The Romance of Helen Trent (album)

Last updated
The Romance of Helen Trent
Killing tree-1-.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 25, 2002
RecordedDecember 2001 – January 2002
StudioAtlas Studios, Chicago, IL
Genre
Length52:15
Label One Day Savior
Producer Matt Allison
The Killing Tree chronology
Bury Me At Make-Out Creek
(2000)
The Romance of Helen Trent
(2002)
We Sing Sin
(2003)

The Romance of Helen Trent is the only studio album from the metalcore band The Killing Tree. It was first released in limited editions on June 22, 2002 during an album release show before being formally released by One Day Savior Recordings on June 25, 2002. [5] [6] The album was recorded by Matt Allison at Atlas Studios, Chicago, Illinois over the course of one week.

Contents

Recording

Looking back on the recording process, Geoff Rue said that “after a demo ep (Bury Me At Make-Out Creek), we re-entered the old Atlas Studios, which has since become a Korean taco place, and recorded the LP in just over a weeks time, all in evening and late night sessions since the studio shared walls with a few businesses, so we couldn’t really get going until they closed for the day. Matt Allison was good natured about our manic pace to pound out the record as fast as possible (we couldn’t afford much studio time), yet also patient when we insisted on numerous layers of the clap track that begins “The Perfect”.

A contract was never signed between the record company and the band, so it is unknown who legally possesses the copyrights of The Romance of Helen Trent; which is thought to be the main reason behind the album's lack of a reissue.

However, despite not being currently available on streaming services or on CD, the album has seen a limited edition rerelease on vinyl for the first time on November 23, 2018 via Think Fast! Records. [7]

Helena Marie

Multiple songs on the album feature intros consisting of a woman speaking about recent things she has been through. The samples are from an audio diary found in a garbage bag of a girl known only as "Helena Marie". Tim McIlrath has said of the tapes "None of us expected the messages in Helena Marie's audio diary to parallel The Killing Tree message so closely. And when it did, we knew it was just meant to be. It still gives me chills sometimes." [8]

In August 2018, Reu stated in the liner notes for vinyl reissue of the album, “Tim’s roommate at the time, the brilliance and enigmatic Davy Rothbart, who was starting up Found Magazine, had given us a tape of recorded diary-style therapeutic confessions that he had found during his scavenging for abandoned personal artifacts. The voice on the tape identified herself as Helena Murray, and she was at turns vulnerable, self-hating, naïve, regretful, optimistic, emotionally raw, and crushingly honest about her life, relationships, and the inner world. We connected with her voice immediately - she was a kindred spirit - and it felt like it was the spoken word companion to everything we were trying to channel into the songs we had written for the record both thematically and musically, so we wove a few excerpts from the tape throughout the record and name the project after an old radio soap opera, which was similar in name and the protagonist’s brave honesty in searching for love and self in the face of the crushing disappointment life has to offer.”

Limited edition

A limited edition version of the album was planned to be sold at the Fireside Bowl, Chicago, at the album release show on June 22, 2002. Due to problems during the pressing of the album, The Killing Tree had to 'pool their resources' in order to make 100 copies available at the show. These 100 limited copies were sold out at the release show. The 200 delayed copies soon arrived, and featured the same album artwork, but a slightly different insert and disk design as the previous limited edition CD. These editions of the album were mastered by Alan Douches. These copies were sold at live shows exclusively with standard edition being released on June 25, 2002. [6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
Aversion OnlineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Punk NewsStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
SputnikmusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5. Aversion Online gave the album 6 out of 10 stars.

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Prelude to Pain"5:59
2."Them's Fightin' Words"4:46
3."Switchblade Architect"5:09
4."Replace My Heart"6:58
5."Soundtrack to a Failing Relationship" (Instrumental)4:51
6."Violets Are Blue"6:18
7."The Perfect"6:10
8."Counting to Infinity"5:06
9."Cacophony (The Death of Affection)"6:58
Total length:52:15

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<i>Diary of a Madman</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Ozzy Osbourne

Diary of a Madman is the second studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released in October 1981, and re-issued on CD on 22 August 1995. This is the last Osbourne studio album to feature guitarist Randy Rhoads and drummer Lee Kerslake. An altered version appeared in 2002 with the original bass and drum parts removed and re-recorded. In 2011, a Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition was released with all original parts restored. To date, the album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cut Copy</span> Australian synth-pop band

Cut Copy are an Australian synth-pop band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford. Originally a home-recording project, the band now includes Tim Hoey (guitars), Ben Browning, and Mitchell Scott (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Brokaw</span> American musician

Chris Brokaw is an American musician, best known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine.

<i>Live at the Witch Trials</i> 1979 studio album by The Fall

Live at the Witch Trials is the debut studio album by the Fall. It was released on 16 March 1979 through record label Step-Forward. It is not, despite its title, a live album and was recorded in a studio in a single day and mixed by producer Bob Sargeant.

<i>Motörhead</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Motörhead

Motörhead is the debut studio album by English rock band Motörhead. It was released on 12 August 1977 by pub rock and early punk rock label Chiswick Records, one of the first for the label, and the band's only release under Chiswick. The album contains the "classic" Motörhead line-up of Lemmy Kilmister on bass and vocals, "Fast" Eddie Clarke on lead guitar, and Philthy Animal Taylor on drums. The sleeve artwork featured the debut of Snaggletooth, the War-Pig, the fanged face logo created by artist Joe Petagno that would become an icon of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brainpower</span> Dutch rapper

Brainpower is a Dutch rapper. Born in Belgium, he grew up in the Netherlands. He has released six studio albums since 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pietasters</span> American band

The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.

Flotation Toy Warning is a band from London, UK formed in 2001. Their sound has been described as a cross between space rock and chamber pop, with musical similarities to bands such as Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, Sparklehorse, The Unicorns, and Air. The band is made up of frontman and lead vocalist Paul Carter, guitar and bass guitar players Ben Clay and Nainesh Shah, drummer Steve Swindon, and keyboardist Vicky West.

The Honor System was an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999 by Dan Hanaway and Rob DePaola, after the breakup of their previous band The Broadways. The band briefly featured future Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath as a bassist. They broke up in 2004, leaving behind two studio albums and three EPs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Placebo Effect (band)</span>

Placebo Effect is a German dark electro band formed in 1989.

<i>Screeching Weasel</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Screeching Weasel

Screeching Weasel is the debut studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was originally released on vinyl with a limited pressing of 1,000 copies in September 1987 through local independent label Underdog Records and was the band's only album with bassist Vinnie Bovine, who was fired the next year. Screeching Weasel documents the group's early years as a hardcore punk band, with the music being heavily influenced by bands such as Adrenalin O.D., Angry Samoans, Circle Jerks and Black Flag.

<i>Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape</i> 1994 compilation album by Porcupine Tree

Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape is a compilation album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It is a compilation of the band's initial three tapes, Tarquin's Seaweed Farm, Love, Death & Mussolini and The Nostalgia Factory. It consists of the rest of the music from the tapes that was not included in the band's first studio album On the Sunday of Life... and a previously unreleased track "An Empty Box".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porcupine Tree discography</span>

The following is a listing of officially released works by the English band Porcupine Tree. The band has released eleven major studio albums and 7 EPs, as well as many limited editions and revamped material.

Several recordings by Charles Manson and members of his "Family" have been released since Manson was indicted in late 1969 for the murders of Tate and LaBianca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died</span> 2007 single by Queens of the Stone Age

"The Fun Machine Took a Shit & Died" is a song by Queens of the Stone Age, intended for the band's 2005 album, Lullabies to Paralyze. In 2005, a rough studio version of the song was handed out to those who had tickets to the cancelled London shows. In 2007, the song was given away for free with the release of the band's 2007 album Era Vulgaris to those who pre-ordered it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Killing Tree</span> American hardcore punk band

The Killing Tree were a hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They were a side project of Tim McIlrath during the early days of Rise Against and featured former Rise Against guitarist Todd Mohney and bassist Geoff Reu of Baxter and Holy Roman Empire.

<i>Rage Against the Machine</i> (demo album) Demo tape from 1991 by Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is the original demo tape by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released in December 1991. The 12-track tape was recorded at Sunburst Studio in Los Angeles after drummer Brad Wilk joined the band but before they had played their first live show. When the band began performing live shows they sold the tape for $5, eventually selling approximately 5,000 copies. Shortly thereafter, the band was signed to a record deal with Epic Records on the strength of the demo's success.

<i>Messiah</i> (EP) 2000 EP by Godflesh

Messiah is the fifth EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh. The EP was originally recorded and mixed during 1994, and was released independently to members of the band's fan club on 5 December 2000 along with four remixes, which were created in 1995. After Justin Broadrick disbanded Godflesh, he reissued the material through Relapse Records on 1 April 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lovely Eggs</span> British band

The Lovely Eggs are a two-piece lo-fi psychedelic punk rock band from Lancaster, England. They consist of married couple Holly Ross and David Blackwell. Ross was formerly the lead singer and guitarist in the all-female band Angelica.

<i>The Spiral Sacrifice</i> 2018 studio album by Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows

The Spiral Sacrifice is the 13th album by Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows. The album was released on February 8, 2018 on four different formats: on compact disc format with 128-page hardcover book ; on 3x12" black vinyl with an additional booklet ; on two tape versions wax-sealed, signed and hand-packaged by Anna Varney herself; and on a limited Supporter's Box edition including the compact disc version format, 3x12" pink vinyl, an extra 7" vinyl with two chamber music-like dark ambient mixes, a fold-out poster, a hand-numbered certificate of authenticity and a T-shirt. The Supporter's Box was initially intended to be limited to 500 copies, although Anna has since stated on her official Facebook page that only 485 were actually produced.

References

  1. 1 2 Sputnikmusic
  2. 1 2 Westerhouse, Andrew. "Review: The Killing Tree "The Romance of Helen Trent" CD". Aversion Online. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Taylor, Jason. "The Killing Tree The Romance of Helen Trent". AllMusic . Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  4. Pratt, Greg. "The Killing Tree The Romance of Helen Trent". Exclaim. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  5. "The Killing Tree – the Romance of Helen Trent (2002, CD)". Discogs .
  6. 1 2 "Splash Image". www.thekillingtree.com (JPG). 2002. Archived from the original on November 29, 2002. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  7. "The Killing Tree – the Romance of Helen Trent (2018, Green, Vinyl)". Discogs .
  8. "Tim McIIrath". Kevin Corazza. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  9. Punknews.org