Helmet, Local H
Helmet is not the band it was in the early '90s, when the New York City bruisers released seminal records like Strap It On and Meantime. In fact, guitarist/vocalist Page Hamilton is all that remains, and he's trotted out a crew of freshly shorn musicians in recent years that don't resemble John Stanier, Peter Mengede, or Henry Bogdan. That's okay; those songs still deserve to be heard. MARK LORE