Night Terror

by 
AlbumAug 05 / 200810 songs, 35m 59s
Sludge Metal Noise Rock
Noteable

One can only speculate what paths Helms Alee will wander during their journey from the cradle to the grave, but based on their birth one can only assume that it will be a long and curious life. The band gives it's listeners a wealth of sonic range to ponder and absorb between aural bludgeonings, but provides next to nothing in terms of contextual information. What the hell is this noise anyway? Who are thses people? What does "Helms Alee" even mean? Three part male-female vocal harmonies over alternating atonal driven dischord and fuzzed-out melodic pummellings? What the hell is anyone supposed to make of that? Comparisons inevitably seem inadequate, and we're not even given a handy list of influences on their website to give us a frame of reference. Where's the hip haircuts? Where's the telling modern design elements? Without these digestible icons, their poor audience might actually have to develop their own opinions and judge the band on the merits of the sounds they create, not the lexicon they endorse. Such factors guarantee that Helms Alee is destined to be unloved by the masses and revered by a small chosen few.

8 / 10

“Ease the ship! Put the helm a lee” is a call a wise old seafarer would emit as a large vessel plunges into deep water and sails close to the wind...