“A shoot-out, right, is a shoot-out. Like a Western.” Tom Hardy, or Ronnie Kray’s, speech from Legend isn't about the new Clutch album, but it definitely could be. It's time for some telekinetic dynamite. Time for some 'Psychic Warfare'.
The Maryland bruisers' 10th album, 'Earth Rocker' was a game-changer. Their fans already knew Clutch as the best rock band on the planet, but it appeared that everyone else would soon be in on the secret. The monkey of expectation began to claw at Clutch's back. Rather than try to satisfy the primate with some newfangled technique, they simply fed it bananas and kept it happy. But not just any bananas. Space bananas. Filled with explosives.
'Psychic Warfare' does, for the most part, exactly what 'Earth Rocker' did. But harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. This is rock 'n' roll of the most celebratory breed. It’s bluesy, whisky-drenched, heroic music for anyone who likes fun.
Jean-Paul Gaster's spasmodic drum fills and rhythms are utterly hypnotic as they bounce from Dan Maines' beefy basslines. Firebirds and Decapitation Blues prove that Gaster is still, in fact, the most underrated drummer in rock music and, as heard on Your Love Is Incarceration and Quick Death In Texas, an unwavering advocate of the cowbell.
Tim Sult's also outdone himself this time round, with Sucker For The Witch and Noble Savage tearing the listener several new arseholes. Eleven albums in and he's still churning out riffs like he hasn’t paused to think about how good they are. His high-octane style is what sets Clutch apart from other stoner rock bands. There's an urgency and breakneck dose of mischief lurking in his guitar's neck, turning a band at the top of a sub-genre into a band completely in their own league. Nobody sounds like Clutch and nobody should dare try to.
And then we have Neil Fallon. We need to talk about Neil. Dude's a genius. His voice ties this cacophony of perfection together. Occasionally casual, sometimes direct and always totally ridiculous, like a mad preacher with impeccable music taste, Fallon is on stupendous form. Where else would you hear lyrics about Cyclopses, horoscopes and being “kicked in the neck by a three-legged mule” all in the same place?
Our Lady Of Electric Night absolutely smashes the shit out of the 'ballad' box and rivals Gone Cold from 'Earth Rocker', while Son Of Virginia is a sprawling, seven-minute epic that harks back to the noodly days of yore. This is just pure rock fury. There's not a wasted bar, not a wasted nanosecond on this album. It's an intergalactic headfuck from the farthest corners of the galaxy; it's a message to alien life forms that says: “You can't destroy our planet. We have Clutch.”
For most bands with esteemed back-catalogues, the future is something to be treated with extreme caution. Not Clutch. Clutch have taken the future to dinner and offered to foot the bill. Following 'Earth Rocker' should have been impossible, but it’s all in a day's work.
Clutch Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri November 20 2015 - DUBLIN Olympia
Sat November 21 2015 - BELFAST Limelight
Mon November 23 2015 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Tue November 24 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Wed November 25 2015 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Thu December 10 2015 - MANCHESTER Ritz
Fri December 11 2015 - WOLVERHAMPTON Wulfrun Hall
Sat December 12 2015 - LONDON O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Click here to compare & buy Clutch Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
