HAPPY CANADA DAY from LeBrain and Superdekes!HELIX double feature!
HELIX – Icon (2018 Universal vinyl)
New Helix vinyl? Yes please.
The Icon series of compilations used to be a budget CD line that you could pick up for $5 or under. Now, you can even get ’em on vinyl. Buy ’em direct from Helix mainman Brian Vollmer and he’ll sign it for you. This copy is signed by all five current Helix members, including a pre-injury Fritz Hinz.
As far as Helix compilations go, you can’t do much with just 11 tracks. Even so, Icon has some surprises and plenty of pleasers. There’s also enough difference from 2016’s compilation Rock It Science to justify it. Opening with the one-two punch of “Rock You” and “Heavy Metal Love”, Helix top loaded this thing with their best known songs. Perfect for the newcomer, or just a great party.
From there it’s “The Dirty Dog”, a long time Helix concert favourite. This is followed in quick succession by some great singles: “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'”, “Wild in the Streets” and the dark ballad “Deep Cuts the Knife”. All three songs are considered to be Helix classics. “Deep Cuts the Knife”, written by guitarist Paul Hackman, is a particularly powerful ballad. The entire first side is from the Capitol Records years, featuring the best known Helix lineup: Vollmer, Hinz, Hackman, Brent Doerner and Daryl Gray.
Side two has a different flavour. Only the hit “The Kids are All Shakin'” originates in the 1980s. This top Helix pop rock track is followed by the Helix of the 90s and today. “Good to the Last Drop” is another ballad, but much brighter than “Deep Cuts the Knife”. This is the original album mix, with minimal keyboards. Then it’s “Runnin’ Wild in the 21st Century”, kicking your teeth in at lightspeed. The last two songs feature some help from guitarist extraordinaire Sean Kelly. A razor sharp “Even Jesus Wasn’t Loved in His Home Town” comes from 2014’s excellent Bastard of the Blues. The aggressive rocker is based on the fact that Helix can’t even their new songs played on the radio in their home town of Kitchener, Ontario. Finally, the 2016 single “Gene Simmons Says (Rock Is Dead)” tells the demon where it’s at! Maybe Helix don’t get radio play in Canada but rock ain’t dead — not if Vollmer and Co. have anything to say about it!
When it comes to Helix compilations, they are so numerous that you can really take your pick. If you really care about the band, then just buy ’em direct from Vollmer at Planet Helix. There are loads to choose from, but only this one was ever made on vinyl. Or, you can just go CD! Either way, support the boys if you’re gonna buy some Helix.
White Lace & Black Leather – Classic Hard Rock Expanded Edition (originally 1981, 2019 Prog AOR)
Helix have really done it this year. They have a new album (Old School) made up of some pretty excellent songs that were never completed before. On top of that, you can also get brand new reissues of their first two indi albums, Breaking Loose and White Lace & Black Leather. Those two albums have already been reviewed in full, so this time we will focus primarily on the perks of these new CD versions.
Both discs feature lyrics, rare photos, and liner notes by Brian Vollmer. All essential things for a reissue, so what else? Unreleased tracks, that’s what else. Good ones! The hell, Brian? Where have you been hiding this stuff? If anyone assumed thought Helix cleared the vaults with their B-Sides album, they were mistaken. Maybe Universal should have been storing their tapes at Planet Helix….
Too soon?
Breaking Loose features “Let Me Take You Dancin'” (not the Bryan Adams song), apparently the first song they ever recorded, at the behest of manager William Seip. You can understand why they didn’t put it out, considering the Disco revolution going around. It’s too dance-y for what Helix wanted to be: a rock band. With 40 years hindsight, it’s bloody brilliant. Full-on horn section blasting away on a blatantly commercial rock song with just a whif of surf rock. Nothing wrong with any of that in 2019. “Sidewalk Sally” is the very first Brent Vollmer/Brian Doerner composition and you can tell by Dr. Doerner’s trademark chunky riff. This song is strictly outtake quality, but it’s notable for historic reasons (and the pretty advanced drumming by Brian Doerner).
The second album, White Lace & Black Leather, has two interesting bonus cuts as well. Brent Doerner wrote and sang a killer tune called “When the Fire is Hot”, which is one of the songs submitted to Capitol that got them signed. It’s never been released. It’s a very unpolished demo, but with a serious stomp and stunning guitar solo. The final bonus track is an unreleased early version of “White Lace & Black Leather”, which was re-recorded for their third album No Rest for the Wicked. See, for the first couple Helix albums, you had to wait until the next record to get the title track!
A brief talk about the albums themselves: both are chock full of great, unpolished youthful rock. Helix were just learning how to make records, but they had more than enough original material. Between the key songwriters (Paul Hackman, Brian Vollmer & Brent Doerner), they had plenty of quality songs. “Billy Oxygen”, “I Could Never Leave”, “Here I Go Again”, “You’re a Woman Now” and “Wish I Could Be There” from the first album alone are must-haves. Nobody should be forced to live their life without hearing “Billy Oxygen”. The second LP was almost as great as the first. “It’s Too Late”, “Breaking Loose”, “Mainline”, and “It’s What I Wanted” stand with the best material from the first. Sure, the band were rough around the edges, but they could already sing, play and write. They were goin’ places!
As for the mastering job, the music is not brickwalled like the versions of some songs on the Rock It Science CD. These discs are the versions to get; the expanded tracklist making them musts to the collecting fan who already own them all. Best of all, Planet Helix is offering them and the new Helix album for just 40 bucks. 40 bucks for 3 CDs is a ridiculous deal. I daresay these two albums have been steady companions to me over the years, and I look forward to re-enjoying them in this new form.
“You know what time it is? It’s thrash time!” – Nick Walsh
This video is for Superdekes! He is going to be on CBC Radio this morning (March 15 2019) to talk about Slik Toxik’s rise to stardom.
1992 was all about a resurgence of Canadian Rock. Slik Toxik, Sven Gali, and Big House were all making waves. Lee Aaron and Killer Dwarfs had new music. But it was Slik Toxik who won Best Metal Video for “Helluvatime” (directed by Don Allan).
The award was presented by Brian Vollmer (Helix), Phil X (Triumph, now Bon Jovi) and Mike Levine (Triumph). Slik Toxik then performed…but my tape ran out! This is what I captured. Neal Busby is one helluva of a drummer!
“Outside of Toronto…that’s Kitchener anyway.” – Dan Gallagher
This is a real treasure! A legendary interview, it does not appear to be anywhere else online. It’s also the only video I know of to have one of my old customers in it — Snake the Tattoo Man. To be fair, Snake was T-Rev’s customer first. Trevor sent him to me, because he knew I was a huge Helix fan. Snake’s first claim to fame was appearing on the Phil Donahue show. Snake has over 90% of his body tattooed, and was kicked out of a mall in London Ontario simply because of the way he looked. His next bout with stardom was when he was cast in the Helix video for “Running Wild in the 21st Century”, one of their best songs!
MuchMusic’s Dan Gallagher talked to Brian Vollmer and Snake outside Speaker’s Corner in the spring of 1990. Of course Snake’s tattoos are discussed, and a new technology called “Surround Sound” is rolled out. Which of course you won’t hear, since Much was broadcast in stereo and I was recording in mono!
Great, classic interview that I proud to bring back to the world via Youtube.
Brin Vollmer and Greg “Fritz” Hinz were in the MuchMusic studios in early ’88 to show Erica Ehm how to play the drums! Enjoy this clip of an epic drum trio.
Making mix CDs was a lot of fun (and work). I used to make custom Christmas discs that didn’t suck, for my family and friends every year. Why did I stop? I ran out of good Christmas songs. Let’s face it: unless you’re one of “those” people, Christmas music is nails on a chalkboard. You can only take so much. If you’ve worked retail in the past (or present), you probably can’t take any at all!
2010’s Christmas CD is a good example of what I used to make. You’ll notice there’s no Trans-Siberian Orchestra on there. I used up all their best stuff on the previous instalments. I tried to avoid duplicating songs from previous years although Hawksley Workman’s Christmas album is so good that I made exceptions for him. Hawkley’s Almost A Full Moon is the best Christmas CD that I own, and probably the best one I’ve heard. I bought it twice. He reissued the album after only a year with two extra songs! I forgave him, because Almost A Full Moon is so warm and perfect.
What do you think of the Christmas 2010 CD? Would you have wanted a copy that year?
1. Bill Ward – “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Yes, that Bill Ward! The Black Sabbath drummer did a spoken word recording of the classic Christmas poem, and I opened the CD with it. I can tell you that when we played the CD at dinner time, this track was a failure. Nobody paid attention.
2. Kathryn Ladano – “Jingle Bells”. I got their attention back by putting on a track by my sister. This instrumental version on bass clarinet is from her CD The Christmas Album. Of note, her Schnauzer Ali is credited for barks on “Jingle Bells”!
3. Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Billy F. Gibbons – “Run Rudolph Run”. This breakneck Christmas carol is done in the Motorhead style. I played it in the car for sis. “This is shit!” she proclaimed. “Why do these guys get to put out albums and not me?”
4. Marillion – “Let It Snow”. This drunken favourite is from 2007’s Somewhere Elf. The spirit is intoxicating, as I’m sure they were!
Found some booze in a flight case, And I’m afraid that we’re all shit-faced, So I guess that we’ll have to go, Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
5. David Bowie and Bing Crosby – “Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth”. This is the David Bowie song that your grandma likes. It’s just lovely. I didn’t own anything with this song on it, so I had to download. That’s why it didn’t appear until 2010!
6. Helix – “Happy Christmas (War is Over)”. Yes, it rocks, but not too hard! Helix covered Lennon for their Heavy Metal Christmas. Singer Brian Vollmer is trained in the Bel Canto technique and he’s more than capable of singing songs for your Christmas dinner in mind.
7. Extreme – “Christmas Time Again”. My mom always liked Extreme, or “Nick Strean” as she thought they were called. This isn’t the greatest Christmas song in the world, but it doesn’t suck.
8. Hawskley Workman – “3 Generations”. Told you there would be some Hawksley. This touching song is about three generations of women in the kitchen making Christmas dinner together.
9. Elvis Presley – “Blue Christmas”. I must have downloaded this one too. I am a bit of a sucker for Elvis. I included Joe Perry’s instrumental version on a previous CD.
10. The Beatles – “Christmas Time is Here Again”. Not one of their best songs, but it’s the Beatles so it had to be included eventually. This version comes from the 1995 CD single for “Free As a Bird”. Relatively few have heard it, and I thought that would get people’s ears perked up, but by this time, the wine was out….
11. Steve Vai – “Christmas Time is Here”. This is from the first Merry Axemas. It’s a lovely track and not too shreddy. Remember this song from the Charlie Brown Christmas special? Steve does it on guitar, of course!
12. Jethro Tull – “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman”. This funky flute version will get the toes tappin’. Hard to believe that this is from Tull’s final studio album in 2003, The Jethro Tull Christmas Album! It would have been nice to get one more, but Tull’s Christmas Album is a good one to have around. If you need to tolerate Christmas music, you may as well listen to Tull jamming it out.
13. Brian Vollmer – “The First Noel”. Helix’s Vollmer put out a rare charity album in 2005 called Raising the Roof on Mary Immaculate. “The First Noel” is one of the best tracks. Vollmer is the first artist to get two appearances on my CD.
14. Ted Nugent – “Deck the Halls”. Much like “Run Rudolph Run”, this one smokes! It’s a guitar instrumental at full speed. Grandma didn’t like this one.
15. Twisted Sister – “O Come All Ye Faithful”. I really don’t like the Twisted Christmas album. This song was a hit though, and since it’s virtually identical to “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, I can…errr…take it.
16. Cheap Trick – “Come On Christmas”. My sister was a huge Cheap Trick fan at one point. She had this song before I did. Essentially just a Cheap Trick pop rocker with Christmas lyrics. Sounds like classic Cheap Trick to me.
17. AC/DC – “Mistress For Christmas”. I put this song on as the joke it is. I like to remind people that AC/DC did have a Christmas song. “Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the day. I can’t wait to Christmas time, when I roll you in the hay.” Hey, it counts.
18. The Darkness – “Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)“. In my review, I said, “Even though the guitars are thicker than a good ol’ bowl of Thin Lizzy pudding, there is no mistaking this for anything but a Christmas song. It is a joyous rock re-imagining of a Christmas carol, with the unmistakable Justin Hawkins falsetto.” Plus, sis likes The Darkness.
19. Jon Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas”. I like this one. Fuck off.
20. Jimi Hendrix – “Little Drummer Boy/Silent Night/Auld Lang Syne”. From an EP called Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Jimi and band jammed out some impressive licks but the dinner party didn’t enjoy.
21. Jim Cuddy – “New Year’s Eve”. Cuddy’s solo debut All In Time is tremendous CD and comes highly recommended by this guy right here. It’s like listening to a Blue Rodeo album, but only the Jim songs. The sentimental “New Year’s Eve” is a lovely ballad that fits right in with the Christmas theme.
22. Bob & Doug McKenzie – “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. You gotta end with a classic. From 1981’s The Great White North comes the big Christmas hit. We used to hear this every single year on my mom’s old clock radio. We’d squeal with laughter trying to sing along. “A beer…in a tree…”
How would you rate this one? Trying to avoid overlap was previous instalments was my Achilles’ heel. I’d swap out a lot of the lesser songs for better ones, but it’s not bad. It’s listenable. It’ll do.
I’ve seen Alice Cooper twice. Unfortunately, I didn’t write a review either time. I certainly should have. Both shows were special and perhaps unique in unexpected ways. I have a couple stories to tell you.
The first time I witnessed the Alice Cooper show was on his Rock N’ Roll Carnival tour (no opening act), August 28 1998. We were lucky enough to get the lineup with Reb Beach (Winger) and Eric Singer (Kiss), who had recently rejoined the band. It was the now legendary Lulu’s Roadhouse featuring the world’s longest bar. Thanks to the internet, we know the entire setlist.
Hello Hooray
Sideshow
Billion Dollar Babies
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Public Animal #9
Be My Lover
Lost in America
I’m Eighteen
From the Inside
Only Women Bleed
Steven
Halo of Flies
Nothing’s Free
Cleansed by Fire
Poison
Cold Ethyl
Unfinished Sweet
School’s Out
Encore:
Jailhouse Rock
Under My Wheels
I went with Lyne (one of our store managers) and her husband. A little while later Lyne was bullied right out of the organisation and went to work for HMV instead. (I used to call her “Lynie Lynie Boing Boing” for some reason.) We had an amazing time and I remember being impressed that Alice was still playing material from 1994’s The Last Temptation. “Sideshow”, “Nothing’s Free” and “Cleansed By Fire” were unexpected treats. It was also a pleasure to hear so many Nightmare-era songs.
At the end, as per usual, Alice introduced his band, and then himself. He tore open the front of his jacket to reveal a T-shirt that said “Alice Spice”. Yes, 1998 was the time of Girl Power and Spice Girls were the biggest thing in the world. It got the required laughs.
One weird memory stands out. A few tables ahead of us was a girl who was missing an arm below the elbow. But that didn’t stop her from getting into the show, air guitar and all. The missing arm was her strumming arm and she was just pumping it and going for it. It was an unusual thing to see but she had a great time and that’s all that matters. An unforgettable night.
The thing about the late 90s period of Alice Cooper: It was a remarkably unproductive time as far as new material. From 1994’s The Last Temptation to 1999’s A Fistful of Alice (a live album), there was nothing new. In 2000, Alice cranked the machine again for a rapid-fire series of new albums starting with Brutal Planet. The live setlist had changed dramatically too. When I saw Cooper in 2006 with my new girlfriend (now known as Mrs. LeBrain), we got a very different show.
My mom had early access to tickets at the Center in the Square and surprised us with second row seats. On May 9, Alice rolled into town with his new band and new show. On drums once more: Eric Singer of Kiss. Opening act: Helix! Another favourite of mine in a hometown setting! Alice’s latest album was the excellent Dirty Diamonds and we got to hear the title track plus “Woman of Mass Distraction”. In addition Alice rolled out a few forgotten oldies like “You Drive Me Nervous”, and “Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills” which was dedicated to Paris Hilton.
Department of Youth
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Dirty Diamonds
Billion Dollar Babies
Be My Lover
Lost in America
I Never Cry
Woman of Mass Distraction
I’m Eighteen
You Drive Me Nervous
Is It My Body
Go to Hell
Black Widow Jam
Feed My Frankenstein
Welcome to My Nightmare
Medley:
The Awakening
Steven
Only Women Bleed (with Steven reprise)
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Killer
I Love the Dead
School’s Out
Encore:
Poison
Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills
Under My Wheels
There’s no record of Helix’s setlist, but they were able to play a number of songs including a brand new one: “Get Up“. I was sad to see that a few people in the front row didn’t bother coming early enough to see Helix, but that made it easier for Brian Vollmer to see me in the second. I pumped my first and sang along to every song — including the new one, once I got the hang of the chorus. Vollmer obviously noticed the one guy singing every song, and came down to shake my hand. Vollmer is one of the most fan-friendly artists in rock, bar none. This was only the first of several times he’d shake my hand.
(Back) Brent “Ned” Niemi, Alice Cooper, Brian Vollmer, Rainer Wiechmann (Front) Jim Lawson, Jeff “Stan” Fountain, Cindy Wiechmann – May 9 2006
From Planet Helix
As good as Helix were that night, nobody puts on a show like Alice Cooper. Kitchener was no exception. Mrs. LeBrain found herself swooning over guitarist Damon Johnson. (I thought bassist Chuck Garric would be more her style, based on a previous Tommy Lee crush.) Guitarist Eric Dover and the aforementioned Eric Singer rounded out the band, with Alice’s daughter Calico playing numerous roles as stage dancer! (“Put some clothes on!” said her dad after introducing her.)
I remember two things about the show very clearly. At one point, right in the middle of a song, a woman walked up to the front of the stage and held up a CD for Alice to sign. I didn’t get it…you expect him to sign your CD while he’s performing? While he’s in character as Alice Cooper? Who did she think she was?
Alice ignored her until he was obviously fed up. Swinging his cane in the air, he smashed the CD out of her hands. The sour looking woman returned to her seat dejected. You don’t interrupt Alice when he’s doing his show. “What a self-centered idiot,” was all I could think.
Alice’s action with the autograph seeker was made all the more noteworthy later in the show. Contrasting his attitude towards the previous woman, Alice paid special attention to a young girl in the front row. Wearing proper ear protection, the young girl was with her dad, possibly seeing her first ever rock concert. Recognising this, Alice personally handed her some of the fake Alice money lying on stage after “Billion Dollar Babies”, and some of the plastic pearls from “Dirty Diamonds”. The little girl was the only person in the audience who got special attention from the performer. Cooper, the consummate showman, plays for everyone not just the front row. That girl will never forget Alice Cooper as long as she lives, and he made sure of it. I couldn’t help but think Alice was also making a statement. “Treat my show with respect and this kind of stuff happens. Don’t interrupt me mid-song for an autograph.”
Whether I’m right or not, that’s one outsider’s impression of the events of the night.
Whatever I happen to think, there would be no argument that Alice Cooper puts on some of the best concerts in rock, and you should try to see him. Make it a bucket list goal. The lineups change, and the setlists evolve. You’ll always get “School’s Out” but chances are you will also hear a smattering of special classics that don’t get rolled out very often.
Go see Cooper and come back with your own stories to tell.
When Helix seemingly dropped off the map in the mid 90’s, I didn’t think they’d ever really come back with more studio albums. Yet they did thanks to the power of the internet. The Power Of Rock And Roll is a return to roots of sorts, after the alternative stylings of 2004’s Rockin’ in My Outer Space. This is a throwback to the basic guitars/bass/drums/shredding vocals of the Helix of yore! “It’s a party that’s better than a beer, it’s a party in your ear!” That’s their modus operandi on “Fill Your Head With Rock”, a song they wrote for the Sweden Rock festival. They named it after the Kim Mitchell song of the same title, also recorded for Sweden Rock.
The Power Of Rock And Roll is essentially a reissue of the earlier seven song EP, Get Up! with five additional tracks added. If you already have Get Up! (which is now out of print), you still need The Power Of Rock And Roll because those five new songs are just awesome. Wait until you hear the power of “Nickels And Dimes”, an awesome track with a great chorus. “Eat My Dust” might be the fastest song Helix has ever done. “The Past Is Back (To Kick Your Ass)” is truly a statement of purpose. And kick your ass, this album will!
Personal favourite: “Get Up!” Can’t get enough of that chorus! “We don’t need a reason to party, so get up get up!” The first time I heard “Get Up!” was when Helix opened for Alice Cooper in Kitchener in early 2006. It was a brand new song, but instantly memorable. Brian Vollmer noticed I was in the second row singing along to the chorus. He came down and slapped my hand!
Guitars are by session musician Steve Georgakopoulos who used to play Ace Frehley in the London tribute band Alive. As such, you may notice some very Ace-like bends and licks. Steve co-wrote every song on this album with Vollmer and Gord Prior (ex-Blu Bones). The only thing that I disliked about this album is that then-current members of the live Helix band doesn’t play on it. Rick VanDyk (ex-legendary Kitchener band Zero Option), Jim Lawson, Brent “Ned” Niemi, and Paul Fonseca did not appear, although they’d play everything live. In their stead are the aforementioned Steve Georgakopoulos on guitar, ex-Sven Gali drummer Rob MacEachern, and ex-Helix bassist Jeff “Stan” Fountain. I guess this is fine — these guys have a longstanding relationship with Helix. MacEachern even later joined the band in 2009. They’re all studio pros, and the album does not suffer for it. It’s just a personal taste thing. I prefer the members of the band to play on the albums. I’m traditional that way.
There’s a bonus track, a remake of the hit “Heavy Metal Love” which is almost as great as the original. Casual listeners might not even notice the difference. This was done to coincide with the use of the song in the first Trailer Park Boys movie.
If you’ve ever been a Helix fan, you will be delighted and pleasantly surprised by The Power Of Rock And Roll. Every single song kicks, no ballads. It is pure, raw, well recorded, well played, and Vollmer signs his ass off.
4.5/5 stars
Notice the Japanese symbol for “power” on the back?
Helix’s fifth album was an important one. They were following the “big hit” album (Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge) and there were expectations. The band collected another batch of original material and hit the studio with producer Tom Treumuth again.
1985’s Long Way to Heaven is the second album with the “classic” Helix lineup: Brian Vollmer, Brent “the Doctor” Doerner, Paul Hackman, Greg “Fritz” Hinz and Daryl Gray. All but drummer Fritz contributed songs, with Vollmer, Hackman and Doerner leading the pack.
The two singles were the opening tracks. “The Kids Are All Shakin’” is a catchy for American radio play. It has always been a damn fine song.
Down in New York City, All the way to L.A., Boys and girls are gonna shake it, Yeah, each and every day.
There’s also a reference to a fan letter from Poland that was a big deal to the band at the time. “Kids Are All Shakin’” is a great rock and roll celebration, but the single version with additional keyboards is better.
The other single was the hit acoustic/electric ballad “Deep Cuts the Knife” written by Hackman and Bob Halligan, Jr. To this day it remains one of, if not the very best ballad Helix have done. It has atmosphere and bite, and a killer vocal performance by Brian Vollmer.
There are good tracks after the first two, but nothing quite as memorable. “Ride the Rocket” (Vollmer/Halligan) is fun but silly. I’m sure you can guess what kind of rocket Brian is singing about when he says “Reach in the pocket”. Other decent songs include the title track, which has a great chorus melody, and the heavy-as-fuck “House on Fire”. There’s also another ballad called “Without You (Jasmine’s Song)” that is worthy of praise.
There is nothing wrong with any of the other tunes, and some have some pretty cool moments. “Don’t Touch the Merchandise” has a nifty a cappella section that proves what great vocalists the band are. It’s just that none of the other songs really have a lot of staying power in the brain.
Long Way to Heaven was one of those follow-ups that was good enough, but always remain in the shadow of the more successful predecessors.
HELIX – “The Devil is Having a Party Tonight” / “The Tequila Song” (2017 clear red picture single)
It’s been love for Helix and I since…many years! Since Record Store Tales Part 2: Gimme An R, at least. As such, I may be a little biased when it comes to this band. Maybe. I truly believe their music deserves much more attention from the rock community, particularly the recent albums which are always excellent. Helix mainman Brian Vollmer maintains a reputation as the hardest working man in Canadian heavy rock. 2017 sees the release of not just a new Helix single (and a lavish one at that), but also his second solo album Get Yer Hands Dirty.
Helix today is Vollmer on vox, Daryl Gray on bass, Fritz Hinz kickin’ the drums, and newer members Kaleb “Duckman” Duck and Chris Julke. The inner sleeve is signed by all five members, which is just the kind of cool personal touch Helix are known for. Also noteworthy, all but Hinz wrote the single A-side “The Devil is Having a Party Tonight”. That makes it the first Helix song in years written solely by band members. “The Tequila Song” on the B-side is composed by mainstay collaborators Gord Pryor, Steve Georgakopoulos and Vollmer.
Great tunes, these are, both party songs. Each is a little heavier than you might usually expect from the Helix band. “Devil” is possessed by a heavy-as-a-tombstone riff, and some exotic guitar noodlings that recall the good stuff from the metallic 80s.
I think “The Tequila Song” is even better. I was known to drink tequila from time to time in my younger days, but I gotta say that Helix have written a better song about tequila than Sammy Hagar ever has. Stomp to that riff as you “lick it, bang it, suck it, tequila!” Even if you’re the designated driver, you’ll find the chorus infectious and party-ready.
HELIX – Icon (2018 Universal vinyl)
HELIX – The Power of Rock and Roll (2007
Personal favourite: “Get Up!” Can’t get enough of that chorus! “We don’t need a reason to party, so get up get up!” The first time I heard “Get Up!” was when Helix opened for Alice Cooper in Kitchener in early 2006. It was a brand new song, but instantly memorable. Brian Vollmer noticed I was in the second row singing along to the chorus. He came down and slapped my hand!
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