Helms Deep first began when Eric (bass) met a guitarist named Blake via Internet in the summer of 1999. The first song was written by Blake and titled "The Curse of Autumn." In September they started playing with a drummer named Shaun and another guitarist named Pat. The next song was a creation of Pat titled "Of Man And Blessed Sick." One other song that was never titled or completely written out was called "The Doom Song." At this point in its history Helms Deep sounded like a mixture of brutal Darkthrone style black metal with a hint of 80's thrash influence. September 21st, 1999 marked the first show for the band, and the last for quite some time afterwards. They opened for a local black/death band called Black Circle. Due to a serious lack of rehearsal before the show, it didn't go too well. Helms Deep took a big step back to focus on writing and practicing their material. In this period Blake kicked out Pat and another guitarist named Adam took his place. After about a month Blake was kicked out and the three remaining members continued practicing and writing new music. An untitled song that ran for eight minutes was written (it was referred to as "The 8 Minute Song") by Eric and Adam, and another titled "The Tangled Path Of Eternity" was also written by the two. Sometime in early 2000 Pat was asked to come back and with him came "Of Man And Blessed Sick." Adam added some touches of own and him and Pat forged another new song titled "The Dark Minister." These four songs became the main focus of the band and gave it a new, distinct sound. With writing contributions from 3 members and Shaun's ability to use a variety of drumming styles the music took on an interesting form. It could best be described as black/thrash/power/death/doom metal (in that order). With the outlook good Helms Deep played their second show at Smiler Coogans in Chicago on April 21st, 2000 with Ezurate, Veneficum, and Left Testicle Syndrome. This show went well and led to their next show at Riley's Rockhouse in Aurora on June 10th, 2000 with Zero Tolerance and Jackhammer. The sound system was working poorly and the crowd was basically friends and other bands. It was an average show. At this time a new song by Adam had also been completed but was not titled. The fourth and final show for Helms Deep was again at Smiler Coogans on June 17th, 2000 with Ezurate, Bloodstained Dusk, Blood Coven, and Anal Autopsy. This show did not go well for the band and left everyone feeling rather sour about the future. Over the summer they practiced a few times, but in August Shaun wrote the other members a letter saying he felt the band was no longer worth coninuing. Everyone went their seperate ways, but Eric, Adam and Pat would still occasionally get together and rehearse the old material. After some time playing drums in a punk band called The Klapp (in which Adam played bass), Eric felt ready to assume the role as the new drummer of Helms Deep. One new song was written by Adam and Eric and was titled "The Siege of Gondor." It had a very early Kreator/Destruction feel to it and was a complete step away from the black metal sound they'd already achieved. Blake set up "The Unholy Devastation Festival" and invited Helms Deep to play. Durring the time they would have been rehearsing for the show Eric and Adam had conflicting work schedules and Pat's car broke down. At the last minute they had to back out and avoid a sloppy showing. After over two years of working at something that never seemed to get off the ground, all the members agreed to lay Helms Deep to rest. Pat, Eric and Adam are still in touch and individually working on new music, but Helms Deep is officially done. The songs and ideas created over its lifespan however will not be forgotten and may find their place when new projects are begun.





Source : http://www.angelfire.com/indie/helmsdeep/about.htm