LIVE: Helmet – Perth, 24 April, 2017

LIVE: Helmet – Perth, 24 April, 2017
The Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
Reviewed by Kevin Curran
Photography by Stuart McKay

Riff lords Helmet were back in town after missing Perth last tour, this time it was to play 1994’s Betty album in its entirety.

The concept of playing a album from start to finish has caught on in recent years, and it works judging by the almost capacity crowd at the newly revamped Rosemount Hotel tonight.

With doors at 8pm and Helmet starting at 9.15 there was no time for a support act, which we found a bit strange, and the intensity of the record led it to a be a no-nonsense affair, with not one word spoken to the crowd from frontman Page Hamilton for the entirety of duration of the Betty record. Hamilton let his master riffery do the talking, with tracks like I Know and Rollo boasting a huge, weighty, sonic guitar sound.

As soon as the last note of Sam Hell was played, it was as if the business was taken care of and it was time let loose and have some fun, the band finally relaxing and enjoying beers and banter with the crowd.

What followed was a great selection of tracks from the back catalogue and new record Dead To The World, bringing out killer tracks like Pure, and my personal favourite Like I Care, from the Aftertaste album.

It was good to see Perth boy and former Helmet guitarist Jimmy Thompson get up and play a track: once Betty was finished it was all about having fun.

Unsung got the best reaction from the almost-two-hour set, before faces were melted off by closer Meantime.

Pioneers of Drop D riffing, Helmet played a super solid set, and it was great to see so many turn out tonight to witness and support the band as they delivered their 23 year old Betty album. In an age where people love good, hard riffs, Helmet sure have plenty of them up their sleeve. Bravo.

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries