If ever there was a band that proved how important chemistry is to music it was Helmet. While Page Hamilton may have written the songs, it was the combined energy of his guitar style, the thick bass tones of Henry Bogdan and the incredible drumming of John Stanier that gave Helmet its signature sound.
Nothing proves that more than the succession of albums that came after the original members had parted company. Helmet, (or Page Hamilton and his new band), have released a new record titled Seeing Eye Dog. The only problem is it’s not really Helmet.
This record, like Size Matters and Monchrome before it are Page Hamilton solo albums resting beneath a familiar moniker. It doesn’t mean that Seeing Eye Dog is a bad record but it is not a Helmet record. The sound isn’t the same, the vibe isn’t the same, nothing about this record gives off any type of Helmet feel. Instead Seeing Eye Dog is a collection of cool, fuzzed out rock numbers, which incorporate some strong Helmet influences. It’s actually kind of bizarre to hear an album called Helmet that’s not Helmet but is obviously influenced by Helmet.
Even Hamilton’s voice is totally different here. Instead of the weird croon style that led to barking vocals now it’s mostly barking vocals. Not just barking vocals but ones that sound like Hamilton has been drinking whiskey for way too long. Even when he does “sing” it sounds off. Removing the vocals from the equation, the actual songwriting on Seeing Eye Dog is really good.
Opening track “So Long” is a cool noise rock song with a bit of a swing to it. The guitar work is abrasive except when it drops into the chorus, then it becomes catchy as hell. The title track is, oddly, the closest thing to an actual Helmet song on the whole album. The riff just screams Helmet. 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.
The rest of Seeing Eye Dog is a lot of hit or miss. “Welcome To Algiers” is a head bopping ditty until you realize it’s really similar to “So Long”. I wish the song had built more off what the chorus was doing than that type of swing riff idea Hamilton explored earlier. “In Person” is an epic; swirling tune that calls in thoughts of My Bloody Valentine and early hardcore if you can imagine that. .
I also dug “And Your Bird Can Sing” just because it stammers along like a drunken giant from down south as imagined by Throbbing Gristle. “LA Water” is a failed experiment in using empty space to create mood and tension. Instead it forces the song to move at a speed that feels like time in reverse. The album ender “She’s Lost” also moves at a plodding speed but the guitar work is more exciting, more playful and that keeps it from getting dull.
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. However when you don’t have Henry Bogdan or John Stanier and Hamilton is free to draw from his jazzy roots you get a pretty cool psychedelic Page Hamilton solo record, not a Helmet album.
If I could give advice on listening to Seeing Eye Dog it would be to make sure you listen to it three or four times. The first time you hear it you will hate it because you’re expecting Helmet and not getting it. The second time the Helmet ideal fades a bit but you still won’t enjoy it thoroughly. By the third listen you’ll start to get into what Hamilton is doing and by the fourth listen you’ll dig the album. Even after it’s ups and downs I did ultimately enjoy Seeing Eye Dog.
I suppose a case could be made that if Hamilton had released this under a solo guise or he’d done it with his former band Gandhi people would have cried fowl saying it had too many Helmet influences. The decision here lies solely with the listener. Either decide you hate Seeing Eye Dog because it’s a non-Helmet record under the Helmet name or embrace it as a bad band name choice but a solid album. I choose the latter simply because there’s such a lack of intelligent, thought provoking music out there so why slap one down over semantics?
CRAVEONLINE RATING 7 1/2 OT OF 10
