Chart Attack (2004)
Last updated on January 6, 2010
Originally published by Chart Attack, 5 October 2004
Helmet’s Page Hamilton Ready For A Comeback, His Shoulder Not So Much
Page Hamilton is in a funk. The leader of the newly restored and recreated Helmet flipped his mountain bike back in August, seriously messing up his collarbone and pushing back the band’s comeback album and tour. On the phone from L.A. where he’s recuperating, Hamilton says he’s working his way out of the post-trauma blues.
“You get really lazy and sit around cranking vicadin, chain-smoking,” he says.
The singer-guitarist has been cooped up for a month now and he’s eager to talk. Even about the gory details of his recovery.
“I have some dead person’s tendon in there. Their hamstring,” he says casually. And while he knew doctors had inserted screws into his shoulder, the x-rays were still a surprise: “These things are like railroad spikes. They’re really big.”
Size Matters is Helmet’s first record in seven years. The band split in 1999, with original members Henry Bogdan and John Stanier leaving on bad terms. For the current reinvention, White Zombie drummer John Tempesta and Anthrax bass player Frank Bello have come on board — but Hamilton insists this is the same band.
“It still sounds like Helmet,” he says. “My stuff is pretty much completed when it’s presented to the band. And it’s up to them to come up with their drum fills, bass fills, their articulation. And yes, John Tempesta and John Stanier articulate differently, but they’re both amazing drummers. The deal is John Stanier and I don’t speak anymore, so it’s kind of hard to be in a band with him.”
Hamilton says that after nine years together, the members of the original Helmet had built up a lot of tension and that was taking a toll on everyone involved.
“Our communication was built on resistance more than cooperation, by the end of it,” he says. “That’s unhealthy, that’s unnecessary. It was time for us to move on. And I’m glad John and Henry are happy, I think, and doing their thing. God bless ‘em.”
Without that friction, Hamilton found recording the new album a refreshing experience. He is, however, wary of the flak a new Helmet release could bring, especially with the new band line-up and the expectations attached to any comeback. Quick to go on the offensive with critical fans, he says growing and experimenting musically (“putting the lab coat on”) are essential for not getting stuck in one place.
“I mean, look at Axl Rose,” Hamilton says. “He put out the Guns N’ Roses album like 20 years ago and he’s blocked. I mean, I’m just assuming, but I hear a lot about it and I have friends that play with him. They say he’s a great guy, he’s still creative, but he just kind of wanders off into the desert for days on end. He’s stuck. You need to get with other musicians.”
During the break from Helmet, Hamilton toured in David Bowie’s band and worked with a film composer, a jazz trumpet player and even U2’s Bono. He says that kind of collaboration allowed him to come back to Helmet with fresh ideas and enthusiasm.
With the tour coming up, Hamilton is down to one pain pill a day, is quitting smoking and working toward a full range of motion. When the first show hits in Vancouver, he thinks he’ll be fine.
“If there’s pain, there’s pain. It’s not gonna kill me. The pain can’t be any worse than what I’ve been through the last month.”