Clutch: Earth Rocker

  Maryland's Clutch is one of the biggest cult bands in rock. A small, but dedicated group of followers have kept the band afloat since the 1990s. Their tenth full-length "Earth Rocker" gained great reviews earlier this year, so let's take a little closer look beyond the awesome album cover.

   The album opens with the title-track, "Earth Rocker". Singer Neil Fallon sounds like a mix between Phil Anselmo and Danko Jones. A pretty modern sounding band, but with hints of 60's and 70's progressive rock. A pretty heavy song, with some great drumming from the heavy-handed Jean-Paul Gaster. A great start to the album. "Crucial Velocity" is a more metal-sounding song. The Megadeth-esque cryptic lyrics might not be for everybody, but match the song quite well for me. Think Monster Magnet meets Megadeth and you understand where this song is coming from, a great mix of stoner rock and thrash elements. A great cruising song, it will certainly please fans of the bands' previous work. Off to a great start.

  "Mr. Freedom" offers us a tasty groove. "Funk metal" would be the term to describe the tune. Some great bass playing from Dan Maines is solid, especially when combined with the stellar drumming of Gaster. The gruff and ragged vocals from Fallon match the music quite well. A good tune with a nice groove. Hendrix-like guitars round out a nice sound and some great leads from guitarist Tim Sult. "D.C. Sound Attack" brings in a little blues, albeit more modern and crunchy-sounding. Fallon sounds great, his voice aging quite well. Think Hendrix playing for Pantera as a reference point, a very heavy, modern blues tune about American politics.

   "Unto The Breach" is a fast-paced song with hints of D.C. Hardcore bands such as Minor Threat. Clutch's musical influence are varied and complex, and they are one of the most versatile bands that I have ever heard, perhaps too versatile and "all over the place" at times. In any case, not a bad tune, one foot in hardcore, the other in classic hard rock, an odd mix that works somewhat for the song. "Gone Cold" brings in some jazzy playing. Very slow and trippy, the song is a bold experiment. The band's Southern Rock influence comes in here. Smoky, desolate, I like the vibe of the tune. Sparse at best, but a nice break from the fast pace of the previous song.

   "The Face" opens with a big metal riff. The verses build the tension by drawing attention to Fallon's deep and rich voice and anti-establishment Queensryche-like lyrics over some restrained drumming and punchy and short guitar jabs. A big chorus seals the deal for the song. Earth-shakingly heavy and soulful, the tension built during the verses is released in a fury of musical greatness, a great track to say the least. At this point, I am beginning to understand what all the fuss is about. "Book, Saddle, And Go" sounds like thousands of horses running through a canyon. A very muscular song, I like the outlaw, Jesse James-style lyrics. Pantera would be the closest band in sound to this tune, and certainly the band were contemporaries during the 1990s. A nice heavy tune.

   The curiously titled "Cyborg Bette" is kind of a filler song. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics tell the tale of what seems to be a robot lover. A rapid-firing blues number, the music is decent and heavy, but not one of the stronger songs on the album in this author's opinion. "Oh, Isabella" is another dull tune. The song again reminded me of Pantera, with a little more pop sentiment. Not terrible, but just kind of boring. The song seems to middle about, not really going anywhere at all. However, the track has some great bass and drum work, as well as some interesting lyrics. The album closes with "The Wolf Man Kindly Requests". A pretty throaty vocal from Fallon, with some nice bluesy lyrics. The song morphs into a metal tune half-way through, and gets pretty heavy. One of the albums best solos happens in this track, a welcome addition after an album sparse in terms of soloing. A pretty good closer, it even reminded me of Faith No More at certain points.

   "Earth Rocker" will please hard rock fans with eclectic taste in rock. Elements of metal, hard rock, southern rock, stoner rock, and funk are fused together to create the Clutch sound. This album is a mature culmination of many years of forging that sound, and Clutch certainly have a unique sound, despite being comprised of so many diverse elements. I like the band, and I believe that "Earth Rocker" is one of their best musical statements to date. Give it a shot.

Rating-8/10