About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

At 50, Page Hamilton shows he can still write some of the best riffs around.



Pros

• The beefy, memorable Helmet riffs we all know and love.
• Metal combined with just the right touch of pop.

Cons

• Hamilton's vocal shift detracts from the music.
• Unnecessary Beatles cover.

Description

• Released September 7, 2010 on Work Song.
• Helmet formed in 1989 in New York City.
• Page Hamilton is the only original member.

Guide Review - Helmet - 'Seeing Eye Dog'

Helmet has always been a peculiar metal band, one able to meld commercial viability and underground acceptance. They’ve been on the soundtracks to The Crow and Judgment Night, but were also covered by grindcore darlings Pig Destroyer. Although Seeing Eye Dog doesn’t stand on equal footing with Helmet’s classics, it shows frontman Page Hamilton still has more to offer than most musicians half his age.

Seeing Eye Dog contains those instantly noticeable Helmet riffs, riffs that can seemingly shake the Earth off its axis. It will lead to a similar experience as earlier Helmet releases; at first it perplexes, then it becomes interesting and after a few listens it sticks.

Betty seemed like a huge departure from Meantime and now is viewed as a peer, if not a superior album. On the first spin of Seeing Eye Dog I thought it might be Helmet’s nadir, but the album reveals itself as worthy with time and attention.

“So Long,” “Seeing Eye Dog” and “Welcome To Algiers” are classic Helmet rockers while the pop glossy “LA Water,” is a vicious indictment of the Los Angeles culture that glorifies reality television and plastic surgery.

Hamilton’s guitar work is still outstanding, but his voice is almost too polished here.

He’s made subtle vocal shifts during his career, but the approach on several songs –which reminds one a bit of Stone Temple Pilots or Velvet Revolver – falls short. The cover of The Beatles “And Your Bird Can Sing,” doesn’t add much except headwind near the end of the album.

Helmet will always be remembered as the band that gave the world Strap It On, Meantime and Betty. Their early work is untouchable, and in some ways an albatross. Seeing Eye Dog will never match those records. However, with time it reveals itself as a worthy chapter of Hamilton’s storied career.



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