12022014 - Helms Alee "Sleepwalking Sailors"

Helms Alee is a band I have been planning to check out for some time, but never got around to until now. But hey - a new album is as good an excuse as any, and the catalogue can follow later. And after listening to "Sleepwalking Sailors" I am looking forward to getting to know this band better, because this is really good! Bass heavy tunes with huge riffs, strong melodies, dueling male/female vocals and more or less equal parts sludge, shoegaze and whatever you choose to call vintage Soundgarden (we don't use the G word around these parts) make out an album that should please fans of both Tool, Mastodon, Baroness and Sonic Youth without alienating the broadminded metal fans. Because make no mistake - Helms Alee are as heavy as a really heavy thing when they do heavy, but they can also do light and intricate, making the heavy bits sound even heavier! In the end though, what gets me are the melodies! Those are the reason I have the feeling that I will still be listening to this album in December!