Meantime
Encyclopedia
Meantime is the second album and major-label debut by Helmet
, released in 1992 on Interscope Records
. Meantime has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, and in 1994 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
.
Helmet released one single from Meantime, "Unsung
", which was a charting success on the US Modern Rock Tracks
chart, and remains their best-known song. The album itself reached #68 on Billboard's Top 200; an unexpected success for the band. Music videos were also made for "Unsung", "Give It" and "In the Meantime".
's staccato
riffs, jazz-influenced chords and solos, and dual-voice singing style, proved influential to both post-grunge
bands and later alternative metal
bands such as Chevelle
and Deftones
. This album along with Betty
and Aftertaste
is considered a definitive text in post-metal
.
1 million, Helmet entered a studio in New York City
in December 1991, booking two months of studio time in which to record the album.
The song "In the Meantime" was recorded by Steve Albini
and later remixed by Andy Wallace
. The contrast between Wallace's style of mixing, which involves (among other things) triggered samples (leading to the album's distinctive half wood, half metal snare drum
sound), and Albini's style of recording, irritated Albini. Later, when in negotiations to record Nirvana
's In Utero (album), he stipulated a clause be added to his contract stating that Wallace would not be allowed to remix the album, although he had mixed Nevermind
, which came out a year before Meantimes release.
.
The album received positive reviews, John Franck of Allmusic labeled Meantime "arguably one of the most influential and overlooked rock records of the '90s". He praised the music "colored by Teutonic riffs, with only 'Unsung' hinting at a gasp of commercial accessibility". In regards to the album's success, he also claims that Helmet "were curiously touted as the next big thing". Meantime received a rating of four and a half out of five stars, while "Unsung", "Give It" and "In the Meantime" earned Helmet its heaviest airplay on MTV
and radio stations. Steffan Chirazi of Kerrang!
defined the album "a wall of angry, bitter and agonised New York street cries", giving it maximum ratings.
The album is available with one of two reversely-colored covers; one has a blue background with a white-on-red Helmet logo, and the other has a red background with a white-on-blue Helmet logo (pictured above).
)
Singles
Technical crew
Helmet (band)
Helmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
, released in 1992 on Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
. Meantime has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, and in 1994 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
Helmet released one single from Meantime, "Unsung
Unsung (song)
"Unsung" is a single by alternative metal band Helmet from their 1992 album, Meantime. It is the album's fourth track and easily the band's most well known song. A music video was produced for "Unsung" and found significant airplay on MTV in the early 1990s."Unsung" is recorded in Dropped D tuning...
", which was a charting success on the US Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart, and remains their best-known song. The album itself reached #68 on Billboard's Top 200; an unexpected success for the band. Music videos were also made for "Unsung", "Give It" and "In the Meantime".
Musical style
The sound of Meantime, with Page HamiltonPage Hamilton
Page Hamilton is a guitarist, singer and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet...
's staccato
Staccato
Staccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
riffs, jazz-influenced chords and solos, and dual-voice singing style, proved influential to both post-grunge
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
bands and later alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
bands such as Chevelle
Chevelle
Chevelle is an American alternative metal trio that formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The band was originally composed of two brothers and a local friend: Pete Loeffler , Sam Loeffler , and Matt Scott . Matt was later replaced by brother Joe Loeffler...
and Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
. This album along with Betty
Betty (album)
Betty is the third album by Helmet, released in 1994 on Interscope. The album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's success with the previous album, Meantime....
and Aftertaste
Aftertaste (album)
Aftertaste is the fourth album by Helmet, released in 1997 on Interscope. This proved to be Helmet's final album with original members John Stanier and Henry Bogdan . Guitarist Rob Echeverria, who appeared on Helmet's previous outing, Betty, left the group to join Biohazard...
is considered a definitive text in post-metal
Post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock and heavy metal.Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions...
.
Recording and production
After signing to Interscope for a reported budget of US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 million, Helmet entered a studio in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in December 1991, booking two months of studio time in which to record the album.
The song "In the Meantime" was recorded by Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
and later remixed by Andy Wallace
Andy Wallace (producer)
Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
. The contrast between Wallace's style of mixing, which involves (among other things) triggered samples (leading to the album's distinctive half wood, half metal snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
sound), and Albini's style of recording, irritated Albini. Later, when in negotiations to record Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's In Utero (album), he stipulated a clause be added to his contract stating that Wallace would not be allowed to remix the album, although he had mixed Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
, which came out a year before Meantimes release.
Reception
Meantime was Helmet's first breakthrough album. Upon its release in June 1992, Meantime peaked at number 68 on the Billboard's Top 200 album chart and number one Top Heatseekers chart. The album granted Helmet international recognition. To date, Meantime is the only Helmet album to go Gold in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The album received positive reviews, John Franck of Allmusic labeled Meantime "arguably one of the most influential and overlooked rock records of the '90s". He praised the music "colored by Teutonic riffs, with only 'Unsung' hinting at a gasp of commercial accessibility". In regards to the album's success, he also claims that Helmet "were curiously touted as the next big thing". Meantime received a rating of four and a half out of five stars, while "Unsung", "Give It" and "In the Meantime" earned Helmet its heaviest airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and radio stations. Steffan Chirazi of Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
defined the album "a wall of angry, bitter and agonised New York street cries", giving it maximum ratings.
Album cover
The album cover features an image of a man in a white protective suit shoveling some substance on the ground.The album is available with one of two reversely-colored covers; one has a blue background with a white-on-red Helmet logo, and the other has a red background with a white-on-blue Helmet logo (pictured above).
Track listing
(All songs written by Page HamiltonPage Hamilton
Page Hamilton is a guitarist, singer and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet...
)
- "In the Meantime" – 3:08
- "Ironhead" – 3:22
- "Give It" – 4:17
- "UnsungUnsung (song)"Unsung" is a single by alternative metal band Helmet from their 1992 album, Meantime. It is the album's fourth track and easily the band's most well known song. A music video was produced for "Unsung" and found significant airplay on MTV in the early 1990s."Unsung" is recorded in Dropped D tuning...
" – 3:57 - "Turned Out" – 4:14
- "He Feels Bad" – 4:03
- "Better" – 3:10
- "You Borrowed" – 3:45
- "FBLA II" – 3:22
- "Role Model" – 3:35
Chart positions
Album| Chart | Peak | |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
1 | |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
68 |
Singles
| Single | Chart (1992) | Position |
|---|---|---|
| "Unsung" | US Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
29 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 32 | |
Personnel
Band- Peter MengedePeter MengedePeter Mengede is a musician best known as the former guitarist for Helmet. He formed his own group, Handsome, in 1996 with former members of Quicksand, Cro-Mags and Murphy's Law...
- GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Henry BogdanHenry BogdanHenry Bogdan , is an American musician. He is perhaps best known as the original bass guitarist and a founding member of the alternative metal band, Helmet...
- BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Page HamiltonPage HamiltonPage Hamilton is a guitarist, singer and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet...
- Guitar, Vocals - John StanierJohn Stanier (drummer)John Stanier first came into the spotlight in 1989 as the drummer for the band Helmet. He is known for his speed, endurance, and precision as a performer....
- DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Technical crew
- Steve SiscoSteve SiscoSteve Sisco , is a former Major League Baseball utility player who played in with the Atlanta Braves. He bats and throws right-handed. Sisco was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 16th round of the 1992 draft.-External links:...
- Assistant MixAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
EngineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Steve AlbiniSteve AlbiniSteven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
- Recording, "In The Meantime" - Wharton TiersWharton TiersWharton Tiers is an American audio engineer, record producer, drummer and percussionist.- Biography :Diplomed from Villanova University , he moved to New York City in 1976 and was part of the No Wave scene.As an audio engineer and record producer, he has worked on projects such as Sonic Youth,...
- Engineer - Andy WallaceAndy Wallace (producer)Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
- Mixing - Howie WeinbergHowie WeinbergHowie Weinberg is a music mastering engineer who has worked with numerous bands.- Career :He has worked at Masterdisk, New York City, since 1977...
- MasteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...