Forefathers of the post-hardcore/punk genre, HELMET have returned with MONOCHROME, marking their first release on Warcon Records, one of the leading post-hardcore/punk labels in the industry today.
For MONOCHROME, PAGE enlisted Strap It On and Meantime collaborator Wharton Tiers to co-produce and return to the organic sound the band is known for. Tiers recorded the bands first two releases Strap It On and Meantime, the latter of which sold over a million copies and defined the brusque element of Americans underground rock scene. The HELMET sound sparked a new brand of metal, crossing all traditional music boundaries, paving the way for bands like Chevelle, Deftones, Killswitch Engage, Norma Jean and Silverchair, among many others. The New York Times called HELMET a band that made important connections between indie-rock and metal (September 12, 2004). "Wharton was my only choice to co-produce this project with me, notes HAMILTON. Apart from the sounds he can get in his studio, he was also a major influence in terms of helping me shape my guitar playing. HELMETs catalog also includes Betty (1994) and Aftertaste (1996), after which they broke up in 1998. In 2004, Helmet returned with the critically acclaimed Size Matters. Jim Farber at New York Daily News praised the album, noting: Helmets smart rock has returned at just the right time.