HELMET's PAGE HAMILTON Is '70% Done' With His First Solo Album

In a new interview with Remzi "Jam Man" Yates of Rocking With Jam Man, HELMET leader Page Hamilton discussed some of the new music he has in the works, including a possible follow-up to the band's 2023 album "Left". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I am 70% done with my first solo album. I'm gonna re-release my 'Movie Music Vol. 1' [album]. Nile Rodgers's label that put it out went under, and my label, who I love, Edel/earMUSIC in Hamburg, is gonna release it hopefully before the end of the year. And then I'll finish the solo album. I had [drummer] John Tempesta, my dear friend from THE CULT, WHITE ZOMBIE, ROB ZOMBIE, who used to play in HELMET, he played on five tracks. And another dear friend of mine, Matt Flynn, who was the drummer in GANDHI, B-52'S. He's been in MAROON 5 for 20-something years. He's a phenomenal drummer, and they don't utilize his songwriting ability in MAROON 5 on their albums, but when you watch him live, he's a powerhouse. And he's gonna play on some songs. I'm trying to get my friend Pancho Tomaselli, the bassist, he used to be in [legendary funk/rock band] WAR. He had a great band with [SLAYER's] Dave Lombardo called PHILM, a really, really cool band. We did a track together in his OFFICER LUCIFER project, but he's a fucking bass genius. So I'm just kind of still pulling people together for that. And then I signed a one-album jazz deal with Edel as well. And that's a work in progress, so that won't be till 2028, assuming I live that long. HELMET, I don't know right now. I don't know if we'll do a new album for a while 'cause I'm kind of focusing on these other things."

Page previously discussed his upcoming debut solo LP last October in an interview with Q101's Lauren O'Neil. He said at the time: "It's called 'Companion Peace', and I'm still debating whether it will be P-E-A-C-E, a play on words, or P-I-E-C-E. [It will] probably [be] P-E-A-C-E.

"Obviously, 'Left' is fairly political, and as I've gotten older, so many disturbing events have [happened]," he continued. "I never thought, at the age of 65, I would see our country deteriorate to this extent. And it's why I held my peace sign for the audience for a long time.

"One of the greatest things about our country is the diversity. And I've always felt that, I've always known that," Page added. "And I live in Los Angeles; it's 60% Hispanic. And so the solo album is kind of a combination of a lot of stuff I've done on film soundtracks for a million years. I've played on the movie 'Heat', 'In Dreams', 'Titus', 'Across The Universe' and 'Final Fantasy'."

Regarding the musical direction of his upcoming solo album, Page said: "I do sessions, and I work with a composer currently in Los Angeles, Patrick Kirst, who's a professor at USC, University of Southern California. And I've always had this kind of sort of alter ego to do this sound sculpting stuff with feedback, guitar feedback, creating these soundscapes that are very non-guitaristic. And our label is so damn cool, in Germany, Edel/earMUSIC. The president came to the HELMET show in Hamburg. He came to the 'Left' tour, but he came to the 'Betty' [30th-anniversary] show with about 10 people from the label —kids, I call 'em, 'cause they're about 20 — and they were so supportive. And he said, 'I want you to do whatever you wanna do. Don't compromise.' And I'm, like, 'Wow. How often do you hear that from a record label?' So I'm really excited about this album. It's not accessible. There's no punk rock singalongs. It's music I'm really excited about."

Elaborating on where the inspiration for his upcoming solo album came from, Page said: "It sort of came together from a few movies that I've scored and sessions I've done. And Elliot Goldenthal, the great film composer who I've been fortunate to do many movies with — and all the movies I listed, for example — his wife is Julie Taymor, who created 'The Lion King' on Broadway. They're these two geniuses. I love them. They're like my big brother and big sister. He said, 'Your guitar is like an orchestra. You create these orchestral textures.' And it kind of made me think about that. And so that this album is that. It's weird, but I'm really proud of it. My co-producer's a guy named Jim Kaufman. He co-produced 'Left'… I produced Gavin Rossdale's first solo album, and I've done probably 20 or 25 albums. So it's kind of another thing that I do. But when you work on other people's music, it kind of inspires your creative process. And so for me, that's been really fun… So I've learned so much, and to be able to do something that's one of my pet projects is really exciting."

The 11 songs on "Left" were guided by Hamilton alongside co-producers Jim Kaufman and Mark Renk, and mastered by Howie Weinberg.

HELMET's first official live album, "Live And Rare", was released in November 2021 via earMUSIC. It was made available on heavyweight black vinyl as well as a CD digipak edition and digital.

Although HELMET disbanded in 1997, Hamilton revived the band in 2004, and the group has continued to tour and record.

In 2021, HELMET released a cover of GANG OF FOUR's 1981 song "Into The Ditch". The track was recorded for a tribute album to GANG OF FOUR's guitarist Andy Gill, "The Problem Of Leisure: A Celebration Of Andy Gill And Gang Of Four".

Having cut his teeth playing with avant-garde guitar icon Glenn Branca and indie stalwarts BAND OF SUSANS, Hamilton launched HELMET in 1989, and the band released its debut album, "Strap It On", on the independent Amphetamine Reptile label the following year. HELMET soon became the subject of an unprecedented major-label bidding war, ultimately signing with Interscope and releasing "Meantime" in June 1992.

Even while the band was absent from the spotlight, HELMET continued to exercise considerable influence on multiple generations of bands. Their songs have been covered by the likes of CHEVELLE, DEFTONES, FAITH NO MORE, PIG DESTROYER and SOULFLY, and the band inspired a 2016 HELMET tribute album titled "Meantime Redux". HELMET has also been cited as a key influence on such bands as GODSMACK, KORN, MARILYN MANSON, MASTODON, PANTERA, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, SEPULTURA, SLIPKNOT, STAIND, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and TOOL.