HELIX frontman Brian Vollmer has issued the following update:

"Next week A Heavy Mental Christmas hits Wal-Mart stores across Canada. We’re asking all Helix fans to request or buy it at the store to get things off to a running start. Please ask as many of your friends as you can to request it as well. Response so far to A Heavy Mental Christmas has been overwhelmingly positive, so we’re crossing our fingers. I’ve already talked to several radio stations that are going to add one or more of the tracks, and the DMDS hasn’t even gone out yet. DMDS is the service that sends that actual songs to the radio station. Whereas in the past they would receive “hard copy” (that is, an actual physical disc or album), nowadays they are sent a code to download the song onto the station’s hard drive.

The lone original on A Heavy Mental Christmas is the song 'Christmas Time Is Here Again', which we wrote as we recorded it. The song was one of several we were already working on for the next studio CD, which we hope to have out by next fall. (although we will probably release “one-offs” to Itunes before then, or even free digital downloads to fans who come to our sites, ie. Planet Helix, Facebook, Myspace, and Youtube.) The original title was 'Your Love’s A Heart Attack'. You could possible see a bonus track in the future with this chorus and different verse lyrics. Stay tuned...

A Heavy Mental Christmas is also the first disc since 1989’s Back for Another Taste which utilizes my live band. This is an important evolution for us as a group. Everyone’s performance was above and beyond expectations and the whole experience was a fun, positive one. This bears well for our next studio release and I really believe involving the guys is going to kick it up a notch. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle to building a successful team are falling into place. Gord and I have already been discussing what our next recording project in the spring is going to be, with a few left turns and a couple of twists. That’s what I like about the guy; his ideas are fresh and outside the box. I hope to see all our Toronto fans out at The Phoenix Thursday, October 30th for the Carl Dixon (CONEY HATCH) benefit. If it isn’t packed, I’ll be disappointed. Carl Dixon is a guy who has given his life to enriching the Canadian music scene, so here’s the chance for Canada’s musical community to give a little back. Even if you’re not going, please dig deep into your pockets and give a little cash for Carl. Show you care."