NASHVILLE |DT: SEPTEMBER 14, 2010
FR: LIBBY COFFEY/MITCH SCHNEIDER/ANGELA VILLANUEVA
HELMET
ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM
‘SEEING EYE DOG’
OUT NOW VIA WORK SONG RECORDS
SEMINAL ROCK GROUP KICK OFF U.S. TOUR
Pictured, L-R: Dan Beeman, Page Hamilton, Kyle Stevenson, Dave Case.
Photo Credit: Tom Hoppa
Seminal rock group HELMET are now on the road, having launched their two-month headlining North American tour last week in Sacramento will a killer show and set list (see below) encompassing their classics and material from the new full-length album SEEING EYE DOG. Released September 7 via the indie Work Song label (with physical distribution by Redeye and direct-to-fan digital delivery by Topspin), the album is the band’s first album since 2006’s Monochrome and their seventh album overall. The new album is also paired with a bonus disc of live material recorded at the Vans Warped Tour in San Francisco 2006.
Produced by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter PAGE HAMILTON–with additional production by Toshi Kasai (Melvins) and vocal production by Mark Renk–SEEING EYE DOG is garnering early critical acclaim:
“Helmet’s first four albums are to alt-metal what AC/DC’s catalog is to rock: the fine-tuning of a single, colossal idea. But as mainman Page Hamilton spent his later years working as a composer and session player, influences from those worlds started creeping into HELMET’s textural crunch–and on SEEING EYE DOG, Hamilton brings yet more ideas to the party. Piledrivers like ‘Welcome To Algiers’ and the title track will sate those who think Helmet peaked with 1992’s Meantime, while melodic skull-kickers like ‘In-Person’ will hook fans of the band’s later work.”
–Aaron Burgess, ALTERNATIVE PRESS (September 2010)
“…’LA Water’ delivers psychedelic guitar and tight vocal harmonies over a surprisingly funky groove, while ‘Morphing’ is an ambient soundscape that’s almost Frippian in its dark grandeur.”
“One of my favorite tracks, ‘Morphing’ is a moody, keyboards and strings song with some guitars and no vocals. It feels like something from 2001 A Space Odyssey…’In Person’ is an epic; swirling tune that calls in thoughts of My Bloody Valentine and early hardcore…The biggest influence in this album is not rock or metal but more Hamilton’s love of experimental and jazz guitar. There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact it makes SEEING EYE DOG a more intelligent album than most.”
–Iann Robinson, CRAVEONLINE.COM, (9/6/10)
“SEEING EYE DOG finds frontman Page Hamilton and the latest incarnation of his band returning true to form, cranking up their guitars and unleashing the heady, visceral sound they are (in)famous for. The result is an engaging and challenging wall of sound not heard since 1994’s Betty. Though their power chords ring loudly, there’s plenty of emphasis on melody and plenty of unexpected moments. ‘So Long’ is a straightforward rocker brimming with angst and contained fury, and it’s balanced by a sprawling cinematic interlude (‘Morphing’) and a spectacular Beatles cover (‘And Your Bird Can Sing’). The ephemeral stadium rock of ‘White City’ will have lighters waving in the air and it’s interestingly juxtaposed alongside the grinding tension of ‘She’s Lost.’ A contender for comeback album of the year, Seeing Eye Dog proves it’s okay for a band to take one step to the side in order to take a quantum leap forward.”
–Darren Ressler, LIMEWIRE.COM, (9/7/10)
“’Seeing Eye Dog’ – This is classic Helmet right here, Betty-era. From the first note you feel it…The title track has balls. ‘LA Water’–This is one of my favorite songs on the album. The mid-tempo groove gives everything room to breathe. The bass is really prevalent, and there's a cool roto-vibe thing happening that reminds me of Nirvana's ‘Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.’ Orchestration on a Helmet record? Believe it. It's a great song…easily the best album to bear the Helmet name since Aftertaste, and above all it offers something new mixed with the old. What it proves is that at age 50, Page Hamilton can run rings around youngsters who weren't even born when Meantime was released.”
— James Zahn, KIKAXEMUSIC.COM, 9/6/10
HELMET—HAMILTON, drummer KYLE STEVENSON, guitarist DAN BEEMAN and bassist DAVE CASE–will tour North America through November 5. During this two-month trek throughout the U.S. and Canada, the group will hit New York City for a show Saturday, October 23 at Gramercy Theater as well as stops in Dallas, Austin, Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Chicago before wrapping up November 5 in Los Angeles. Next, starting November 17 in the Netherlands, HELMET will head overseas for an extensive month-long European tour ending December 17 in Scotland (see dates below).
Here is the HELMET set list from opening night of their trek.
Wednesday, September 8–Sacramento, CA–Harlow’s:
Role Model (Meantime, 1992)
So Long (Seeing Eye Dog, 2010)
See U dead (Size Matters, 2004)
Iron Head (Meantime, 1992)
Welcome to Algiers (Seeing Eye Dog, 2010)
White City (Seeing Eye Dog, 2010)
In Person (Seeing Eye Dog, 2010)
Seeing Eye Dog (Seeing Eye Dog, 2010)
Better (Meantime, 1992)
Unsung (Meantime, 1992)
Birth Defect (Aftertaste, 1997)
Wilma’s Rainbow (Betty, 1994)
Milquetoast (Betty, 1994)
HELMET Tour Dates:
DATE CITY VENUE
Fri 9/10 Oakland, CA Uptown Theater
Sat 9/11 San Jose, CA The Blank Club
Mon 9/13 Portland, OR Dante’s
Wed 9/15 Seattle, WA Showbox at The Market
Thu 9/16 Vancouver, BC The Venue
Sat 9/18 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Rom
Sun 9/19 Calgary, AB Dickens’ Pub
Tue 9/21 Casper, WY Downtown Grill & Venue
Thu 9/23 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse
Fri 9/24 Anaheim, CA The Galaxy
Sat 9/25 San Diego, CA Casbah
Sun 9/26 Redondo Beach, CA The Brixton
Fri 10/8 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre
Sat 10/9 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
Sun 10/10 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
Tue 10/12 Chicago, IL Double Door
Wed 10/13 Cleveland, OH Peabodys
Fri 10/15 Columbus, OH Skully’s Music Center
Sat 10/16 Detroit, MI Smalls
Sun 10/17 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
Tue 10/19 Montreal, QU Studio
Wed 10/20 Boston, MA The Middle East
Fri 10/22 Baltimore, MD Sonar
Sat 10/23 New York, NY Gramercy Theatre
Sun 10/24 West Chester, PA The Note
Tue 10/26 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
Wed 10/27 Nashville, TN 12th and Porter
Fri 10/29 Houston, TX Scout Bar
Sat 10/30 Austin, TX Red 7
Sun 10/31 Dallas, TX The Loft
Tue 11/2 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
Wed 11/3 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
Fri 11/5 Los Angeles, CA Key Club
European Dates:
Wed 11/17 Arnhem, Netherlands Luxor
Thu 11/18 Den Bosch, Netherlands W2
Fri 11/19 Bielefeld, Germany Forum
Sat 11/20 Hamburg, Germany Knust
Mon 11/22 Aarhus, Denmark Voxhall
Tue 11/23 Copenhagen, Denmark Vega Jr.
Wed 11/24 Berlin, Germany So36
Fri 11/26 Munich, Germany Feierwerk
Sat 11/27 Vienna, Austria Szene
Sun 11/28 Budapest, Hungary Dürer Kert
Mon 11/29 Basel, Switzerland Sommercasino
Tue 11/30 Zurich, Switzerland Abart
Wed 12/1 Amalgame, Switzerland Yverdon
Fri 12/3 Ravenna, Italy Bronson
Sat 12/4 Turin, Italy Spazio
Sun 12/5 Annecy Le Brise, France Glace
Mon 12/6 Strasbourg, France La Laiterie
Wed 12/8 Stuttgart, Germany Roehre
Thu 12/9 Cologne, Germany Werkstatt
Fri 12/10 Paris, France Elysee Montmarte
Sat 12/11 Orleans, France Astro Lab
Sun 12/12 Tourcoing, France Le Grand Mix
Tue 12/14 Ghent, Belgium Vooruit
Wed 12/15 London, England La Scala
Thu 12/16 Manchester, England Club Academy
Fri 12/17 Glasgow, Scotland Cathouse
www.helmetmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/helmetrocks
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For press information on HELMET, contact MSO:
Libby Coffey 818-380-0400 x 224 LCoffey@msopr.com
Angela Villanueva 818-380-0400 x 232 avillanueva@msopr.com
Mitch Schneider 818-380-0400 x 235 mschneider@msopr.com
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HELMET: LAUNCHES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW ALBUM 'SEEING EYE DOG'
