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Ben Verellen from Harkonen is in a new band - Helms Alee.

I liked Harkonen and really liked their first single. Kinda swampy but muscular heavy rock stuff. I saw them once live and it was really good, more energy than the records and rawer.

They broke up and Ben's been dicking around for a bit and now he's in this new thing. Their new record either just came out or will be out in a bit. It's called Night Terrors.

Starts off with the distorted bass sound that anchored the Harkonen stuff and starts chugging along okay. Song two comes in and Ben starts singing along. Now this guy has a world class rock yell. A really great, musical howl that's also raw as hell. Sounds soooo much more powerful than the brutal vocal shit that everyone's tired of. So he breaks into this a few minutes into this second song and it's satisfying. Then the song turns to the left, slows down and these really pretty but still raw female harmony vocals come in and it's just great . And you know you're in for something special.

As great as it is, it took a while to grow on me, but there's at least one part in pretty much every song that makes me shake my head at how nice it is. Guitar, guy/girl vox, pounding drums, fuzzed out bass playing solid, heavy and clear rock music. All interspersed by these moments of amazing stuff.

This has become my summer of '08 record, the kind you listen to twice a day for like two weeks in a row because it takes over your brain and you ache to listen to it. I love that feeling - it's one of my favorite things about buying records.

I don't imagine that this record's going to cause a huge stir in the world, as it's not unusual or trendy. But regardless, I want to recommend it to you all because it's a special thing they've done and it should be shared by those who would like such a thing.

And fuck you all in the Northwest who get to see them live because I'll bet it's a treat and a half.

Helms Alee - Night Terror

= Justin

jfq wrote:And fuck you all in the Northwest who get to see them live because I'll bet it's a treat and a half.

It is indeed.

Great dude. Great band.

This is one of the best releases of this year.
Damn you Justin!!!!!!! You already have it.

I have pre-ordered it.
Can't wait for this record to come out here in Switzerland!!!

These guys played at the Relax bar a couple of weeks ago. And yes, they were good.

Picked this up yesterday and I echo the sentiments. It's a great nighttime record.

This is a great album.

Justin from Queens wrote:And fuck you all in the Northwest who get to see them live because I'll bet it's a treat and a half.

Yes. Saw them on Saturday. The drummer is fucking incredible.

MrFood wrote:We need more albums like this.

MrFood wrote:Am I
Not in the least. Now that you mention it, it has a similar nagging/spindly riff as the opening to Paper Hats. This is a really solid album and comes at a time when I'm starving for something new to listen to (yes, more threads like this one). Thanks again Justin from Queens, I've only just received a copy after the glowing testimonies here and still getting to grips with it, great slabs of muscular rock grunt rubbing next to terribly pretty intermeshing parts. A very welcome tip.

My good friends in the band Kowloon Walled City are playing a free show with Helms Alee in SF in November. Should be a hoot.

Also, Kowloon Walled City rules. www.inthewalledcity.com

Ben