Theme Thursday: Clutch
Summer is approaching, and I don’t know about you, when the seasons change, so does my go-to music. In the Autumn I tend to prefer jolly folk metal, in the Winter time cold and bleak music finds itself getting a lot of play. and in Spring thrash and power metal tends to get a lot of rotation as I come out of my winter hibernation. In the summer, I find my preferred seasonal genres rather eclectic ranging from trying to cool myself down with some Moonsorrow or embracing the heat with some blistering speed metal. But if there’s one band that always seems to completely dominate my summer time playlists it’s one of my all time favorite bands, Clutch.
While I wouldn’t exactly call their music exactly metal (with the exception of their first 2 albums) these Maryland rockers are the perfect band to put on whether you are doing some cruising with the top down taking in the sun, grilling up some grub and kicking back with some beers and buds in your backyard, or roasting yourself on the beach. There isn’t a summer activity occasion where Clutch won’t fit the bill. And there is the perfect Summer treat, a Clutch live show.
Since the bands inception in the early 90s, they’ve been rocking with same lineup of Neil Fallon on vocals, Jean-Paul Gaster on drums and percussion, Dan Maines on the bass, and Tim Sult on guitar. For 2 albums (Robot Hive/Exodus, From Beale Street to Oblivion) Clutch invited Mick Schauer to play on the Hammond electric organ as well as jam on a few live shows with them. Their musical style could be described as Southern Appalachian Americana hard blues rock. They take a lot of influence from American folk music, mainly the blues style akin to Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf, and add insane amounts of groove and flow to it. The vast majority of their albums are recorded live and very little to no studio trickery such as drum triggers or computer programs like Pro-tools are used. This gives all of their records a really home-grown feel and while not downplaying the skills and necessity of Neil Fallon and Tim Sult, the natural sound of the drums and bass (you really need to see Dan Maines live set, those Marshall stacks are f’n thundering) really give Clutch the feel they need to be the unstoppable powerhouse they are.
Here I’ll highlight all of their major studio albums. But keep in mind that they have a ton of excellent E.P.s, live albums/DVDs, and Bside and rarity collections that are well worth hunting down. And if you ever have the chance to see Clutch live (should not be hard, to this day they tour constantly hitting up as many spots in the States as possible) do not turn down the opportunity. There’s a reason I’ve seen them live 13+ times (they also will never play the same set twice, so each show is completely unique). Enjoy! Peace Love and Grooves.
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Gojira vs. Biolante
Hey all, I know I haven’t posted lately, been a bit busy lately. I’ll hopefully be back with some good stuff tomorrow with my Theme Thursday post coming in a day late, still need to finish it up and what not. Anyhoo, I’m still alive and kicking 
In case you don’t know, French progressive metal heavyweights Gojira have a new album on the horizon, and the metal community is sweating with anticipation for this one. To tide their legions of fans over they recently dropped their new music video for the albums title track “L’Enfant Sauvage”. What can I say other than it’s awesome, the art direction is great as par, and you should be hyped up for their upcoming release. I know I am! Check it out and let us know how awesome you thought it was. Enjoy!! Peace Love and Metal!!
Album Review: Trocaria – The Dark Nears
Named after a piece of equipment used in the embalming process, Trocaria blends Gothic and Symphonic metal into a blissfully ominous experience. If you asked me to listen to a band that embraces these two genres, I would assume they are from England or the far reaches of Scandinavia. However, this two-piece hails from the deep woods of North Carolina, USA (City of Charlotte, actually) and is set to release their debut album The Dark Nears on 25 May 2012. If there is one thing America needs in metal is more diversity. It’s a tough market for some metal subgenres to break in the States. Trocaria is one of those bands that is going against the grain and doing something that inspires them. In other words, you don’t make Gothic metal because you want to go on a headlining arena tour. You make Gothic-based music because it’s your passion.
Album Review: Six Feet Under – Undead
If it hadn’t been for a few recent lineup changes, I probably wouldn’t have been that excited about Six Feet Under’s new album, Undead. I would have bought whatever they released as the dedicated fan I am, though it probably would have been more of the same repetitive groove-driven riffs, deep growls, and occasional double-bass I could count on. Enter both (former) Chimaira guitarists Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries and now I am most interested (note – DeVries on bass already left and was replaced by Jeff Hughell). Undead is the album we have all wanted to hear from Barnes and Co. Why? It is Death metal just like the old days of the first three SFU albums – more or less, which is a good thing. However, Arnold being in the band doesn’t necessarily mean the introduction of longer and more melodic guitar solos. In fact, most of the songs barely scratch the 3-minute surface.
Album Review: Jeff Loomis – Plains of Oblivion
Plains of Oblivion is the latest album by guitar virtuoso Jeff Loomis. Although Jeff has released other self-titled guitar-driven albums, this is the first one since the (kind of) disbanding of Nevermore. The new album is 10 high-octane tracks covering about 47-minutes. My experience listening to Jeff Loomis’ solo albums is minimal, but it didn’t take me long into Plains of Oblivion to hear where the brunt of influence in Nevermore came from. That’s not to say Plains of Oblivion is sounds like Nevermore without vocals, but that Jeff’s style is rather unique and prominent in his old band; it’s easily recognizable. Ok, maybe it does sound a little like you are listening to Nevermore, but is that really a bad thing?
Album Review: Marilyn Manson – Born Villain
Marilyn Manson’s 8th studio album, Born Villain, boasts over an hour of new music. The veteran shock-rocker has returned after three years with an eclectic mix of heavy, progressive, and in-your-face lyrical poetry. Born Villain is long (14 tracks) which includes a good cover of You’re So Vain originally recorded by Carly Simon in 1972. The variety of style used this time around explores Manson’s musical capacity to still create something new and different. Lyrically, Born Villain is Marilyn Manson continuing to push buttons and cross boundaries. Musically, the album is much more diverse than what I am used to. That might be a good or bad thing depending on where you stand concerning all things Marilyn Manson. When it comes to Manson, there are two well-defined sides of the love/hate fence. For me, I walk the fine line in the middle.
Album Review: Mpire Of Evil – Hell To The Holy
Very often one of the major selling points of a début album’s reputation is the band members’ previous history, especially when said members were involved in a band that gave name to an entire genre. Mpire Of Evil is the result of taking three ex-Venom members from different eras and bringing them together “free of ego”, according to their bio, for a long-awaited début entitled Hell To The Holy. Ignoring the legal wrangling that resulted in this acronymic name (originally called Prime Evil, then sued due to already existing band, hence prime -> mpire), Mpire Of Evil have dispensed entirely with black metal and instead pushed forward a blend of oldschool heavy and Teutonic thrash metal. Those who heard Mpire Of Evil’s EP Creatures Of The Black (covers of Motörhead, Judas Priest, AC/DC and KISS present) should get a rough idea of the influences, although other parts emerge within the course of the 51-minute runtime.
Concert Review: Rammstein at DCU Center, MA-4/29/12
The day before finals week started at my school I went to see my first major heavy metal concert with only a few friends: Rammstein. I couldn’t have started off the week in a better way. The day started off with me making the drive to meet up with the others and then going to the DCU Center from there. To anyone who’s never been, it’s a pretty good venue in the city of Worcester. It was significant that I got to see them there since it is the very place that they were arrested for their performance of “Buck Dich” on June 5, 1998. The interior is that of most larger indoor venues; a floor with tiers of seating all around. Before we got inside though, we had to wait in line for hours. Luckily we were near the beginning of the line and we talked about what we hoped the night would be like. We could feel the brick walls we were sitting up against shaking from the sound check and our anticipation built. One guy we talked to worked for the DCU Center and told us that he had never seen so much fire in all the years he had been employed there.
