Helmets sound. In contrast to the mainly rhythmic presence of the second guitar, bass and drums was Page on lead guitar. Making his sections seem effortless his fingers glided all over the frets producing discordant noise, harsh dissonant harmonics and frenzied solos.
This is where the band gets interesting, combining the dynamics of metal and hardcore with an Avant Garde art house appeal. Page is truly a master of his craft; this was explicitly shown when mid set he stopped improvising some jazz guitar workouts to calm himself down!! He was charming on the mic, mesmerizing to watch on guitar and led the young(ish) band with aplomb. The only minor letdown was that his vocals sounded a little weak compared to on record, but this did not detract from the experience.
Helmet proved to me again why they are one of my favourite bands and that they will always be relevant and interesting, a great long set filled with old and new material was a gift for the fans and one which given the time of year was totally magical.
Photo credits: Sean Larkin
