Song · Helmet
“Unsung” by Helmet
From the album Meantime (1992)
“Unsung” by Helmet appears on 17 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1992 and 2023. It was first released in 1992 on the album Meantime. Its best result is #61 on the Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2009). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #228 alternative song of 1992 and #3,335 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (HelmetVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Unsung" was Helmet's opening shot from Meantime in 1992, the band's first single and the song that broke them, and it's still their biggest seller. Page Hamilton wrote it and sings it, trading guitar with Peter Mengede over Henry Bogdan's bass and John Stanier's drums, everything tuned down to drop D and kicked off by a bass intro. Wharton Tiers recorded it and Andy Wallace mixed.
What made it stick was the lurch: stop, start, stop again, all tight precision and blunt force, and the rhythm catchy enough that it became something of a flag for the alternative metal crowd. An earlier take had already surfaced a year before on a 7-inch from Amphetamine Reptile. With the video in regular MTV rotation, it reached number 29 on the Modern Rock chart and 32 on Mainstream Rock, and critics liked it too.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 68 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 708 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) | 1000 |
| 1995 | 389 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) | 1000 |
| 1996 | 475 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) | 1000 |
| 2002 | 488 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
| 2002 | 1373 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2007 | 397 | KROQ | KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) | 500 |
| 2009 | 423 | Live 105 | Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) | 500 |
| 2009 | 61 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2009) | 70 |
| 2010 | 68 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2010) | 70 |
| 2011 | 65 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2011) | 70 |
| 2012 | 68 | Studio Brussel | Studio Brussel De Zwaarste Lijst (2012) | 70 |
| 2020 | 345 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) | 420 |
| 2021 | 248 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) | 420 |
| 2022 | 265 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) | 420 |
| 2023 | 379 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
| 2023 | 297 | 105.9 The X | 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) | 420 |
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