Album Review: Helmet - Dead To The World

Back in the day Helmet were an influential group for a lot of bands - and a fair amount of angry youths - but it's hard to see that same creature in their latest effort.

While utterly professional, it's both juvenile and archaic in a way that nullifies the niche value of either. It's also pretty bland, with the exception of Green Shirt, which is also part nursery-folk. Dead To The World isn't totally rotten, the guitars are appropriately thick, the percussion carries its weight, and Page Hamilton's voice hasn't lost any of its meat, but it feels like having not released an album in six years means they haven't grown either.