Seems like just yesteryear Helmet was a band on the rise, dropping D and giving good Helmet to the riff-starved masses (not to mention playing much larger rooms than The End). They made the jump to a major label in that heady era when serious cash was flying around in search of the next Nirvana, and after playing talent incubator, their onetime indie label Amphetamine Reptile referred to its shiny new studio as “the house that Helmet built.” But that was the ’90s. And if you’re too young to remember Am Rep or the era’s many attempts at grunge anthems (like Filter’s Cobain tribute “Hey Man Nice Shot”), then maybe think of it this way: Helmet sound kind of like JEFF the Brotherhood in a really bad mood.
— Steve Haruch