Just like their former tourmates Guns N’ Roses, Helmet contains just one original member. And in both bands cases, that one original member is the most important one. Page Hamilton resurrected the Helmet name in 2004 after a 5-year vacation with essentially an all-new lineup (former Orange 9mm guitarist Chris Traynor was the only holdover). Size Matters, the 2004 release, did nothing to damage the good Helmet’s name in the post-hardcore world as the songs followed the chugga-chugga template that Helmet rode to a major label deal in the early ’90s. Monochrome followed in 2006 and the band made appearances at both the 2004 and 2005 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas (of which I caught both … the 2004 show being one of the highlights for me that year).
Helmet has announced a short run of summer dates with Burning Brides and Priestbird serving as support. These shows will take place in small venues, the likes of which Helmet hasn’t played in probably close to 20 years (Helmet did play some smaller clubs during a late 2004 tour but the venues for this tour seem to be even smaller, in the 200 – 300 person range).
- Sat Aug 25 – Grumpy’s (w/ Melvins) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Mon Aug 27 – Ravari Room – Columbus, Ohio
- Tue Aug 28 – Peabody’s – Cleveland, Ohio
- Wed Aug 29 – Magic Stick – Detroit, Michigan
- Thu Aug 30 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Fri Aug 31 – VNUK Lounge – Cudahy, Wisconsin
- Sat Sep 1 – Double Door – Chicago, Illinois
Billboard.com has revealed 
It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Jimmy Eat World – nearly 3 years to be exact (Futures was released in October 2004). On a personal level, I’ve watched the band go from playing small basement clubs in front of a handful of people to headlining (and selling out) 1,200 seat clubs and opening arena tours for the likes of Weezer. Not too bad for the little emo band from Arizona.
Has it really been seven years since the last release from