HELMET Cancels Spring 2022 European Tour

HELMET has canceled its previously announced European tour which was scheduled to take place between April 3 and May 21.

Earlier today (Monday, March 14), HELMET frontman Page Hamilton released the following statement regarding the matter: “Hey everyone, we were so looking forward to returning to Europe and getting back out on the road this Spring. After the past 2 1/2 years of Covid crushing live music we’d started rehearsals and even played 2 shows in LA. Unfortunately we are forced to cancel our 2022 European Tour due to several circumstances beyond our control (the world is still not back to normal) and for a band member to deal with a serious but non life threatening health issue.

“We would like to sincerely apologize to all our fans who have reached out to us to make plans to hang, catch up and hear us play. For now it’s back to the drawing board and we hope to see you next year.”

Last December, Hamilton confirmed to the “Thunder Underground” podcast that he had begun working on material for HELMET‘s first album in more than five years. “I have some scraps. That’s about all,” he said. “I’m writing a piece for this high school in Memphis called the Christian Brothers. It’s their 150th anniversary. It’s the oldest high school orchestra in the country. So I have to finish that. I have some time — [I have to complete it] by 2023; I have a year. But, yeah, the HELMET stuff, I’m gonna sit down and buckle down. So I’ll do my days where I try to divide it into the orchestral writing thing, this Christian Brothers piece, which is mostly brass and woodwinds and percussion, and then the HELMET stuff. ‘Cause if you’re just beating the pavement on one thing all day every day, I think it can get stale — for me anyway. First thing I do every day is play jazz guitar. So that keeps me excited and happy.”

HELMET‘s first official live album, “Live And Rare”, was released last November via earMUSIC. It was made available on heavyweight black vinyl as well as a CD digipak edition and digital.

Although HELMET disbanded in 1997, Hamilton revived the band in 2004, and the group has continued to tour and record.

HELMET‘s latest album, “Dead To The World”, was released in October 2016 via earMUSIC. The effort was produced by Hamilton and mixed by Jay Baumgardner.

Earlier last year, HELMET released a cover of GANG OF FOUR‘s 1981 song “Into The Ditch”. The track was recorded for a tribute album to GANG OF FOUR‘s guitarist Andy Gill, “The Problem Of Leisure: A Celebration Of Andy Gill And Gang Of Four”.

Having cut his teeth playing with avant-garde guitar icon Glenn Branca and indie stalwarts BAND OF SUSANS, Hamilton launched HELMET in 1989, and the band released its debut album, “Strap It On”, on the independent Amphetamine Reptile label the following year. HELMET soon became the subject of an unprecedented major-label bidding war, ultimately signing with Interscope and releasing “Meantime” in June 1992.

Even while the band was absent from the spotlight, HELMET continued to exercise considerable influence on multiple generations of bands. Their songs have been covered by the likes of CHEVELLE, DEFTONES, FAITH NO MORE, PIG DESTROYER and SOULFLY, and the band inspired a 2016 HELMET tribute album titled “Meantime Redux”. HELMET has also been cited as a key influence on such bands as GODSMACK, KORN, MARILYN MANSON, MASTODON, PANTERA, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, SEPULTURA, SLIPKNOT, STAIND, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and TOOL.

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