1.
Helmet (band)
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Helmet is an American alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, Helmet has released eight studio albums and two compilation albums. The band found success with their 1992 major label debut Meantime. After the releases of Betty and Aftertaste, Helmet broke up in 1998, however, the band reformed in 2004, and has released four more albums ever since―Size Matters, Monochrome, Seeing Eye Dog and Dead to the World. After Hamilton had left the Band of Susans, Helmet formed in early 1989 and they were spotted by Tom Hazelmyer and signed to Amphetamine Reptile Records, releasing their debut 7 inch single, Born Annoying, later that year. AmRep released their first album, Strap it On, in 1990, Helmet was acclaimed as a Thinking persons heavy metal band. Eschewing the traditional heavy metal image of hair and black clothing, the band stood out with their preference for simple T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. Their music is characterized by repetitive, syncopated, staccato guitar riffs, often in time signatures. The guitar sound is heavily distorted and dissonant, with choruses that often involve guitar feedback waves, before Hamilton had settled on a name, the guitarist Peter Mengedes then-girlfriend Reyne Cuccuro suggested the Germanic name Helmuth. Hamilton misinterpreted her and mistakenly believed that she was referring to the form of protective gear, Hamilton then thought excitingly that Helmet had sounded like a pretty cool name for a band and opted for the Anglicized spelling. Other names taken in consideration were Cry Ruth and Poly Orchids, along with the esoteric and obscure Tuna Lorenzo. The band achieved success after signing to Interscope Records in early 1992 and it is rumored that the members received in excess of $1 million at signing, along with an unprecedented amount of control over their work. Their first Interscope release, Meantime, was released in 1992, the album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and remains Helmets top-selling album. Helmet toured the United States, Brazil, Europe, and Asia relentlessly, generally with other AmRep recording artists, internal tensions rose high at times. In early 1993, guitarist Peter Mengede left the band and formed Handsome which only released one album in 1997 and he was replaced by Rob Echeverria, guitarist of hardcore band Rest in Pieces. The bands third album, Betty, was released in 1994, despite managing the bands highest-ever chart position on the Billboard 200 at number 45, the album failed to sell as much as Meantime. In 1995, the band appeared in The Jerky Boys, The Movie, covering Black Sabbaths Symptom of the Universe, later, after recording and touring in support of Betty, Echeverria left to join Biohazard, however, his departure was much more amicable than Mengedes. The band elected to push on and record 1997s Aftertaste as a three-piece, a first version of the album was withdrawn at last minute in the fall of 1996 when promotional activities had already begun
2.
Post-hardcore
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Like post-punk, the term has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Hardcore punk typically features very fast tempos, loud volume, and heavy bass levels, additionally, many of these bands vocalists were just as likely to deliver their lyrics with a whispered croon as they were a maniacal yelp. Allmusic also claims that post-hardcore bands find creative ways to build and release tension rather than airing their dirty laundry in short, sharp, british post-punk of the late 1970s and early 1980s has been seen as influential on the musical development of post-hardcore bands. As the genre progressed some of these groups also experimented with an array of influences, including soul, dub, funk, jazz. Groups such as Saccharine Trust, Naked Raygun, and The Effigies, during the early to mid-1980s, the desire to experiment with hardcores basic template expanded to many musicians that had been associated with the genre or had strong roots in it. Many of these also took inspiration from the 1980s noise rock scene pioneered by Sonic Youth. Some bands signed to the independent label Homestead Records, including Squirrel Bait, a reviewer noted that the groups 1989s release Wrong was one of the most aggressive and powerful opuses in post-hardcore ever made. During the years 1984 and 1985 in the scene, a new movement had swept over. When The Faith put out the EP Subject to Change in 1983 it marked an evolution in the sound of D. C. hardcore. This movement has been widely known as the Revolution Summer. Other bands have been perceived as taking inspiration from such as funk. According to Eric Grubbs, a nickname was developed for the new sound, with some considering it post-harDCore, the latter, mentioned in skateboarding magazine Thrasher, would come up in discussions around the D. C. area. In the nearby state of Maryland, similar bands that are categorized now as post-hardcore would also emerge and this group has also been considered as one of the earliest emo acts. The second half of the 1980s saw the formation of bands in D. C. which included Shudder to Think, Jawbox, The Nation of Ulysses. MacKaye described this period as the busiest that the Dischord Records label had ever seen. Most of these acts, along with ones, would contribute to the 1989 compilation State of the Union. It has also noted that the groups ever-evolving sound would signal a more experimental turn in hardcore that paved the way for later Dischord releases. Similarly, the debut studio album, 1990s Repeater, has also been generally regarded as a classic
3.
Heavy metal music
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Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are associated with aggression. The first heavy metal such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the evolution by discarding much of its blues influence, Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility. Beginning in the late 1970s, bands in the new wave of British heavy metal such as Iron Maiden, before the end of the decade, heavy metal fans became known as metalheads or headbangers. During the 1980s, glam metal became popular with such as Mötley Crüe. Since the mid-1990s popular styles have further expanded the definition of the genre and these include groove metal and nu metal, the latter of which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip hop. Heavy metal is characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound. Metal subgenres variously emphasize, alter, or omit one or more of these attributes, the typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist. Keyboard instruments are used to enhance the fullness of the sound. Deep Purples Jon Lord played an overdriven Hammond organ, in 1970, John Paul Jones used a Moog synthesizer on Led Zeppelin III, by the 1990s, in. almost every subgenre of heavy metal synthesizers were used. The electric guitar and the power that it projects through amplification has historically been the key element in heavy metal. The heavy metal guitar sound comes from a use of high volumes. Guitar solos are an element of the heavy metal code. That underscores the significance of the guitar to the genre, most heavy metal songs featur at least one guitar solo, which is a primary means through which the heavy metal performer expresses virtuosity. One exception is nu metal bands, which tend to omit guitar solos, with rhythm guitar parts, the heavy crunch sound in heavy metal. Palm muting the strings with the hand and using distortion. Palm muting creates a tighter, more sound and it emphasizes the low end
4.
Bass guitar
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The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb, by plucking, slapping, popping, strumming, tapping, thumping, or picking with a plectrum, often known as a pick. The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to a guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length. The four-string bass, by far the most common, is tuned the same as the double bass. The bass guitar is an instrument, as it is notated in bass clef an octave higher than it sounds to avoid excessive ledger lines. Like the electric guitar, the guitar has pickups and it is plugged into an amplifier and speaker on stage, or into a larger PA system using a DI unit. Since the 1960s, the guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music as the bass instrument in the rhythm section. While types of basslines vary widely from one style of music to another, many styles of music utilise the bass guitar, including rock, heavy metal, pop, punk rock, country, reggae, gospel, blues, symphonic rock, and jazz. It is often a solo instrument in jazz, jazz fusion, Latin, funk, progressive rock and other rock, the adoption of a guitar form made the instrument easier to hold and transport than any of the existing stringed bass instruments. The addition of frets enabled bassists to play in more easily than on acoustic or electric upright basses. Around 100 of these instruments were made during this period, around 1947, Tutmarcs son, Bud, began marketing a similar bass under the Serenader brand name, prominently advertised in the nationally distributed L. D. Heater Music Company wholesale jobber catalogue of 1948, however, the Tutmarc family inventions did not achieve market success. In the 1950s, Leo Fender, with the help of his employee George Fullerton and his Fender Precision Bass, which began production in October 1951, became a widely copied industry standard. This split pickup, introduced in 1957, appears to have been two mandolin pickups, the pole pieces and leads of the coils were reversed with respect to each other, producing a humbucking effect. Humbucking is a design that electrically cancels the effect of any AC hum, the Fender Bass was a revolutionary new instrument, which could be easily transported, and which was less prone to feedback when amplified than acoustic bass instruments. Monk Montgomery was the first bass player to tour with the Fender bass guitar, roy Johnson, and Shifty Henry with Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, were other early Fender bass pioneers. Bill Black, playing with Elvis Presley, switched from bass to the Fender Precision Bass around 1957. The bass guitar was intended to appeal to guitarists as well as upright bass players, following Fenders lead, in 1953, Gibson released the first short scale violin-shaped electric bass with extendable end pin, allowing it to be played upright or horizontally. In 1959 these were followed by the more conventional-looking EB-0 Bass, the EB-0 was very similar to a Gibson SG in appearance
5.
Guitar
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The guitar is a musical instrument classified as a fretted string instrument with anywhere from four to 18 strings, usually having six. The sound is projected either acoustically, using a wooden or plastic and wood box, or through electrical amplifier. It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers, the guitar is a type of chordophone, traditionally constructed from wood and strung with either gut, nylon or steel strings and distinguished from other chordophones by its construction and tuning. There are three types of modern acoustic guitar, the classical guitar, the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of a guitar is produced by the strings vibration, amplified by the hollow body of the guitar. The term finger-picking can also refer to a tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass. The acoustic bass guitar is an instrument that is one octave below a regular guitar. Early amplified guitars employed a body, but a solid wood body was eventually found more suitable during the 1960s and 1970s. As with acoustic guitars, there are a number of types of guitars, including hollowbody guitars, archtop guitars and solid-body guitars. The electric guitar has had a influence on popular culture. The guitar is used in a variety of musical genres worldwide. It is recognized as an instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, folk, jazz, jota, mariachi, metal, punk, reggae, rock, soul. The term is used to refer to a number of chordophones that were developed and used across Europe, beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas. The modern word guitar, and its antecedents, has applied to a wide variety of chordophones since classical times. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar, at least two instruments called guitars were in use in Spain by 1200, the guitarra latina and the so-called guitarra morisca. The guitarra morisca had a back, wide fingerboard. The guitarra Latina had a sound hole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers moresca or morisca and latina had been dropped, and it had six courses, lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist
6.
Drum kit
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A drum kit consists of a mix of drums and idiophones most significantly cymbals but also including the woodblock and cowbell. In the 2000s, some also include electronic instruments and both hybrid and entirely electronic kits are used. If some or all of them are replaced by electronic drums, the drum kit is usually played while seated on a drum stool or throne. The drum kit differs from instruments that can be used to produce pitched melodies or chords, even though drums are often placed musically alongside others that do, such as the piano or guitar. The drum kit is part of the rhythm section used in many types of popular and traditional music styles ranging from rock and pop to blues. Other standard instruments used in the section include the electric bass, electric guitar. Many drummers extend their kits from this pattern, adding more drums, more cymbals. Some performers, such as some rockabilly drummers, use small kits that omit elements from the basic setup, some drum kit players may have other roles in the band, such as providing backup vocals, or less commonly, lead vocals. Thus, in an early 1800s orchestra piece, if the called for bass drum, triangle and cymbals. In the 1840s, percussionists began to experiment with foot pedals as a way to them to play more than one instrument. In the 1860s, percussionists started combining multiple drums into a set, the bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, and other percussion instruments were all played using hand-held drum sticks. Double-drumming was developed to one person to play the bass and snare with sticks. With this approach, the drum was usually played on beats one. This resulted in a swing and dance feel. The drum set was referred to as a trap set. By the 1870s, drummers were using an overhang pedal, most drummers in the 1870s preferred to do double drumming without any pedal to play multiple drums, rather than use an overhang pedal. Companies patented their pedal systems such as Dee Dee Chandler of New Orleans 1904–05, liberating the hands for the first time, this evolution saw the bass drum played with the foot of a standing percussionist. The bass drum became the central piece around which every other percussion instrument would later revolve and it was the golden age of drum building for many famous drum companies, with Ludwig introducing
7.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
8.
Singing
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Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist, Singers perform music that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists, Singers may perform as soloists, or accompanied by anything from a single instrument up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised and it may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual, as part of music education, or as a profession. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice, if practice is done on a regular basis then the sounds can become more clear and strong. Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific genre, such as classical or rock. They typically take voice training provided by teachers or vocal coaches throughout their careers. Though these four mechanisms function independently, they are coordinated in the establishment of a vocal technique and are made to interact upon one another. During passive breathing, air is inhaled with the diaphragm while exhalation occurs without any effort, exhalation may be aided by the abdominal, internal intercostal and lower pelvis/pelvic muscles. Inhalation is aided by use of external intercostals, scalenes and sternocleidomastoid muscles, the pitch is altered with the vocal cords. With the lips closed, this is called humming, humans have vocal folds which can loosen, tighten, or change their thickness, and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of the chest and neck, the position of the tongue, any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced. Sound also resonates within different parts of the body and an individuals size, Singers can also learn to project sound in certain ways so that it resonates better within their vocal tract. This is known as vocal resonation, another major influence on vocal sound and production is the function of the larynx which people can manipulate in different ways to produce different sounds. These different kinds of function are described as different kinds of vocal registers. The primary method for singers to accomplish this is through the use of the Singers Formant and it has also been shown that a more powerful voice may be achieved with a fatter and fluid-like vocal fold mucosa. The more pliable the mucosa, the more efficient the transfer of energy from the airflow to the vocal folds, Vocal registration refers to the system of vocal registers within the voice. A register in the voice is a series of tones, produced in the same vibratory pattern of the vocal folds
9.
Aftertaste (album)
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Aftertaste is the fourth album by Helmet, released in 1997 on Interscope. This proved to be Helmets final album with original members John Stanier, guitarist Rob Echeverria, who appeared on Helmets previous outing, Betty, left the group to join Biohazard. Subsequently, the album was recorded as a three-piece, with Page Hamilton covering all the guitar parts, guitarist Chris Traynor came on board for the supporting tour. Aftertaste harkens back to Helmets earlier sound, omitting some of the tendencies of Betty. The album met with a critical reaction and poor commercial response. This album along with Meantime and Betty is considered a text in post-metal. Hamilton said his goal in writing the album was to create a mix between smarts and crunch. I dont want to say that Im sick of the visceral animal response that we get - Im not, I need more than seeing a bunch of kids jumping around and breaking each others noses. I feel like I really need to communicate with an audience who will listen, whatever I write in a rock n roll context will elicit a conditioned response, unless I quit rock and make a country record or something. The album was close to being released in the fall of 1996, with promotional interviews being held, the album release was withdrawn and the mix duties were handed from Producer Dave Sardy to Terry Date. The version of Pure that appeared on the Exactly What You Wanted CD single in 1997 appears to be taken from this version of the album. The track list of the early version wouldve held Insatiable as the opening track, renovation at the time was not included in the album as it was to be contributed exclusively to a Soundtrack compilation album. The album was met with mixed to positive reviews music critics. Its a shocking and disheartening turn of events for one of the more intriguing metal bands of the 90s, muse bassist Chris Wolstenholme has mentioned Aftertaste as his favourite album. All tracks written by Page Hamilton, except where noted
10.
Size Matters
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Size Matters is the fifth album by the American alternative metal band Helmet, released in 2004 through Interscope. It is the first new album since the band ended with a break up in 1998. Page Hamilton, the founder and chief songwriter, is the only original member appearing on the album. Therefore, many object to it being called Helmet and consider it to be a Page Hamilton solo project. According to Hamilton, John Stanier and Henry Bogdan both declined the invitation to reunite, despite the purists objections, the album carries on in the Helmet tradition with Hamiltons trademark staccato sound. The album was recorded as a three-piece with John Tempesta on drums, after recording was done, bassist Frank Bello was brought in so Traynor could return to guitar. Size Matters had one single in See You Dead, the track Throwing Punches was also included on the film soundtrack for Underworld, and Crashing Foreign Cars was featured in the video game Need For Speed, Underground 2. Many of the songs and lyrics were inspired by Hamiltons one year relationship with actress Winona Ryder. The Japanese release has two tracks, Black Light and Just Like Me. These tracks, as well as Smart, Enemies, and Unwound, were recorded as Gandhi tracks. Upon release in 2004, the album received mixed reviews from critics, pitchfork writer David Raposa gave the album a mixed review. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic gave the album 3 stars and wrote in his review Size Matters emphasizes for the bloated alt-metal elite what it means to have craft and it isnt necessarily memorable, but as an exercise in measured, even artistic rage, its classic Hamilton. Page Hamilton – Vocals, Guitar Chris Traynor – Bass John Tempesta – Drums Size Matters at Metacritic
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