Aftertaste

Black Sabbath and The Rollins Band had a baby and they called it Helmet. On its fourth album, the hard-hitting New York foursome continues to pit bandleader Page Hamilton's Ozzyish singing against a backdrop of industrial-strength guitars and drums that practice what Henry Rollins refers to as the "socialist groove", where no one beat in a measure is accented over any other. The effect is similar to that of a jackhammer tearing up a sidewalk: loud and repetitive, but consistently effective.

Rolling Stone (3/6/97, pp.67-69)
- 3.5 Stars (out of 5)
- "...(Hamilton's)
a master of the staccato chug, the slice-and-dice fill and the buzz-saw charge....Hamilton's style is all about an economic restraint that verges on repression. His guitar lines stretch like high-tension wires..."

Alternative Press (4/97, p. 74)
- 5 (out of 5)
- "After...the muddled experimentation of 1994's BETTY, Helmet...went back to sonic boot camp to reinforce the basics...brutal yet strangely accessible."