HELIX – Scrap Metal (2026 Perris)

I don’t know what changed, but buying the new Helix album in 2026 was a headache.  For a Canadian fan of a Canadian band, all I wanted to do was hop on my Amazon and buy it with Prime.  Even though it was reportedly charting on Amazon in Canada, I could not find the CD for sale.  Not wanting to deal with the problems I had with Helix 50, I was determined to get it through one of my usual channels.  Our local store didn’t have it.  I saw a reviewer in New York received a review copy, but I discovered that physical review copies were not available to Canadians.   (I was offered the files to review, but we only review physical product, and you’ll see why this is important as we go through the songs.)  In the end, Jake (Not From State Farm) gifted me a copy that he bought himself, and sent it to me free of charge.  The album is finally available on Amazon, but only about six weeks after I had been trying to buy one.   Why is it so hard for Canadian fans of a Canadian band to just buy the album through their usual channels?  At least it didn’t hinder sales, as the new Helix album Scrap Metal reportedly did very well.

What exactly is the Scrap Metal album anyway?  Think of it as a new mini-album, with bonus tracks!  Eight songs, plus four tracks that were previously released on the albums below:

• “Jaws of the Tiger” (re-recorded version):  On B-Sides, Best Of 1983-2012, and Never Trust Anyone Over 30.  Original version on Over 60 Minutes With…
• “Danger Zone”:  On B-Sides, and Best Of 1983-2012.
• “The Same Room”:  This is the full-length track, not the rarer CD single edit version.  On half-ALIVE and Best Of 1983-2012.
• “The Pusher” (Steppenwolf cover):  On half-ALIVE.

The other eight songs on the album are either new ones written with Sean Kelly, or unfinished old songs, re-worked for release in 2026.  This is similar to the tactic used on the excellent Old School album.  Some of these tracks feature the late Greg “Fritz” Hinz.  Many were co-written by the beloved and much missed Paul Hackman.

What’s remarkable is how cohesive Scrap Metal sounds.  Regardless of the differing origins of the songs, it plays like an album.  You can hear some stylistic differences over time, particularly with the addition of shredder Sean Kelly on guitar, but it feels like an album.  You can’t necessarily tell that 30 or 40 years have elapsed between some songs.  Let’s run through them track by track.

The lead track “Stuck in the 80’s” has been well received by fans.  Musically it is sharp, riff-oriented mid-tempo rock.  Impeccable backing vocals on the verses, with trademark Helix shouts on the chorus.  The lyrics will resonate with many, though on a personal level I can’t relate.  I enjoyed the music of the 80s, but I would not want my tastes or style to be stuck in that decade.  Helix actually did some of their best stuff in the 70s, 90s, and 2000s!

“Fast & Furious” is far better than any movie with that name.  Fritz Hinz on drums, written with the late Paul Hackman.  This thrashy winner has singer Brian Vollmer singer in a distorted 90s voice, which is an interesting choice that the first three songs all feature to some degree.  The guitar solos have a Judas Priest dual solo vibe, very impressive and very much a welcome sound.  After all, Paul Hackman and Brent Doerner were a formidable guitar duo in the 80s.  That same vibe continues here, in shred town!  Stuck in the 80s indeed?  This kind of guitar work puts Helix in the world-class category.  Absolutely incredible.

“Pretty Poison”, written by Hackman and Vollmer with Sean Kelly coming in to help finish it, is a dirty mid-tempo rocker.  Once again the riffing is intact.  The chorus has excellent atmosphere.  Aaron Murray plays drums on this (and the previous “Stuck in the 80’s”.  The backing vocals on this have the traditional Helix vibe, and the guitar solo is melodic greatness.

The entire classic lineup (plus Sean Kelly) receive writing credits on “Hot Heavy & Wild” which sounds like a Judas Priest title circa Turbo.  Great chorus on this slower, grinding rocker.  The backing vocals stand out once again.

Helix have a penchant for typos and misprints (see:  Helix 50 and Gimme An R!) and I’m not sure what the next song is called.  If you look at the back cover and CD, it’s called “Money (Goes With Everything)”.  If you look at the lyric sheet, it’s just “Money!” with an exclamation point.  This is a Vollmer/Hackman song, resurrected with Sean Kelly shred.  It absolutely has the classic Helix vibe.

“Jaws of the Tiger” falls here, the version from the B-Sides album.  Much like “Fast & Furious”, this has a fast thrash-like tempo.  This helps keep the album cohesive.  The lineup here is in question.  The liner notes credit Brent Doerner on lead guitar.  He was not credited on B-Sides.

Up next, “Coming Back With Bigger Guns”.  Once again the classic Helix sound is present, especially with the backing vocal arrangements.  Pristine and perfect.  This album is exceptionally well recorded.  This is a Hackman/Vollmer co-write, the same team that produced so many Helix classics of the past.

Moving on to “Danger Zone”, this has always been one of the best songs from B-Sides.  It too is a Hackman/Vollmer co-write.  It grooves.  The groove is infectious.

A change of pace is due;  Helix have never “just” been a rock band.  The ballad “Tie Me Down”, recorded in 2019, features Fritz Hinz on drums.  This nice song could easily have been included on an album like Back For Another Taste.  If it had, MuchMusic airplay would have been guaranteed!  Brian is singing great on this one, but the “Ooh, ooh” backing vocals are sublime.

Hackman/Vollmer return for “Closer”, the last of the new songs.  Also recorded in 2019, bassist Daryl Gray sounds great on this, and all the tracks he appears on.  He also plays guitar, along with once-and-present Helix guitarist Kaleb Duck, and current guitarist Chris Julke.  “Closer” has the quality we’ve come to expect from this band’s music.

The album closes with two more tracks from the studio side of half-ALIVE:  single “The Same Room” and Steppenwolf cover “The Pusher”.  It’s amazing how good “The Pusher” sounds, something that may have slipped between the cracks before.  Interestingly, new Helix drummer Jamie Constant is credited on “The Same Room” .  He played on this Helix track three decades ago.

Frustratingly though, even though this album includes songs written and performed with Sean Kelly, other newer tracks like “Not My Circus, Not My Clowns” and “Brother From A Different Mother” remain physically unavailable.  This would have been the perfect CD to release them on, even as bonus tracks.

Scrap Metal is a solid Helix “mini-album with bonus tracks”.  I would have chosen different material from albums past, but as an album this plays consistently well.

4/5 stars