Unsung (song)

"Unsung"
Single by Helmet
from the album Meantime
Released	1991[1]
Format	CD
Genre	Alternative metal[2][3][4]
Length	3:57
Label	Interscope
Writer(s)	Page Hamilton
Producer(s)	Steve Albini, Andy Wallace, Helmet
Helmet singles chronology
"Sinatra" (1991) "Unsung" (1991) "Give It" (1992)

"Unsung" is a single by the American alternative metal band Helmet from their 1992 album, Meantime. A music video was produced for "Unsung" and found significant airplay on MTV in the early 1990s. "Unsung" is recorded in drop D tuning on both guitars and bass, and begins with a bass intro. Its stop-and-go dynamics and catchy rhythm made it somewhat of a flagship of the growing 1990s alternative metal scene. In 1991, a full year before the release of Meantime, Amphetamine Reptile records issued the "Unsung" 7" record (scale 41), featuring an earlier recording of the song.

Release and reception

"Unsung" was Helmet's first single to be released, and was also the lead single to their second album Meantime. The song helped Helmet attain breakthrough success and is their most commercially successful song to date. "Unsung" reached # 29 on the US Alternative Songs chart and #32 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Unsung was also well received by music critics. Steve Huey from Allmusic reviewed the song positively by stating in his review "Boasting a stuttering, grinding main riff and the wall-of-noise guitar work of Page Hamilton and Peter Mengede, 'Unsung' was the second video pulled from Helmet's second full-length album, Meantime, and quickly became the band's signature song and an MTV favorite during late 1992. All told, it was probably the single best moment for a band that often emphasized sound over songwriting. 'Unsung' was Helmet at their most focused, alternating between memorable verse and chorus melodies and concluding with a monolithic guitar workout featuring noisy, oddly harmonized chords repeatedly drilled into the listener's skull."^[5]

Track listing

1991 Amphetamine Reptile Records 7" vinyl

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unsung"	3:54

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Your Head"	3:17

1992 Interscope Records 7" vinyl

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unsung"	3:56

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"FBLA" (Live)	2:24

Promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unsung"	3:56

CD single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unsung"	3:56
2.	"Better"	3:10
3.	"FBLA" (Live)	2:24
4.	"FBLA II" (Live)	3:20

12" Vinyl

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unsung"	3:56
2.	"Better"	3:10

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bad Mood" (Live)	2:10
2.	"Distracted" (Live)	3:07

In popular culture

• It is featured in the 1990s cartoons "Beavis and Butt-head" and "Mission Hill".
• It is featured in the videogames True Crime: New York City, Saints Row 2, Madden 10, the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the fictional radio station Radio X and in the Guitar Hero series where a cover version is featured in the 2005 game while the live version recorded from a 1992 gig in Chicago appears in Guitar Hero Smash Hits and the master recording appears as the final song of the "Guitar Hero Classics Volume 1" Premium Show on GHTV from Guitar Hero Live.
• It featured in the US television crime drama "The Following", S02E03.

Accolades

Year	Publication	Country	Accolade	Rank
2004	Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"666 Songs You Must Own (Alternative Rock)"	*	[6]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

References

1. "Helmet (2) - Unsung". Discogs. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
2. Ian S. Port (2012-11-28). "Bass Instincts: How Bassnectar Came to Rule American Dance Music - Page 2 - Music - San Francisco". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
3. Ramirez, AJ (August 3, 2011). "The 10 Best Alternative Metal Singles of the 1990s". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
4. Terich, Jeff and Adam Blyweiss (October 3, 2012). "10 Essential Alternative Metal Singles". Treblezine. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
5. http://www.allmusic.com/song/unsung-mt0038789216
6. "Kerrang! - 666 Songs You Must Own (Alternative Rock)". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2010-01-18.