Dropped by Interscope

In November 2005, Helmet were dropped by Interscope following lackluster sales for Size Matters . Helmet then signed with Warcon Enterprises in March 2006 and announced that a new album was in the works. Helmet performed at the 2006 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas , with a temporary lineup consisting of Charlie Walker on drums, Chris Traynor on bass, and Anthony Truglio (formerly of Gandhi ) on guitar. The new album, Monochrome , was recorded and co-produced by Wharton Tiers , who recorded Helmet’s first two albums, Strap It On and Meantime . For the album, Hamilton and Traynor returned to the studio with newly recruited drummer, Mike Jost (formerly of Adair ). Helmet headlined the 2006 Warped Tour in support of Monochrome , with Jeremy Chatelain reprising his role from the 2005 Size Matters tour. The band later split with Warcon due to a variety of financial disputes between Hamilton and the label’s owners. Hamilton stated “Amphetamine Reptile and Interscope were both fantastic experiences for us, and Warcon was the first time that I’d actually run into any problems with a label. I trusted somebody and got screwed. I’m not bitter about it, but I lost a lot of money. They never paid me tour support that they were contractually obligated to pay. There were a lot of things. I’ve never seen one penny of royalties from them, but I own the record [ Monochrome ] now, so it’s my record.”