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Most importantly, the album is a spellbinding smorgasbord of aggressive, sludgy metal, addictive beats and some pretty odd and unpredictable tempo shifts. The production is somewhat hollow, which gives the album a raw, intense and 'in your face' aura. The lyrics are violent, angry and thought-provoking. But, here's the interesting catch -- no matter how loud, bludgeoning, enraged, explosive and intense it gets, the band manages to pull all of this off - without using a single word of profanity (I'm not kidding.) All of the above things are so impressive, this should make many alternative and metal acts very ashamed of themselves.

"In The Meantime" begins with some distortion before kicking into a mid-tempo slice of vitriol. "Ironhead" features a steady, funky rhythm, fronted by some stop/start guitar crunch, and later some raw, rampaged soloing. The main groove is voraciously addictive. "Give It" features some polyrhythms in the very beginning, before giving way to a slow, steady Sabbath-esque guitar dirge. "Unsung" was probably the track that turned some into Helmet fans. Page Hamilton sings (as opposed to screaming) on this one, as well as a few more tracks on here. "Turned Out" features a tricky rhythm which can confuse some listeners on first try. Other than that, the track is one you'll love to bang your head to.

I realized I covered only half the album, but, the aforementioned descriptions pretty much describe the atmosphere of the whole album. At just under 37 minutes, there's more than enough aggression, rage, volatility and groove to keep headbangers satisfied. If you like bands like Biohazard, Tool and/or Rage Against The Machine - without all the profanity, but just as much intensity, check this album out. Witness one of the underground bands who influenced much of the alternative/metal scene from 1992 and on.


Incredible   August 21, 2002
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This is a massively influential recording, especially when viewed alongside the contemporary 'nu-metal'/'rap-rock' scene. It is also one of the harshest, most tightly written and performed albums I have ever heard.
Helmet produced music that truly was an assault on the senses, from the searing guitar lines to the quirky stop-start dynamics on numerous songs, coupled with the jazz-influenced time signatures and extremely raw vocals. This is not an album for the faint hearted, yet it is similarly not a release that panders to the stereotypically moronic metal fan (a label which I will be the first to point out is entirely inaccurate); Helmet are unquestionably purveyors of intelligent, thoughtful sentiment shrouded in some of the highest quality songwriting I have ever heard the genre produce.
On the opener, 'In the Meantime', Helmet set the scene for the ten superb tracks in typically cataclysmic fashion, with 30 seconds of churning noise giving way to a hypnotic, persistent drumbeat closely chased by layered guitars cranking out one of the heaviest, most recognisable riffs in metal, then pulling back to hammer one chord in truly eloquent, unforgettable fashion. These 3 minutes of 'In the meantime' may define Helmet, yet this album showcases a band truly comfortable with their own niche, their own raison d'etre, perfectly.
Many of the albums songs sound similar: indeed, I often think this record runs like one extended suite. Yet upon repeated listens each track follows the other so precisely, and the album's themes are so cogent even when wrapped in the bizzare anecdotes of the lyrics, that the status of this recording as a masterwork is apparent.
Buy this album if you enjoy intelligent music, or even if you merely like to bang your head profusely whenever you can, or both: this album caters easily to each faction. Consider carefully the irony behind the line, 'Walk through no archetypal suicide: to die young is far too boring these days', when contrasted to the grunge explosion taking place on America's opposite coast when Helmet recorded this release.
An ambitious, original record, and a musical unit whose impact should not, indeed cannot, be ignored.


A great start for a short-lived genre   September 18, 2005
 7 out of 13 found this review helpful

At the time this album was released (1992), this type of music was called "alternative metal," but this album ("Meantime"), and this band (Helmet) were, for all intensive purposes, the start of the genre that we know today as nu-metal. Its heavy riffs, stop-start rhythms, and soft-hard song structures were the motivating force behind many `90's hard rock bands. Thus, Helmet should definitely be considered one of the most influential and important rock bands of the 1990's. Even super-influential bands like Korn, Pantera and Tool have cited Helmet as an influence.

Musically, it's clearly evident that frontman Page Hamilton listened to a lot of Black Sabbath while making this record. "Meantime" is full of sludgy riffs and even some Ozzy-esque vocals (which are especially apparent on the song "Unsung").

Songs like "Ironhead," "Give It," "He Feels Bad," and "You Borrowed" best illustrate Helmet's famous stop-start rhythms (and "Ironhead" even has fast, almost galloping guitars), and "Unsung" and "Turned Out" have the aforementioned sludgy riffs, which lurch and almost bob. Elsewhere,"In the Meantime" has a heavy, grooving main riff, "Better" and "Role Model" should quench your cravings for a heavy song ("Better" has some heavy yells, and "Role Model" has heavy, churning riffs), and "F.B.L.A. II" has a guitar solo and some everything-but-the-kitchen sink drumming.

For whatever reason, this album has aged very well (better than most nu-metal records). This may be because Helmet were such an original band, or maybe because Page isn't constantly yelling about "nookies" and hatred. Or maybe it's because "Meantime" has a few guitar solos, and guitar solos are foreign to almost all other nu-metal bands. But, whatever the reason, Helmet are not normally grouped with nu-metal bands, so they are one of the few bands whose albums sales didn't plummet when nu-metal collapsed. Thus, it's OK if your friends know you listen to Helmet--they won't laugh at you.

In conclusion, this is where nu-metal began, so if you hate nu-metal, you should hate these guys; but everybody who enjoys nu or alternative metal, and those who are fans of Korn, Deftones, Tool, etc. should definitely check out "Meantime." And even if you don't listen to Helmet, you should definitely give them props for essentially being a modern day Black Sabbath and creating a whole genre--even though that genre would die off about a decade later.


The Greatest CD Ever   March 6, 1999
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Without a doubt, Meantime was a monumental CD that changed the way people think of heavy music. A full out assault on the listener, Meantime uses dropped-D tuning to perfection. Their tight, quick riff patterns in different time signatures have been used by a multitde of 90's metal bands (see Deftones, Pantera, Limp Bizkit, etc.) Every song on this album is amazing. It is one of the few CD's I can listen to constantly. Unfortunately, Helmet never received their due praise from the mainstream, mostly because people couldn't label them. It's not metal, it's not hardcore, it's not alternative. It is a captivating album that will stick with you forever.