HELMET guitarist / vocalist Page Hamilton is featured in a new interview with Justin M. Norton at About.com. An excerpt is available below.

Q: Reviews have come in for (new album) Seeing Eye Dog with divided opinions. There are people who have stuck with you for the new musical journeys and others who’ve basically said if it’s not Meantime or Betty they aren’t interested. When you put out new music do you anticipate hearing stuff like this?

Hamilton: "Maybe I’m a glass is half-full guy, but you figure at a certain point people would just shut up and listen to the music. I’ve never, ever made an album with a commercial agenda or tried to do something to please anyone. I don’t do it. I’ve grown accustomed to it because it’s happened with every single album after Strap It On. I remember a guy from Flipside Magazine saying when Meantime came out that he expected Helmet and got a bonnet. And then Betty wasn’t as good as Meantime. And then Aftertaste sucked. It’s the same stuff all the time.

It can get a little disheartening. I’m 50 years old. I appreciate the people who trust me. I’ve always tried to be sincere. Do I always hit a home run? No. There are songs on albums that I don’t like. I can hear the craft and my musical background and approach, but sometimes it will sound less inspired. I feel like this album is 100 percent inspired. I don’t feel like one song is fat or filler. There are some of my songs I haven’t listened to in a long time. Someone requested 'Drug Lord' the other night and I’m like, 'I don’t like the song!'

When I get frustrated I think back to day one. (Former drummer) John (Stanier) and I had a conversation . We said not everyone is going to like us but no one can say we suck, because we’re f---ing good. It might be not be your cup of tea, and listeners have agendas. I look at some of my heroes who have been criticized, like John Coltrane. Some people said he was anti-jazz, and I was like, really? It was the same with ELVIS COSTELLO or DAVID BOWIE. LOUIS ARMSTRONG was down on CHARLIE PARKER. LED ZEPPELIN was never a critical darling. I don’t want to be a critical darling.

If you start catering to the cool kids and the tastemakers you are screwed. I never tried to show someone up. I’m just about writing songs I think are great. My guitar playing has changed and my singing has changed. I haven’t lost any power, but I have more range.

I do understand having an attachment to older music. I love KILLING JOKE and they still put out great albums. But my favorite album is still their first. As a writer I still can appreciate the albums they are making and would never slag them."

Q: You were writing a lot of Seeing Eye Dog as you were getting close to 50. Did aging and any related introspection factor into this album?

Hamilton: "I didn’t sit around and say I’m 50 and I’m going to write about it (laughs). My girlfriend always says I’m a person who doesn’t want to reveal that much. It’s true. I don’t want personal stuff exposed and I don’t recite from my diary. Early on I was conscious about not having any narratives in songs because I thought singer-songwriters were pretentious. I was trying to create my own language and my own approach to songwriting. As I’ve grown older, I’ve found ways to expand my craft.

I do this because I love it and it’s a challenge. When you think about it, we’re all working with the same 12 notes that have been arranged and re-arranged for a few hundred years from the Baroque and Renaissance going forward. I’m not trying to do a power ballad or a cock rock song. With Helmet I created a vocabulary that I can use."

Click here for the complete interview.