t's pretty hard to doubt the clout that epic Australian rock bands have at the moment. Just look at the two biggest, Karnivool and Dead Letter Circus: two big releases, two huge tours and a collective national fever for their uncompromising progressive rock. As big as they are, it's a bit hard to remember them in their early days, but what drove both bands back in the mid-2000s was a consensus in the musical sphere that progressive rock was back on the board. Helm, a bunch of guys from the Gold Coast, are one such band.
Forming in 2008, Helm had a handful of releases before a slew of line-up changes put a hold on touring and releasing. Their new album, Part III: Panthalassa, fills a four-year gap between full-length releases. “Speaking as the second newest member of the band, it's been a bit of a ride,” guitarist and vocalist Ryan “Ruckus” Lucas admits. “It's kinda been this situation of realigning the band, and kinda figuring out what the new process of the band's going to be. While doing that, we're really putting a lot of emphasis on keeping the Helm sound that was in those previous releases, because we think there's something good going on there.”
Obviously excited to see Panthalassa released, and to get back out on the road, the band have decided to play the entire album, front to back, at all of their upcoming shows. “We've all been in bands before, but I don't think we've ever been more proud about an album than with this one. It's taken a lot of work, but we're really happy with it. It's got that heavy rock side, but there's also the melodic and progressive sides to it as well.”
With three guitarists, they've injected a fair amount of heaviness into the whole progressive rock vibe. “Yeah, it has the chance to get messy, sometimes,” Lucas explains the convoluted nature of such intricate musicianship. “With three guitarists, it can easily become way too complicated and heavy. You have to put in extra work to make sure it all blends together, but that's something we're happy to do, that's what we've always done. You know, you never stop writing... even when you're touring and stuff. It doesn't really stop, so there's always songs being fine-tuned all the time. When I came in, for instance, there was about four songs written that made it on to the album, but a few bits and pieces sitting around that needed joining together. So when I came in, it was pretty much writing and working on that from day one, and that's really how we've gotten to the album now.”
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The Endless Storm National Tour will take Helm all around the country, including their first stop in WA. “Yeah, it's been a long time coming. It's a bit hard to move a band around with three guitars,” Lucas laughs. “But we're definitely excited about it.”
