Helix

Emerging from Ontario in 1974, the resilient Canadian outfit Helix specialized in a thunderous yet accessible strain of hard rock and heavy metal. Their fourth studio album, Walkin' the Razor's Edge, topped the charts and carried the 1984 international success “Rock Me,” though the group later confronted serious setbacks that ranged from the ascent of grunge to the 1992 death of guitarist Paul Hackman. Through repeated roster overhauls, Helix endured for decades with vocalist Brian Vollmer as the sole unchanging member, ultimately issuing fourteen full-length albums that include It's a Business Doing Pleasure (1993), The Power of Rock and Roll (2007), and Old School (2019).

The musicians first assembled in 1974 as the Helix Field Band to enter a Battle of the Bands contest in Kitchener, Ontario. By 1976 they had adopted the Helix name and locked in a core lineup of singer Brian Vollmer, guitarists Brent Doerner and Paul Hackman, bassist Keith Zurbrigg, and drummer Brian Doerner. Two independent releases followed: Breaking Loose in 1979 and White Lace & Black Leather in 1981, the latter marking the debut of bassist Mike Uzelac.

A major-label agreement with Capitol arrived in 1983, yielding No Rest for the Wicked and introducing drummer Greg “Fritz” Hinz. Bassist Daryl Gray replaced Uzelac before Walkin' the Razor's Edge, whose hit “Rock You” surpassed 100,000 copies sold in Canada and 400,000 worldwide. Although 1985’s Long Way to Heaven gained little traction in the United States, it reached number one in Sweden. Wild in the Streets later earned gold certification at home and featured a cover of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” After the 1989 Capitol-sanctioned hits package Over 60 Minutes With…, Brent Doerner exited, yet the remaining quartet resurfaced with Back for Another Taste in 1990.

Tragedy struck in 1992 when longtime guitarist Paul Hackman died after the band’s van plunged down a 40-foot embankment following a Vancouver concert. Helix pressed ahead, bringing Brent Doerner back briefly to record 1993’s It's a Business Doing Pleasure alongside guitarist Greg Frazer. In 1998 the lineup of Vollmer, Gray, Hinz, Mark Chichkan, and Gary Borden released Half Alive, which mixed five new studio tracks with five live recordings from earlier tours; several years would pass before the group returned to the studio.

Vollmer assembled an entirely new configuration in 2004, resulting in Rockin' in My Outer Space after an eleven-year gap. Touring and recording continued under his leadership while former and incoming players rotated through both stage and studio roles. The Power of Rock and Roll appeared in 2007, followed in 2008 by A Heavy Mental Christmas, Helix’s first holiday collection. Vollmer reunited the classic 1980s lineup for Vagabond Bones in 2009, yet the members’ separate projects proved too demanding.

A 2014 roster featuring Vollmer, Daryl Gray, Greg Hinz, Chris Julke, and Kaleb Duck delivered Bastard of the Blues, and in 2019 Helix issued its fourteenth studio album. Pieced together from vintage tapes and new performances, Old School honored Paul Hackman, who co-wrote eight tracks and played on three.