I have to admit that I discovered a deep appreciation for Clutch back in 2004 with the release of “Blast Tyrant”. I had heard of them but my own stubbornness or pre-conceived notions stopped me from checking them out. I absolutely loved their sound and had to go backwards to pick up their earlier stuff.

Now they release “From Beale Street To Oblivion” and I can tell you it’ll tear your face off. They return a bit back to the “Blast Tyrant”, “Pure Rock Fury” after the more experiemental “Robot Hive/Exodus”. Vocalist Neil Fallon is at his absolute best on “Beale Street…” as he and the boys tear through the tracks with more heart and soul than anything you’ll hear on radio.

The question has always been, “how do you categorize Clutch?”. Well, you don’t, just simply appreciate their no-nonsense approach to music. Yes, it’s Rock, yes it’s heavy funk, yes, there’s some Metal riffs, and yes, they do have a Stoner Rock style production going on. So you decide for yourself what they are.

They smoke on tunes like “Black Umbrella” , “The Devil And Me” and “One Eye Dollar” (which clock in at a whopping 1:23). If you can’t get into songs like this, you either don’t like Rock in the first place or you need your head examined. Christ man, they use the Hammond Organ, how freakin’ cool is that! Sometimes you hear some Thin Lizzy, other times Black Sabbath, but most of all you hear the multiple influences and originality of Clutch.

www.pro-rock.com
www.myspace.com/clutchband
http://www.drt-entertainment.com/