It may not be talked about as readily as Master Of Puppets or Number Of The Beast, but for those of a certain generation, Helmet’s 1992 masterpiece Meantime is a genuinely perfect record.
The list of bands present here are a testament to its influence, and most, the likes of KEN Mode and Fuck The Facts, are hugely well respected underground heroes.
That being said, not many of them can hold a candle to the originals. Meek Is Murder bring punk’n’roll pace to Better and Rosetta’s doomy, psychedelic reimagining of I Know (one of the non-Meantime bonus tracks) works surprisingly well. But, ultimately, hearing I Am Become Death faithfully retread the steps of classic opener In The Meantime, with a bit more feedback and screaming added, just makes you want to go and binge on Page Hamilton and co’s stellar back catalogue. As a doffing of the cap to a superb band Meantime (Redux) should be applauded, but if you’ve never heard Helmet before then rectify that first right now.
