by Ron Higgins
– Columnist —
Gimme an H – H – E -E – L – L – I – I – X – X. Watcha got? Helix! And watcha gonna do?!
Helix is out with yet another greatest hits compilation. It’s a nice retrospective of their career, starting with songs from their first independent release up through their 2014 release Bastard of the Blues. The most interesting aspect of this release is the inclusion of a brand new song, a rebuttal to the resident KISS loudmouth “(Gene Simmons Says) Rock is Dead”.
The first two songs “Billy Oxygen” and “You’re a Woman Now” first appeared on their independent 1979 release Breaking Loose. They’re both decent songs but a far cry from what would be called Metal. “Billy Oxygen” starts out like the Sweet classic “Ballroom Blitz.” It’s more mid-70’s Glam Rock than head banging Metal but it’s a good song and shows a lot of promise for what the band could do. It’s got a cool lead solo and an interesting bass breakdown in the middle. “You’re a Woman Now” is reminiscent of some good ol’ Led Zep. It starts off like a slow early ‘70s Bread tune but then starts rocking like a top of their game Foreigner. It features a nice mix of both electric and acoustic guitars.
The next few songs are their most popular, featuring lead screamer Brian Vollmer’s famous wail. These include songs like the romantic “Heavy Metal Love,” “Deep Cuts the Knife” and the song that really got their career moving, the classic metal tune “Rock You.”
Also included are lesser known songs like “Shock City Psycho Rock,” an R&B scorcher that sounds like a mix of AC/DC and Meatloaf on steroids, and “Even Jesus (Wasn’t Loved in His Home Town),” a Rock and Roll Revival!
Last but not least is the aforementioned new Gene Simmons song. They proclaim, “Rock and Roll didn’t die of old age. It was murdered.” It’s not clear who they’re indicting but they clearly disagree with Gene’s sentiment. As they sing, “We don’t need no God of Thunder to tell us what is great.” It’s not a bad song but it’s not a great song either. It’s certainly timely and topical but people aren’t going to be humming it in 30 years when people are still chanting, “Give me an R…”
Much like the final song, this compilation isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. The best thing about this release is it spans their entire career. Also, the production is very good. The problem is trying to understand the target audience. Die-hard Helix fans probably already have most, if not all, of these songs (aside from the new one, of course). For them, they’d be better off simply downloading the new song. It might also appeal to the uninitiated who only know them for their biggest hit. But listeners interested in hearing more from these Canadian heavyweights would probably be better off buying their earlier greatest hits package, R-O-C-K – Best Of 1983-2012, which contains a whopping 21 tracks, including two bonus tracks. This obviously exposes new listeners to a lot more material compared to the slight 12 tracks on offer here.
Although this is a decent release with a lot of great songs, it’s simply not an essential purchase by any stretch of the imagination. But it does show the evolution of a very good rock band, one with impressive longevity, which has proven it’s much more than simply a one hit wonder.
Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Band:
Brian Vollmer (vocals)
Kaleb Duck (guitar, vocals)
Daryl Gray (bass, vocals, keyboards)
Chris Julke (guitar, vocals)
Gregory “Fritz” Hinz (drums)
Track Listing:
1. “Billy Oxygen”
2. “You’re a Woman Now”
3. “Heavy Metal Love“
4. “Rock You“
5. “Deep Cuts the Knife“
6. “Wild in the Streets“
7. “Good To The Last Drop“
8. “Shock City Psycho Rock“
9. “Get Up! “
10. “Make ‘Em Dance“
11. “Even Jesus (Wasn’t Loved In His Home Town) “
12. “(Gene Simmons Says) Rock is Dead“
Website: planethelix.com
Label: Perris Records
Hardrock Haven Rating: 7.5/10
