Sometimes you hear a band and all you can think is “How do do they do it?” Specifically, you wonder how the band can do it so well for so long. Clutch is a band that inspires that thought in its fans.
The band has been around for 30 years, so it doesn’t require a lot of introduction. Back in the early days, the band was loud and angry, as evidenced by songs like “Binge and Purge.” Well, the members still play loud, but if they’re angry, they are at least less overt about it. Their groove- and blues-infused brand of heavy rock has earned them some of the most enthusiastic fans in music.
Sunrise on Slaughter Beach is the band’s latest album, and it shows that the band is still at the top of its game. With the pandemic, the album took longer than expected, but it was worth the wait. Of the album, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster said, “Something different took shape. The record we ended up with is, in some ways, the most different record we’ve made in a long time.”
It doesn’t take long before you get your first dose of classic Clutch. “Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)” was inspired by Philip K. Dick and begins with a muted and groovy intro that brings to mind The Bakerton Group. It isn’t long before you are blasted with Tim Sult’s guitar and the rumbling rhythm laid down by Gaster and bassist Dan Maines. Neil Fallon, of course, ties it all together with his growling vocals. It’s easy to imagine the band opening shows with this one because it is uptempo, loud, and at only 2:45, comparatively short for a Clutch song. “Mercy Brown” features another something different for the band. The backing vocals are big and sound like the backing vocals in Rolling Stones songs like “Gimme Shelter”. In what is something completely different, “Skeletons on Mars” features a theremin. It is fitting for a song about Mars, but it is something different in a Clutch song.
Even after 30 years, the band shows that it’s not content to continue making the same song. The instrumental break of the title track features a sort of tribal rhythm and an amplified surf-guitar part.
While there are some differences on this album, there is also plenty of what has made the band great for three decades. “Nosferatu Madre” features the pounding beat and the signature guitar sound you expect from this band. It also features the sort of lyrics you’d expect from Fallon. At the beginning of the song, he sings, “I was accused of witchcraft upon the Mayflower ship.” It is the sort of mythical and literary story you can find in any number of songs by this band.
Sunrise on Slaughter Beach by Clutch is both a celebration of what has made this such a great band and a venture into new territories. It is unmistakably a Clutch album that will have you pumping your fist and singing along. And yeah, it probably does sound better in a slightly rusty 70s muscle car, but that’s not necessary to enjoy the album.
