Imagine if Helix didn't play "Rock You," and the absolute bedlam that would ensue amongst the heavy metal faithful? Every hard rock band has their signature song, but the best thing about the longtime London, ON hard rock band, led by veritable Canadian rock legend Brian Vollmer, is they are damn happy to play that song after all of these years. Giddy even. In fact, when they busted it out right before their encore, it actually sounded better than when it was a Power Hour mainstay.
Vollmer's raspy scream was on, which inspired the crowd to nail the infamous sing-along ("gimme an R, O, C, K," well, you know). Luckily, Helix have over 30 years of material to draw from, so their slightly truncated set at Festival d'été's metal showcase was all killer, no filler. And hearing "Heavy Metal Love" amongst a sea of rocker chicks singing along was a bit of a fantasy come true, as it would be for any red-blooded North American male who grew up on bands that were often hotter than their female fans.
It is clear that the guys in Helix aren't getting any younger; except for the one young-gun guitarist, these guys are all approaching cool-biker-grandpa territory. As always, Vollmer was the driving force, his stage persona sometimes a bit too workmanlike for the party rock they played, but he's definitely serious about Helix's longevity and legacy.
Vollmer's raspy scream was on, which inspired the crowd to nail the infamous sing-along ("gimme an R, O, C, K," well, you know). Luckily, Helix have over 30 years of material to draw from, so their slightly truncated set at Festival d'été's metal showcase was all killer, no filler. And hearing "Heavy Metal Love" amongst a sea of rocker chicks singing along was a bit of a fantasy come true, as it would be for any red-blooded North American male who grew up on bands that were often hotter than their female fans.
It is clear that the guys in Helix aren't getting any younger; except for the one young-gun guitarist, these guys are all approaching cool-biker-grandpa territory. As always, Vollmer was the driving force, his stage persona sometimes a bit too workmanlike for the party rock they played, but he's definitely serious about Helix's longevity and legacy.
