HELMET will continue its “Betty” 30th-anniversary tour — currently happening in Europe — with U.S. dates in February/March 2025. The setlist will feature the “Betty” album together with favorites from the band’s catalog.
A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, December 4 at 2:00 p.m. ET and end on Thursday, December 5 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code “BBMHELMET25” to access tickets before the general public. Check back here on Wednesday for ticketing links to individual shows. General on-sale will be Friday, December 6 at 10 a.m. local time.
HELMET is also offering a VIP package that includes soundcheck attendance, meet-and-greet / signing session with the band plus exclusive merchandise including a tote bag, “Betty” card stock of the “Betty” album cover with tour dates, laminate and lanyard.
Tour dates:
Feb. 19 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips FTW
Feb. 22 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
Feb. 23 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Feb. 25 – Mesa, AZ@ Nile Theater
Feb. 27 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
Feb. 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
March 01 – Oakland, CA @ Crybaby
March 02 – Roseville, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post
March 04 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
March 05 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
March 06 – Boise, ID @ Shrine Social Club
March 08 – Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater
March 09 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
March 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
March 11 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
March 12 – Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge
March 14 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s
March 15 – Mechanicsburg, PA @ Lovedraft’s Brewing Co
March 16 – Ferndale, MI @ The Magic Bag
March 17 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
March 18 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount
March 20 – Boston, MA @ The Paradise Rock Club
March 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
March 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
March 23 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
This past August, HELMET canceled its previously announced fall 2024 U.S. tour with LOCAL H due to “a mix of significant financial concerns and lower-than-expected ticket sales.”
HELMET‘s latest album, “Left”, was released in November 2023 via earMUSIC.
After the critically acclaimed “Dead To The World” in 2016, HELMET is back with their signature blend of heavy, riff-loaded rock and evocative lyrics that have resonated with fans worldwide for over three decades. “Time for your holiday serial murder / How time slips away”, resonate the opening lines of “Holiday”. HELMET take no prisoners in their direct and unfiltered expression, leaving listeners with a lasting impact and a sense of urgency to examine the world around them.
“Left” sees HELMET — comprising frontman Page Hamilton, drummer Kyle Stevenson, guitarist Dan Beeman and bassist Dave Case — carve out a musical landscape that is taut, muscular, and direct. Hamilton‘s lead guitar lines feel like everything from downed power lines arcing to exploding resistors in shortwave radios. On “Left”, every snare crack hits like gunfire, every solo seemingly a manifestation of rabies-induced psychosis.
Guided by Hamilton alongside co-producers Jim Kaufman and Mark Renk, and mastered by Howie Weinberg, the 11 songs on the new album are leaner and meaner in their execution than previous aural throwdowns. “Left” is powered by unbridled determination, a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to create more new dialects within the musical language Hamilton invented via his use of drop-D tuning.
HELMET‘s first official live album, “Live And Rare”, was released in November 2021 via earMUSIC. It was made available on heavyweight black vinyl as well as a CD digipak edition and digital.
Although HELMET disbanded in 1997, Hamilton revived the band in 2004, and the group has continued to tour and record.
“Dead To The World” was released in October 2016 via earMUSIC. The effort was produced by Hamilton and mixed by Jay Baumgardner.
In 2021, HELMET released a cover of GANG OF FOUR‘s 1981 song “Into The Ditch”. The track was recorded for a tribute album to GANG OF FOUR‘s guitarist Andy Gill, “The Problem Of Leisure: A Celebration Of Andy Gill And Gang Of Four”.
Having cut his teeth playing with avant-garde guitar icon Glenn Branca and indie stalwarts BAND OF SUSANS, Hamilton launched HELMET in 1989, and the band released its debut album, “Strap It On”, on the independent Amphetamine Reptile label the following year. HELMET soon became the subject of an unprecedented major-label bidding war, ultimately signing with Interscope and releasing “Meantime” in June 1992.
Even while the band was absent from the spotlight, HELMET continued to exercise considerable influence on multiple generations of bands. Their songs have been covered by the likes of CHEVELLE, DEFTONES, FAITH NO MORE, PIG DESTROYER and SOULFLY, and the band inspired a 2016 HELMET tribute album titled “Meantime Redux”. HELMET has also been cited as a key influence on such bands as GODSMACK, KORN, MARILYN MANSON, MASTODON, PANTERA, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, SEPULTURA, SLIPKNOT, STAIND, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and TOOL.
Photo credit: Raz Azraai