After the release of their nine-song debut album Strap It On, the band found themselves at the center of a major label bidding war,[7][9] eventually signing to Interscope for a reported budget of US$1 million.

"[10] The Guardian reflected in 2004 that Helmet played a "heavier, more metallic" style of music than grunge bands coming out of the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990s.

[11] Darren Cahr of the Chicago Reader wrote in 1992, "this is a band that, despite lacking the basic pop appeal that brought Nirvana such a huge audience, crosses all borders.

Later, when in negotiations to record Nirvana's In Utero, he stipulated a clause be added to his contract stating that Wallace would not be allowed to remix the album, after he had mixed Nevermind, which was released nine months before Meantime.

Later in 1992, Helmet toured North America with metal bands Ministry and Sepultura, where they were consistently playing in front of crowds of several thousand people.

During the tour, drummer John Stanier suffered injuries in a road accident, which led to Stone Temple Pilots filling in for Helmet on some of these dates.

[18] The Hawaii show would be Mengede's last with Helmet, as he departed the band in February 1993, after disagreements with Page Hamilton over their songwriting process.

"[23] Earles added that while Nevermind "opened the primary floodgates", the surprise success of Meantime "thoroghly hypnotized Interscope", who in turn "extended the long arm of illogic" far enough to unmarketable albums like Claw Hammer's Thank the Holder Uppers (1995).

[24] The album received positive reviews, John Franck of AllMusic labeled Meantime "arguably one of the most influential and overlooked rock records of the '90s".

Helmet is fascinating in theory and can crank up the decibels ably enough to have landed the once independent-label band a million-dollar contract with a major record company.

's Steffan Chirazi defined the album as "a wall of angry, bitter and agonised New York street cries", giving it maximum ratings.

[39] Alex Ogg wrote in the 2003 book The Rough Guide to Rock that it is "one of the great hard-ass intensity records", and that "parts of it make Rollins look like a lounge singer".

[43] They stated that the band "did little to tone down their abrasive sound", further adding that, "single 'Unsung' has its poppy moments, but still culminates in a decidedly radio-unfriendly one-and-a-half minute instrumental outro.

On September 16, 2016, Magnetic Eye Records released a compilation titled Meantime (Redux) that featured song-for-song covers of the original Helmet album by various artists including KEN mode, Fuck the Facts and Rosetta.