Helms Alee “Stillicide” Album Review via Hanging Hex

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HELMS ALEE, “Stillicide”
The opening track on Helms Alees’ new record starts with the piano coda that closes out their very first LP, “Night Terrors”, before it mutates into a maelstrom of swirling distortion and thunder.  They have had two records between these two, so it’s kind of interesting the Seattle trio recall a tidbit from their first LP on their fourth long player.  I guess it shows that since that time they have remained a strange, bewildering beast, but have grown in many ways as well.  It’s that touchstone from the past opening a door to reflection, yet showing what’s new.  What remains consistent is how Helms Alee is the bewildering sound of hiking through the redwoods on a foggy morning before reaching a beach in the Pacific Northwest.  You look in one direction and there’s the water- calm and cool.  You look behind you and trees rise up like skyscrapers.  And in front of you are some of the most majestic mountains you’ll see.  It’s at once mesmerizing and beautiful, but you also realize the hugeness of all these things, how little you are, and it’s sort of terrifying and weird.  That’s the sound of Helms Alee.  They can twist and turn with odd rhythms, sinewy melodies, harmonized and haunting female vocals.  But they can quickly hit the distortion and come off as the most thunderous sasquatch of a beast you’ll ever hear between drummer Hozi Matheson Magullis’ polyrhythmic tom rolls, Dana James crushing low end and Ben Verellens howling baritone.  Whether it’s the continuous crush of the title track and “Galloping Mind Fuk” (sic), or the long, slow burn meandering of “Creeping You Company”, to a perfect combination of all their styles (melodic, weird, and pretty to beefy and mean) on “Andromenous” this new LP is really an excellent addition to an already stellar catalog from a great band. - Hanging Hex