Helmet Size Matters CD

Helmet: Frank Bello (bass guitar); John Tempesta, Page Hamilton, Chris Traynor.
Personnel: Page Hamilton (vocals, guitar); Chris Traynor (guitar, bass guitar); John Tempesta (drums).
Audio Mixer: Jay Baumgardner.
Recording information: Cello Studios; NRG Studios; The Bakery.
Photographer: Chapman Baehler.
The resurrected Helmet pits a growlier Page Hamilton against a new rhythm section, but that's about the only change. Size Matters stutters just like the old days, and favors skewed melodies that, even if they're a little slower or more layered, still sound like New York City in 1990. "Crashing Foreign Cars," for example, could be part two of Strap It On's "Blacktop." There's Hamilton-branded guitar freakery here -- check the bleating car horn intro to "Enemies" -- and opener "Smart" is as economic as metal derivation is going to get in the new millennium, when the genre's dominated by bombast and ridiculously compressed electric guitars. (Ex-Rob Zombie drummer John Tempesta gets credit for his precision snare and deliberate pacing.) And yet, despite its throwback sound, Size Matters starts to run together. Middle-range tempos emphasize the slow-motion roar of Hamilton's guitar, but tracks like "Drug Lord" and "Unwound" also begin to plod at that meter. It's like they lose interest after introducing the huge part. "Everybody Loves You" is stronger, and "Last Breath"'s crunch and altered tempos are knife sharp and cool. "Speak and Spell" is another highlight. Size Matters emphasizes for the bloated alt-metal elite what it means to have craft and a little self-control. It isn't necessarily memorable, but as an exercise in measured, even artistic rage, it's classic Hamilton. ~ Johnny Loftus
In an age of media-hyped band reunions, many music fans are understandably wary of comeback albums. Longtime devotees of reunited groups complain about lineup changes and yearn for the old sound, while newer and younger fans reach for the "classics" to see what they missed. Bands mounting comebacks need to work twice as hard to prove themselves. Luckily, Helmet has never been afraid of a little hard work.
After a seven-year hiatus, one of alternative metal's most influential acts returns with a new war cry in 2004's SIZE MATTERS. For this record, frontman Page Hamilton (vocals/guitar) reunites with Chris Traynor (guitar) and enlists bassist Frank Bello (Anthrax) and drummer John Tempesta (Rob Zombie, Testament) to round out the personnel. Despite the changes, SIZE MATTERS delivers the same kind of solid, minimalist riffs and tense, rhythmic propulsion that defined Helmet's major-label debut, MEANTIME. Progressive-jazz chord changes still keep the listener guessing, and Hamilton's evolution hints at a less industrial sound, with vocals and atmospheric guitars placed at the forefront of the mix. Helmet's distinctive style remains as significant as it was almost 15 years prior, and SIZE MATTERS is an album to be appreciated by Helmet lifers and rookies alike.Magnet (p.109) - "The turn-your-bones-to-dust guitar ferocity and chest-rattling drums are now bolstered by a definite melodic sensibility..."