Helmet - Aftertaste

   1997 Interscope

Helmet was arguably the first “Alterna-core” band.  Bursting on the alternative scene in 1992 with ‘Meantime’ (their second official release), the strict, sharp and disciplined riffing of Page Hamilton and Peter Mengede’s guitars struck a major (albeit brief) chord with the masses in a time of confusion when alternative was struggling to redefine itself.

Those who were riveted by the heavy riffing and heavy, grunting - almost hardcore - vocals that occasionally lapsed into shoe-gazing melody on ‘Meantime’ were no doubt thrown for a loop by the muddy, ragged and often confusing follow-up ‘Betty.’  Indeed, when ‘Betty’ was released people pined for the overplayed (but still cool) ‘Unsung’ from the debut over new cuts like the lackluster ‘Milquetoast’ or even the cool ‘Biscuits for Smut.’

‘Aftertaste’ takes the best elements of Helmet’s heaviest moments and melds them with a more powerful updating of Hamilton’s slacker drone.  The atonal grunts are gone for the most part and reveal a dark, emotional (and often introspective) depth to Hamilton’s vocals.  Not so much in academic tonal quality, but in honesty.

Dave Sardy (mastermind of one of my Abysmal faves, Barkmarket) produces this one and, while some have been very critical of his production job, I love it.  The mix is brutally white hot and the sound just shreds your woofers from the first tortured, rhythmic chords of the opening track “Pure.”  From there, it just relentlessly hits you with some of the most precise, hooky, minimlist riffs you’ll ever hear.

It’s sad that this disc wasn’t the followup to ‘Meantime,’ as sonically it’s a more logical step forward than ‘Betty.’  Flip side of the coin is that ‘Aftertaste’ probably couldn’t have existed without ‘Betty’ coming first, as the vocal elements that were so droning and powerless on ‘Betty’ have been refined into a nuclear weapon here.

“I’d rather be insulted by you than someone I respect” roars Hamilton on ‘Birth Defect’ and his brutally honest delivery makes me a believer.   Incidentally, ‘Birth Defect’ possesses one of the aforementioned minimalist riffs honed to perfection.  “Renovation,” “Exactly What You Wanted” (YYYYyyyyeeeaaaahhhh!), “Diet Aftertaste,” “(High) Visibility” and “Insatiable” are some other high points on a disc that grabs you simultaneously by the neck an the heart and refuses to let go.

An amazing achievement walking the tightrope of power and emotion without ever lapsing into self-parody, which the band eventually did on their “comeback” release ‘Size Matters.’  Oh, well, this is really the only Helmet album you’ll ever need as they’ll probably never top it.  Every band deserves to have at least one disc where everything just comes together.  This one is Helmet’s.  Would be a 5, but toward the end of the disc I find myself in need of a bit of a respite from their relentless bludgeon, as a sameness kinda creeps in.

Rating:  4 out of 5

Judas Priest - Stained Class

   1978 Columbia

WOW. 

When one thinks of Judas Priest, visions of ‘Hell Bent for Leather,’ ‘British Steel’ and ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ most commonly come to mind.  And with good reason, as this was perhaps the commercial peak for the band (ok, ‘Defenders of the Faith’ should be included in the mix, too…though the lunkhead factor was creeping into their lyrics by then).

However, the year before 1979’s lauded ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ (’Killing Machine’ in the UK) Priest released what is, to my ears, their true masterpiece.  I don’t mean to sound like one of those creeps who complains that a band was better before they got popular, as there’s no denying the quality of the aforementioned releases, it’s just that ‘Stained Class’ is better.

This disc embodies just about everything I love about REALLY good heavy metal.  The riffs and the power are certainly there, but what Priest had in their earlier days was an intelligence about their lyrics that seemed to erode with the passing years.  Let’s face it, 1986’s ‘Turbo’ was just a bad album with even worse lyrics.  2 or maybe 3 good songs in that bunch.

One listen to this disc and you’ll wonder how they got from point A to point B in only 8 years.  This disc is one of the most textured, soaring, intelligent and heavy discs you’re likely to hear.  Yeah, it doesn’t sound quite as heavy by today’s production standards (just turn it up LOUDER!), but man are there some great riffs here.  Leadoff track “Exciter” is the earliest speed metal toon that I’m aware of and it’s amazing.

Other standout tracks are “Invader” and “Saints in Hell,” which kick off the stunning second half of this disc, which contains one of my favorite metal one-two punches of all-time…”Savage” and “Beyond the Realms of Death,” the former being a heavy masterpiece and the latter possessing so much melody and dynamics that you could argue it’s their “Stairway to Heaven.”

This is the album that was at the center of the highly publicized suicide lawsuit against the band that was rightfully thrown out of the courts.  I used to go to sleep listening to this disc…and I’m still alive to tell about it.   This is a must for any metal fan’s collection and a great example of what good, intelligent music heavy metal can be.

An unsung cornerstone in the foundation of heavy metal.

Rating:  5 out of 5

Tribe After Tribe - Tribe After Tribe

   1991 Megaforce/Atlantic

In an era where grunge/alternative/modern rock/whatever was the trend du jour, these guys were unjustly thrown into the “metal” category due to their early output being released (and overlooked) on the label that spawned Metallica, Anthrax, Metal Church and other heavy/thrash pioneers in the early 80’s…Megaforce.

Guitarist and band leader Robbi Robb might be a familiar name to some of you hardcore Pearl Jam fans because he joined forces with Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament in the band Three Fish.  If you’ve ever heard any of the Three Fish albums, you’ve got a pretty good idea of the sound you’ll find here…except that Tribe After Tribe’s songs are a little more accessible.

The sound of Tribe After Tribe is really difficult to categorize, as it’s a power trio of a different variety.  Yeah, there’s the guitar work of Robbi Robb - equal parts power and atmosphere, and the bass and bass synth stylings of Robby Whitelaw - unique and creative in its own right.  But the real secret weapon here is the man known only as P.K., who brings a real (read: honest) tribal feel to the music with his use of African percussion and a definite non-traditional sort of drum kit.

The band’s South African origins color the music, bringing a unique flavor to rock song structures like “Build A Subway” and “Sally.”   If you want to sample the sound for yourself, “White Boys In the Jungle” and “Come To See You Fall” are as good of a place to start as any (click the links to check ‘em out on YouTube), since the sound itself will determine whether you buy into this band or not.   The way the latter tune builds is as intimate and real as anything you’ll ever hear.

I’m sold no doubt about it.  If you like the sound on the aforementioned songs you might as well search out this long out-of-print gem online and buy it.  You won’t be disappointed..and you’ll want to revisit this disc over and over again.  It’s hard to believe it’s 17 years old as of this post and it sounds even better with age.  Totally timeless and immune to trends, Tribe After Tribe creates music for the pure joy of it…and it’s here for all of us to experience, beginning with this breathtaking debut from a band that fortunately is still doing it after all this time.

Unfortunately they only have 2 discs that saw stateside release…this and the equally worthy followup ‘Love Under Will.’  I’ve gotta give kudos to Johnny Zazula and Co. at Megaforce Records for having the guts to give it a shot with a band that no major label would touch because they didn’t know what to do with them.

There’s only one thing to do with music like this.  Listen.

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

   1987 EMI-Manhattan/Capitol

Don’t care what anyone says…THIS is the definitive Red Hot Chili Peppers disc.  Way before it was fashionable to combine rock, funk and rap the Chili Peppers unleashed this heavy, funky and groovin’ disc on an unsuspecting public.

Sure their previous record ‘Freaky Styley’ was produced by the King of Funk, George Clinton himself, but this was something different altogether.  While they had always sought to combine funk, rock and a psychedelic skate-punk mentality, on ‘The Uplift Mofo Party Plan’ they created a sound so powerful that every thump of Flea’s bass sounds like it’s going to tear a hole in your speaker cones.

Run-DMC has been credited (and rightfully so) along with Aerosmith with being the first to bring the rock/rap combo to the mainstream - when you think about it, ‘Walk This Way’ really was a sort-of rap song to begin with - and around the time of their ground-breaking video the Chili Peppers were in the studio creating this gem.

From the first beat of lead track “Fight Like A Brave,” you can just tell you’re in for a party.  I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking “I’ve never heard anything like this before.”   It really was a groundbreaking sound at the time, although they were just beginning to gain notoriety.

Their influences are all over the place.  While the rock/metal influences are there in Hillel Slovak’s (RIP) perfectly distorted guitar and the punk/funk influence is there in the rhythm section of bassist Flea and drummer Jack Irons, this is where the classic rock influences so prevalent in their present-day sound first appeared with their brilliant reworking of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

It’s really amazing how they managed to make so many different and seemingly incompatible styles work so flawlessly within their own context.  “Funky Crime” couldn’t be any more funky with its slinky groove and on the other side of the coin there’s the psychedelic “Behind The Sun” and the southern-fried country/rock/funk of “Walkin’ On Down The Road.”   It just doesn’t sound like it should work…but it does.

“No Chump Love Sucker” is pure skate punk/funk, a perfect soundtrack song for the X-Games, while my favorite is undoubtedly the relentlessly funky and slammin’ “Backwoods.”   Man this album makes me smile every time I listen to it and it’s rumoured that it was Steven Tyler’s music of choice to listen to on Aerosmith’s ‘Permanent Vacation’ tour.   I can see why.  If you’re having a bad day, this is the music to get you in a better mood.  You might even take all your clothes off.

Rating:  5 out of 5

Robert Plant - Shaken N Stirred

   1985 Esperanza/Atlantic

This is the lost album of the Robert Plant catalogue…an album which didn’t garner near the amount of attention it deserved because it was so far out it left field.  It was totally not what people expected, especially after Plant’s brilliant ‘The Principle of Moments’ in 1983, which spawned his crowning achievement…the timeless “Big Log.”

Plant has always had an air of mysticism about him and a sense of humor that almost seems to say “You’re all taking this WAY too seriously…but ok, I’ll play along.”  On this album Plant’s playfulness takes center stage from the VERY new wave influenced sound (i.e. lots of atmospheric and almost techno keyboards) to the song titles themselves.  To wit:  “Hip To Hoo,” “Kallalou Kallalou,” “Doo Doo A Do Do.”

Plant’s lyrics on his solo work have always had a dreamy introspectiveness about them, yet his wordplay and sense of humor is often overlooked as he laments to this day that his former band Led Zeppelin was taken too seriously.  Plant’s introspection is riveting as he exposes all the drama and the absurdity of his humanity.

There is a definite new wave techno sound to ‘Shaken N Stirred’…no doubt about it.  What’s cool is that the new wave sound is perfectly melded with experimental nuances and unorthodox song structures to show the validity of otherwise gimmicky noises in the hands of creative pros.  Plant brings in the lovely and angelic-voiced Toni Halliday to provide the perfect female foil to his perceived machismo, almost to romanticize it and make light of it.

The only song on here that can compare sonically to Plant’s other solo work is lead off single “Little By Little,” which is the only semi-”normal” sounding track on the whole thing.   “Too Loud” is really pure techno and “Easily Lead” takes a driving rock beat and turns it into a swirling, surreal dance of secuction.   Closing out the album is “Sixes And Sevens,” which in retrospect is the perfect bridge between this and its follow up disc “Now And Zen.”

Seek this one out and listen to it with the mental picture of a classic rock icon who has always worn his influences on his sleeve, finding new influences to experiement with and incorporate into his own style. Because that’s exactly what this is.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5