Helmet Return To Their Roots With "Monochrome"

HELMET will return July 18 with MONOCHROME, marking their first release on Warcon Records. This summer, the band--founding vocalist/guitarist PAGE HAMILTON, guitarist CHRIS TRAYNOR and new members, drummer MIKE JOST and bassist JEREMY CHATELAIN--will play to thousands of music lovers across North America as a main stage-headlining act on the Vans Warped Tour from June 15 through August 13. The album's first single "Gone" will arrive at radio in late June.

For MONOCHROME, PAGE enlisted Strap It On and Meantime collaborator Wharton Tiers to co-produce and return to the organic sound the band is known for. Tiers recorded the band's first two releases Strap It On and Meantime, the latter of which sold over a million copies and defined the brusque element of American's underground rock scene. The HELMET sound sparked a new brand of metal, crossing all traditional music boundaries, paving the way for bands like Chevelle, Deftones, Killswitch Engage, Norma Jean and Silverchair, among many others. The New York Times called HELMET "a band that made important connections between indie-rock and metal…" (September 12, 2004).

"Wharton was my only choice to co-produce this project with me," notes HAMILTON. "Apart from the sounds he can get in his studio, he was also a major influence in terms of helping me shape my guitar playing."

HELMET's catalog also includes Betty (1994) and Aftertaste (1996), after which they broke up in 1998. In 2004, HAMILTON rejoined with TRAYNOR and two other established players to release and tour in support of the critically acclaimed Size Matters. Jim Farber at New York Daily News praised the album, noting: "Helmet's smart rock has returned at just the right time."

The complete track list for HELMET's MONOCHROME is: "Swallowing Everything," "Brand New," "Bury Me," "Monochrome," "On Your Way Down," "Money Shot," "Gone," "Almost Out Of Sight," "Howl," "410" and "Goodbye."

Here is Helmet's current touring schedule:

Thu 6/15 Columbia, MD Merriweather
Fri 6/16 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheatre
Sat 6/17 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre
Sun 6/18 Minneapolis, MN Metrodome
Mon 6/19 Kansas City, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
Wed 6/21 Nashville, TN Starwood Amphitheatre
Thu 6/22 Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Park
Fri 6/23 St. Petersburg, FL Vinoy Park
Sat 6/24 Miami, FL Bayfront Park Amphitheatre
Sun 6/25 Orlando, FL Tinker Field
Mon 6/26 Charleston, SC Exchange Park
Tue 6/27 Raleigh, NC Alltell Pavilion
Wed 6/28 Atlanta, GA Hi Fi Amphitheatre Lot
Fri 6/30 Houston, TX Reliant Center
Sat 7/1 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Center Lot
Sun 7/2 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
Mon 7/3 Las Cruces, NM N.M.S.U Practice Field
Tue 7/4 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion
Thu 7/6 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Fri 7/7 Pomona, CA Fairplex Park
Sat 7/8 San Francisco, CA Pier 30/32
Sun 7/9 Fresno, CA Selland Arena
Tue 7/11 Ventura, CA Seaside Park
Wed 7/12 Los Angeles, CA Dodger Stadium Lot
Thu 7/13 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
Fri 7/14 Boise, ID Treasure Valley Speedway
Sat 7/15 Seattle, WA Gorge Amphitheatre
Sun 7/16 Portland, OR Columbia Meadows
Tue 7/18 Vancouver, BC Thunderbird Stadium
Thu 7/20 Calgary, ALB Race City Speedway
Sat 7/22 Salt Lake City, UT Utah State Fairgrounds
Sun 7/23 Denver, CO Invesco Field
Tue 7/25 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Pavilion
Wed 7/26 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Thu 7/27 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Pavilion
Fri 7/28 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
Sat 7/29 Detroit, MI Comerica Park
Sun 7/30 Chicago, IL Tweeter Center
Tue 8/1 Buffalo, NY Darien Lakes Fields
Wed 8/2 Fitchburg, MA Fitchburg Airport
Thu 8/3 Camden, NJ Tweeter Center @ the Waterfront
Fri 8/4 Scranton, PA Montage Mountain
Sat 8/5 New York, NY Nassau Coliseum
Sun 8/6 Old Bridge, NJ Englishtown Raceway
Tue 8/8 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
Wed 8/9 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
Thu 8/10 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion Lot
Fri 8/11 Cleveland, OH Tower City
Sat 8/12 Toronto, ONT Park Place
Sun 8/13 Montreal, QUE Park Jean Drapeau