D:A:D's long delayed fifth album, 1995's Helpyourselfish, sees the band moving forward once again after the stagnant Riskin' It All. By experimenting with new, noticeably more aggressive guitar textures, the highly processed riff of opener "Deconstrucdead" is surprising, to say the least, and its clever lyrics show that the band has lost none of it's comedic edge. This talent for wordplay is once again evident on memorable highlights such as "Naked (But Still Stripping)" and "Praying to a God (Who Always Says No)," both of which manage the impressive feat of being at once poignant and amusing. Pushing the extremes, the band quietly strums along on the acoustic "Flat," then reaches near-thrash metal intensity on "It'swhenit'swrongit'sright," but their real strengths lies somewhere in between. The huge choruses splashed all over mid-paced crunch-fests like the title track, "Candid," and "Unowned" simply hit the bulls-eye every time, and ace guitarist Jacob Binzer's leads are amazingly tasteful and subtle throughout. A solid return to form which, stylistically speaking, was no return at all, but rather a brave step in a new direction, Helpyourselfish remains D:A:D's heaviest record, and also one of their best.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo