Mt. Helium
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 to date. Morrissey was a follower of the band. History. The Apex Theory was formed in 1999 by Armenian-American musicians Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian, 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, "Extendemo", in 2000. The following year, they signed with DreamWorks Records, releasing their second EP "The Apex Theory" on October 9, 2001. The band performed at the main stage during the 2001 Warped Tour, and as co-headliners at the 2002 MTV2 tour. On April 2, 2002, the band released its first album, "Topsy-Turvy". It peaked at No. 6 on the "Billboard" Heatseekers chart 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 to a power trio. 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 Mediterranean groove". The "Michigan Daily" 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 Eastern and Near Eastern music. PopMatters described "Topsy-Turvy" as "an energy-filled fusion of progressive and modern rock." The MTV News writer Jon Wiederhorn wrote that "the Apex Theory's multi-textured music [...] combines metal, prog-rock, Mediterranean music and even jazz. 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". Mt. Helium's  style has also been described as alternative metal, nu metal and post-grunge.