Mt. Helium, formerly known as the Apex Theory, was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, that was known for playing

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

music mixed with

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

. The band has released three studio albums and three

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s to date.

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

was a follower of the band.

History

The Apex Theory was formed in 1999 by Armenian-American musicians

Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian (born May 4, 1975) is an Armenian American musician, producer and DJ. He is known for being the original drummer (1994–1997) of the metal band System of a Down and founder/lead vocalist (1999–2002) of the alt-pr ...

, Art Karamian and David Hakopyan (first drummer and bass player of Soil / System of a Down respectively), following Khachaturian's injury and subsequent departure from System of a Down. Sammy J. Watson joined the band after they were unable to find a committed drummer. The band released its first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''Extendemo'', in 2000. The following year, they signed with

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...

, releasing their second EP ''

The Apex Theory Mt. Helium, formerly known as the Apex Theory, was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, that was known for playing Mediterranean music mixed with progressive rock. The band has released three studio albums and three extended plays ...

'' on October 9, 2001. The band performed at the main stage during the 2001

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

, and as co-headliners at the 2002

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

tour. On April 2, 2002, the band released its first album, ''

Topsy-Turvy ''Topsy-Turvy'' is a 1999 British musical period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Allan Corduner as Sir Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W.S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ron Cook. The story ...

''. It peaked at No. 6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers chart The Heatseekers charts are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by ...

and No. 157 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Months after the album's release, Khachaturian left the band, and they began to audition new vocalists before deciding that Karamian would take over as the band's vocalist, shifting the band from a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

to a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

. The band released an EP in 2004 entitled ''inthatskyissomethingwatching''. After changing the name to Mt. Helium, the band released its second album, ''Faces'', as a digital download on June 3, 2008.

Musical style

Former vocalist Ontronik Khachaturian described the band's sound as a "heavy

groove". The ''

Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...

'' writer Sonya Sutherland wrote, "The Apex Theory combines a heavy drum support, melodic guitars and honey sweet vocals to provide an entertaining and emotional message." The band's musical style was influenced by Mediterranean,

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern and

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

ern music.

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

described ''Topsy-Turvy'' as "an energy-filled fusion of

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

and modern rock." The

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

writer Jon Wiederhorn wrote that "the Apex Theory's multi-textured music ..combines

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, prog-rock, Mediterranean music and even

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. And the off-kilter rhythm, skittering drums, whirlpool guitars and aggressive vocals of 'Shhh ... (Hope Diggy)' are a perfect taster for the band's debut album". Deseret News said that "Apex Theory's progressive punk mixed exotic music signatures with

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

". Mt. Helium's style has also been described as

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

and

post-grunge Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox and Collective So ...

Band members

* David Hakopyan — bass guitar (1999–2008) * Art Karamian — guitar, vocals (1999–2008) *

— vocals (1999–2002) * Sammy J. Watson — drums (1999–2008)

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2002) (as The Apex Theory) *''Faces'' (2008) (as Mt. Helium)

Extended plays

*''Extendemo (2000) (as The Apex Theory) * ''

'' (2001) (as The Apex Theory) * ''Inthatskyissomethingwatching'' (2004) (as The Apex Theory) * '' Lightpost'' (2007) (as The Apex Theory)

Promotional releases

*''Random Bursts'' (2001) (as The Apex Theory)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Armenian rock music groups Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1999 Progressive rock musical groups from California American progressive metal musical groups American musical trios 1999 establishments in California