Interscope Records
1991
Strap It On
About This Album
Little noticed upon its initial release, Helmet's debut full-length, Strap It On, left a sledgehammer-like indention upon those few who did hear it at the time and served as the template for the band's successive major-label breakthrough, Meantime -- albeit a very raw and abrasive template that may jolt fans of the band's later work. The nine-song album is a brief one, clocking in around a half-hour, but even such brevity proves wonderfully exhausting by the time you near the last couple songs. In fact, by the time you make it past "Sinatra," one of the album's highlights and also the halfway point, slow fatigue threatens as the riffs continue to hammer away unrelentingly and vocalist Page Hamilton's sometimes-tuneful, oftentimes-bellowing shouting grows seemingly further agonized. The overall relentlessness should be a sheer pleasure to those who enjoy the intensity of metal without the clownish clichés yet, at the same time, enjoy the originality of alt-rock without the pansy passivity. Much like Black Flag and the Jesus Lizard, Helmet plays rabid alt-rock -- teeth-grinding, sweat-inducing, ear-bleeding, head-smashing music that transcends trend and is downright physical for the hell of it.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,6,7 and 8)

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