Unsung (song)

"Unsung"
Single by Helmet
from the album Meantime
Released1991
GenreAlternative metal[1][2]
Length3:57
LabelInterscope
SongwriterPage Hamilton
Producers
Helmet singles chronology
"Repetition"
(1991)		 "Unsung"
(1991)		 "Give It"
(1992)
Music video
"Unsung" on YouTube

"Unsung" is a song by the American alternative metal band Helmet from their 1992 album, Meantime. A music video was produced for the song 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-inch 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. It reached number 29 on the US Modern Rock chart and number 32 on the US Mainstream Rock 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."[3]

Track listing

1991 Amphetamine Reptile Records 7" vinyl

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Unsung"3:54
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Your Head"3:17

1992 Interscope Records 7" vinyl

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Unsung"3:56
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."FBLA" (Live)2:24

Promo single

No.TitleLength
1."Unsung"3:56

CD single

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

12" vinyl

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Unsung"3:56
2."Better"3:10
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Bad Mood" (Live)2:10
2."Distracted" (Live)3:07

Accolades

Year Publication Country Accolade Rank
2004Kerrang!United Kingdom "666 Songs You Must Own (Alternative Rock)"*[8]
"*" denotes an unordered list.

Charts

Chart performance for "Unsung"
Chart (1992) Peak

position

US AOR Tracks (Radio & Records)[9] 17
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[10] 29
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[11] 39

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Unsung"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom November 16, 1992
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Atlantic [12]

References

  1. ↑ Ramirez, AJ (August 3, 2011). "The 10 Best Alternative Metal Singles of the 1990s". PopMatters. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ Terich, Jeff; Blyweiss, Adam (October 3, 2012). "10 Essential Alternative Metal Singles". Treblezine.
  3. ↑ "Unsung - Helmet | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Page Hamilton | Mixer, the Creative Network".
  5. ↑ Annie Zaleski (March 8, 2018). "Top 40 'Beavis and Butt-Head' One-Liners". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  6. ↑ "The Stories Behind Every Helmet Album". June 25, 2019.
  7. ↑ "DVD Talk".
  8. ↑ "Kerrang! - 666 Songs You Must Own (Alternative Rock)". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ "AOR Tracks" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 965. October 30, 1992. p. 64. Retrieved July 8, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  10. ↑ "Modern Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 41. October 10, 1994. p. 75. Retrieved July 8, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  11. ↑ "Helmet Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  12. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. November 14, 1992. p. 25. Retrieved August 10, 2026 – via worldradiohistory.com.
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