Helix were formed in 1974 for a Battle of the Bands contest in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada by drummer Bruce Arnold. They originally consisted of Arnold, lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, keyboardist Don Simmons, and bassist Keith "Bert" Zurbrigg (who always wore his trademark tuxedo on stage). Their original name was The Helix Field Band, soon shortened to simply Helix. [2] Trembley was gone after a few months. Soon after, Helix scored some crucial shows as Del Shannon's backing band on some Canadian dates. However, the original lineup disolved by 1976, and three new members entered the fold. Replacing Simmons, Watson and Arnold were guitarists Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman (who would both remain with Helix through the 80's), and drummer Brian Doerner, Brent's twin. Brian would only last a few years, but later joined progressive rock band Saga in the 2000's.[3]

With new management under Kitchener's William Seip, Helix released two independent albums on their own H&S Records, entitled Breaking Loose and White Lace & Black Leather, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. During the sessions for Breaking Loose, Helix recorded a cover of the Del Shannon hit "Thinkin' It Over" (eventually released on the 1999 Helix CD B-Sides). Their second album, White Lace & Black Leather saw more lineup changes, with bassist Mike Uzelac replacing Keith Zurbrigg, and drummer Leo Niebudek replacing Brian Doerner. With Zurbrigg gone, Brian Vollmer was now the last remaining original member.

Changing their image from that of a standard bar band to a more image-conscious metal band, Helix finally signed to Capitol Records after already being rejected by them. In 1983 they released No Rest for the Wicked, with Greg "Fritz" Hinz (ex-Starchild) on drums. This album featured Canadian hit video "Heavy Metal Love", which featured their new look. Under Seip's advice, Helix dropped their T-shirts and jeans in favour of leather clothing in order to stay current. The tour for this album cycle was not without drama. Mike Uzelac departed suddenly and unexpectedly, to be replaced by Mark Rector. Rector did not last long, and Uzelac came back to finish the tour before departing again.

The 1984 release of Walkin' the Razor's Edge, with the addition of bassist Daryl Gray completing the classic 80's lineup, sold over 100,000 copies in Canada, and over 400,000 internationally. The band's video for the song "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'" caused a bit of a stir several years after its initial release in 1984, when it was learned that among the cast of porn stars who appear nude in the uncensored version, was (then) 16-year-old Traci Lords. The album also included their best known song "Rock You" and a cover of A Foot in Coldwater's "(Make Me Do) Anything You Want".

In 1985, Helix released their fifth album Long Way to Heaven, featuring the singles "Deep Cuts The Knife" and "The Kids Are All Shakin'". The album allowed the band to tour Sweden, becoming the first Canadian rock band to do an extensive Swedish tour. Their reward was a #1 album in that country. The following year, their song "It's Too Late" was featured in the movie Iron Eagle and its soundtrack album (this was a completely different song than the "It's Too Late" that appeared on their second album).

This was followed by the release of Wild in the Streets in 1987, featuring the title track and a cover of "Dream On" by Nazareth. One song from that record, "She's Too Tough" was written by Joe Elliot, lead singer for Def Leppard. Leppard also recorded their own version of "She's Too Tough" and released it as a B-side and on their Retro Active album. The album went gold in Canada, [4] but only managed a disappointing #179 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.[5]

Capitol released the first Helix compilation album Over 60 minutes with... at the end of 1989, which featured new and unreleased material as well as the hits. At the end of the decade, Brent Doerner quit the band, tired of the grind of touring. Helix was left as a four piece.