Helmet ,the band that once belonged to the top of the metal world but as many bands nowadays are just a shadow of a band that they’re used to be, came back together in 2004. In the early nineties Helmet broke through with their second album Meantime which eventually turned gold in 1994 in the U.S. Nowadays none of the original members besides Page Hamilton is active in Helmet. Even bass player Chris Traynor who did played on their latest album Monochrome quit the band in September. After this Page Hamilton noted he has no plans for recording new music for the time being. So Monochrome could be the last album of the once legendary Helmet.

Monochrome starts with a kick in the face called ‘Swallowing Everything’ which is pretty groovy and immediately sucks you into the album. This is a great way to start the album  even when the second song ‘Brand New’ pushes up the tempo a bit more and gives the impression this could be the comeback record for Helmet. Not considering this it’s kind of sad to see that the tension that they build up in the first two songs is completely washed away by ‘Bury Me’.

 

I can say that this album is a much more a return to form if you compare this album to the previous one Size Matters which was released in 2004. Of course Page Hamilton wrote a lot of the music but the album also got co-produced by Wharton Tiers who did the trick before on Strap It On and Meantime. Sadly enough Wharton Tiers and Page Hamilton couldn’t prevent that Monochrome sounds a bit dull and boring. It’s not that there aren’t any great songs on the album because if you listen to ‘Swallowing Everything', ‘On Your Way Down’ and ‘410’ you have to admit that they are great. But three great songs can’t carry a complete album.

 

Monochrome didn’t turn out to be the comeback album where Helmet hoped for. It's not that Monochrome is a bad album but it doesn’t get anywhere near Meantime.

Maybe the last song of this album says it all; ‘Goodbye’.