Betty is the third album by Helmet, released in 1994 on Interscope. The album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's success with the previous album, Meantime.
Rob Echeverria (guitarist of New York hardcore band Rest In Pieces) replaced Peter Mengede on guitar. It is Helmet's highest charting album in the U.S. After recording and touring in support of the album, Echeverria left Helmet in 1995 to join Biohazard; however, his departure was more amicable than Mengede's.
Prior to Betty's release in June 1994, the album's biggest hit, "Milquetoast", appeared in alternate form on The Crow soundtrack as "Milktoast." Its video was in regular rotation on MTV, and videos for "Wilma's Rainbow" and "Biscuits For Smut" were also released.
Musical style
Usually regarded as Helmet's experimental album, it features a broader approach with forays into jazz and blues. Hamilton said, "Those things were my indulgences. I tried to force the music in different directions. I know a lot of fans were disappointed, but I think it's important to try to grow musically."[5] Helmet's sonic trademarks of crunching riffs and pounding drums still define the album. Betty, along with Meantime and Aftertaste, is considered a definitive text in post-metal.[6]
Recording and production
Helmet entered the studio in the fall of 1993 with producer T-RAY to record the follow-up to its 1992 record Meantime. Writing and recording sessions took place at Soundtrack, Power Station, and Sound on Sound in New York City.
The album was issued on vinyl (on Amphetamine Reptile Records) in two-disc 10" format; this version included additional tracks "Flushings," "Thick," and "Pariah," and omits "Sam Hell."
A limited edition CD was released with a blue jewel case and five extra live tracks recorded July 30, 1994, in Los Angeles. The live tracks are "Sinatra," "FBLA II," "Tic," "Just Another Victim," and "In the Meantime." (These tracks were released overseas on the Wilma's Rainbow CD EP.)
In 2010 a 19 track digital only reissue of Betty was released. It included the bonus tracks: "Flushings," "Thick," "Pariah," "Biscuits for Smut (Mutt Mix)" and "Biscuits for Smut (Pooch Mix)."
^"HELMET Rediscovery". X-Press Online. 2007-03-28. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-03-31. Albums such [as] Meantime (1992), Betty (1994) and even Aftertaste (1997) eschewed the traditional concept of heavy music, trademarked the drop-d power-groove in 5/4, and pioneered a whole new trend in music. Even now, these albums stand on their own as definitive texts in post-metal.
