[ATTENDED: October 28, 2017] Helms Alee
It was going to be hard to follow up Endon. And thankfully, Helms Alee did not try to out-intense them.
Rather, they went for a different sound–one that was really fantastic.
Helms Alee is a trio from Seattle. I was standing more or less in front of bassist Dana James and drummer Hozoji Matheson-Margullis.
Dana James had an incredible bass sound. Low and fat and loud and rumbly. It was great. And Hozoji Matheson-Margullis was so intense on the drums. Her kit was fairly small (I loved the design on the drum head even if I still can’t figure it out), but man, did she bring the power.
On the right was guitarist Ben Verellen. He and James played similar rumbling riffs for much of the songs, but he would occasional punctuate the songs with some great solos.
There were a lot of things I really liked about the band. I liked that they had a lot of diversity in their music–sure it was largely loud and heavy, but there were a lot of moments of quiet–when the band slowed down and let chords ring out. Or James would just play a bass riff, or Verellen would plays some pretty guitar.
They seemed to have some songs that had long introductions from each member–a lengthy bass rumble before everyone played along. Or a cool drum intro. Or like on, “Pretty as Pie,” a lengthy guitar intro before the remainder of the song followed.
I haven’t mentioned vocals yet because that was my favorite part of the band. All three members sang at different times–lead and backing vocals. And it added so much to their sound. Once again, because of where I was (I assume) the vocals a were a little lost. But I could hear (and see) that they were each singing.
Verellen has a low screaming voice (on record it’s not out front so it blends in well). But he also has a “regular” voice that is melodic. James and Hozoji have different vocal styles, more harmonious–one higher, which added a lot of depth. And they all sang at different times–sometimes in the same song, created a great complex sound.
They certainly worked as an excellent palate cleanser in between the extremes of Endon and Boris. Not that they weren’t loud, because they were, they just weren’t as relentless, which was appreciated.
Mid-way through their set Hozoji said that this was their last date on the tour with Boris. I’m really glad that I saw Boris this night, because I’m thrilled to have been introduced to Helms Alee. At the merch table, I talked with Hozoji about their releases (they had two older out of print CDs for sale) and the tough decision of getting an out of print disc or a new one. She said they’d played mostly from the two most recent discs, but did throw in some from the earlier ones as well. [I don’t know if they played this but I love that their newest album has as song called “Galloping Mind Fuk”].
One of my favorite songs was “Untoxicated.” There was a section in the song where the guitar and bass played three fast notes in succession and the drums played a thumping tom riff. They played this four times and then started a new section–solos mostly. But what was great was that they returned to that thumping three note riff several times, even though they could have easily just stayed with the soloing section. It was great and really fun once I caught on that that’s what they were doing.
I wish I could recreate a set list, but that would be pretty hard, not knowing the songs well yet. But they played an excellent set.
I know they played:
Untoxicated
Meats and Milks
Tumescence
Pretty as Pie
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