Category:
Rock / Metal

Try if you like:
Cave In, Clouds

Hydra Head has been overly consistent this year. Sure, the latest Jesu was a disappointment but that EP is still better than a lot of albums I've listened to this year. Helms Alee are a new signing out of Seattle and they are anything but stoner metal, the genre Hydra Head always gets associated with. Some of the songs on their debut, Night Terror, get pretty thick  but never sludgy like traditional stoner rock. They don't ever "groove" like the southern SR such as Fu Manchu or Brant Bjork. No, if grunge was still applicable you might be able to attach that to the band. But wait, was that a female singer I heard? Indeed, the girl does lend her vocals in a couple places and it really adds another dimension to the band. Spookier tracks surface like "Grandfather Claws" which is very dark, another female fronted track.

Songs like "A Weirding Away" sound slightly like Smashing Pumpkins with out the pretentiousness. One of the many highlights we find on Night Terror. There are bludgeoning songs like "Big Spider" but Helms Alee realize that even the most average listener appreciates some good harmonies in the middle. 

If the Greek Gods listened to modern music, it might sound like Helms Alee.