Helmet

After seven long years away from the world, the original "nu-metal” band, the one that is either to thank or blame for the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit and oodles of other drop-tuned chug and groove meisters, has returned…at least in name. Band guiding force and spiritual leader Page Hamilton, the unsung hero of the nu-metal movement, recruited a batch of new players including former Orange 9mm guitarist Chris Traynor and Testament/Rob Zombie skin basher John Tempstra, for this latest incarnation of the band (Anthrax bassist Frank Bello will join for touring purposes). Recorded as a trio, Size Matters proves that old adage true; the riffs are bigger and beefier and Hamilton’s voice more strained and urgent than on the band’s last studio offering, Aftertaste. And with the theme of consumerism running amok, the message is as impressive. Hamilton proves that even though he’s been off touring with David Bowie and producing Gavin Rossdale’s solo record, he has not lost what made his band’s music such an integral part of the early ’90s alternative rock scene.