The thing about this show was that apparently the venue was giving everyone a ration of shit the whole night. From barring entry to those who had, say, recently ingested Robitussin in a recreational capacity, to a long drama involving my photo pass, to putting Earthride on before the listed start-time for the show, it was kind of a rough night, and there was a bit of tension. For my part, I stood on line waiting to get in while some couple cut in front of me and took an obscene amount of time to get their passes while Earthride played the first four songs of their total six (maybe seven) songs, which I watched through the open doorway.

Everyone’s gear backlined behind them, they were pressed to the front of the stage in a single line. Left to right it was Dave Sherman on vocals, guitarist Kyle Van Steinberg, drummer Eric Little and bassist Josh Hart, and I got inside in the middle of their playing “Earthride,” which was killer as always, although I’m legally required to note that the best gig I’ve ever seen them play was at Tommy Southard‘s wedding at Asbury Lanes in October. Still, they gave a proud showing of the Maryland underground, which they’re quickly coming to embody in everything they do.

Although I’ve only noted three of them, there were actually four bands on the bill. Kyng played after Earthride, and as I was busy trying to acquire a pass to shoot C.O.C. and Clutch — which, really, was why I drove the two hours to Philadelphia to the show — I missed them completely. My interest was minimal in the first place, but between pouting and calling in favors, I was otherwise occupied. Maybe some other time, or maybe not. I was just happy that by the time C.O.C. got going it all had worked out.

It was my first time seeing the trio lineup of Corrosion of Conformity. I’d previously sworn off going to see them on account of the lack of Pepper Keenan, but the three of them killed it. Given all the genre-melding that’s gone on since they released Animosity in 1985, it’s amazing how vibrant that material still sounds in its blend of thrash and hardcore punk, and bassist/vocalist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman and drummer/vocalist Reed Mullin gave that material its due, staying honest in their portrayal of all sides of their sound, from Slayer to Black Flag to Sabbath, all within the span of a song. Dean and Mullin were notably tight, and Weatherman beat the living hell out of an already beaten guitar, and I almost immediately regretted not seeing them sooner.

The material was a decent mix of new and old. Animosity featured heavily, obviously, and they teased a “Hand of Doom” cover without following through (god damn it). From the forthcoming self-titled album, I’d been hoping for “Psychic Vampires,” but they broke out “Your Tomorrow” and “The Moneychangers” instead, which fit in well alongside some of the classics. Weatherman played through two Orange cabinets, and his tone was thick perhaps to the sacrifice of some of the precision in the faster parts, but sounded just right for “Vote with a Bullet” and “Deliverance,” which was a pleasant surprise and probably their biggest crowd reaction. Dean took the lead vocal and was backed by Mullin and Weatherman for the chorus, which had all the power of their punkier songs and the mid-paced groove that typified the Keenan era of the band.

C.O.C. closed with the title-track from 1987′s Technocracy EP, which was as suitable a finish as one could ask and possibly the tightest song they played. There was a long break while Clutch‘s gear was fired up and checked, and as I was driving, not drinking, I basically just stayed up front and waited for the band to start, which they did at 11:20. I didn’t know what the deal was with how they were going to handle midnight, whether they’d do a countdown or just say Happy New Year at the time or rock right through it or what, but I was willing to trust they had it all figured out. Clutch being introduced as they had been last time I saw them in Flint, Michigan (review here), by Chuck Brown‘s “We Need Some Money,” it was apparent right from the start that the crowd was ready to party. They hadn’t even started to play yet and people were singing along and dancing.

For my part, I stayed up front even after I was done taking pictures. They opened with “The Mob Goes Wild” — appropriate given the chaos ensuing — and were under way with no time to warm up, no time to get going, no build of momentum. Clutch came out, and Clutch kicked it. Hard and right in the ass with a yeti-sized boot. I was waiting for the new song “Newt Gingrich,” the wolfman-centric chorus of which had been stuck in my head for a few days thanks to a hefty dose of YouTube-ing, and when it finally arrived, it was tighter and clearer than it had been in Michigan. It was also one of two new inclusions in the set, and though the other — reportedly-titled “Pig Town Blues” — was harder to get a grasp on, it was also pretty straight-ahead rocking, and a good complement to the bluesy flow of “Newt Gingrich,” which is more typical of latter-day Clutch and in the vein of 2009′s Strange Cousins From the West, the rhythm of its chorus being quintessential Neil Fallon post-Elephant Riders.

“Pure Rock Fury” was a highlight and something I’d been hoping for. The night prior, at Starland Ballroom in Jersey, they’d unleashed “A Shogun Named Marcus,” “Spacegrass” and “50,000 Unstoppable Watts,” but Philly had its share of specialties as well. Fallon seemed to be in charge of the setlist, calling out changes to bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and guitarist Tim Sult as they went along, switching the order in what was apparently an effort to line up midnight with a lengthy jam. While dueling with Gaster on cowbell, Fallon called out the countdown to 2012; four minutes, then three, then two, then one, then 30 seconds, 10, nine, eight and so on until it was “Happy New Year everybody!” and the band kicked almost instantly into “Animal Farm,” which, though it’s grown somewhat slower with age, lacked nothing for righteousness of groove.

I was glad to catch “Subtle Hustle” and “Mice and Gods” again, and “Freakonomics,” a fully-electrified version of “Regulator” (Fallon had some technical problems with his guitar, but once they got going it sounded great) and “Electric Worry” into “One Eye Dollar,” which finished the regular set at about 1AM. They came back out after a long break for what I had assumed because I saw it on the written setlist next to Gaster would just be “Big News I & II” but turned out to be that transitioning into “The Soapmakers” and then “Cypress Grove” and finally “Burning Beard” (someone please tell me if I’ve got that order wrong). By then, I’d been thoroughly rocked, and the decision to include not one but two drum solos in the encore was bold, to say the least, but though when it was over my feet would barely hold me up, I was glad as hell to have been able to see the show.

Dan Maines‘ tone had been particularly warm, Fallon was on as always, Tim Sult laid it down smooth and classy, and Gaster has more personality in his sticks than most drummers do in their whole kit, but it was time to split out. They finished and the crowd dispersed, leaving behind a disgusting, alcohol-covered floor, some discarded cups, and merch dollars. The Patient Mrs. and I walked the couple blocks back to the car and, at 1:35AM — set about the two-hour trip back north. Were I going to do it again, and I can only assume that at some point I will, I’d probably get a hotel room reserved ahead of time, but if 2012 had to start with me sleeping till noon on Jan. 1, it was well worth the tradeoff.

More pics after the jump.

Corrosion of Conformity

Clutch

Seeing Clutch in Flint was something special because of the much-enjoyed Live in Flint, Michigan live CD, but also because the timing of the trip had meant I didn’t get to catch either their stop in Brooklyn or the two boat shows they did on a cruise liner around Manhattan (though they did have the exclusive t-shirts from the latter for sale with their merch). These things happen. I also got married on a night they were playing Starland Ballroom. Sometimes schedules conflict, but the chance to see them in a place they deemed supportive enough to record a live album there wasn’t one I was going to pass up, so to the Machine Shop we went.

The venue was basically a cement box, and on the walk inside, I saw several bumper stickers that said, “The driver of this vehicle owns a gun” in varying clever ways. One was just the word “Flint” in all capital letters with a handgun replacing the ‘L.’ At times like that, I always have to remember to keep my wiseassery in check. In any case, the bikers outside seemed to have security in check. Inside, it was crowded and hot and though the reformed trio incarnation of C.O.C. had been slated to support Clutch on the tour, there was on stage some reggae-influenced Sublime-sounding band who were very much not the Animosity lineup.

C.O.C. had, as Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon later explained, pulled out of the tour for “medical reasons.” Pretty vague, and no appendectomies were mentioned, so I don’t know what the deal was. They didn’t play. The douche rock band, whose name I never caught, ran through their set and seemed to appreciate the crowd, but it just wasn’t my thing. Several drunk dudes standing immediately to my right ate it up, so I guess there’s that.

Clutch came out in good time and kicked into a set half-full with surprises. They opened with “Sea of Destruction” from Slow Hole to China, and “Promoter (of Earthbound Causes)” from Blast Tyrant was especially cool to hear, and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster led “Mercury” jamming right into “Child of the City” from From Beale Street to Oblivion. The single, “50,000 Unstoppable Watts,” from their latest album, Strange Cousins From the West, was right on the money, “Immortal” thrilled the crowd and a plugged-in blend of the acoustic and electric arrangements of “Tight Like That” from the self-titled was ultra-grooving — bassist Dan Maines in the pocket while Fallon and Tim Sult doubled up on guitars — but “Animal Farm” sounded slow coming out of “Struck Down” and overall, the band looked kind of tired.

And if they were, it’s certainly understandable. The aforementioned boat shows were basically comprised of two full gigs in one night, with a show the night before and one the night after in Pittsburgh. I don’t think Clutch have taken significant time off from touring since Strange Cousins From the West was released in 2009, but no matter how used to it you might be, five shows in four days — with another one still to come the day after before finally getting a night off — is a lot. Still, part of me can’t help but think it’s time Clutch got off the road, took a month or two away from it, and came back to write another album.

If the “The party’s over/You all got to go/The wolfman is coming out” (or thereabouts) chorus to the unnamed new song they played is any indication of the level of morale — which, admittedly, it could just as easily not be — then yeah, maybe it’s time to step back on the gigging and focus on the creative side of the band for a while. That said, Clutch never fails to satisfy as a live act, and the Machine Shop show was no exception. That new song sat well alongside “50,000 Unstoppable Watts” in the band’s latter-day bluesy style, and the biggest surprise of the evening came as they began to round out the set and threw in “Subtle Hustle,” one of Blast Tyrant‘s catchiest and least-celebrated songs. It’s a personal favorite, anyway.

They ended the pre-encore set with “Electric Worry”/”One Eyed Dollar” from From Beale Street to Oblivion and came back after long enough to let the room cool down a little to do a few acoustic cuts. Fallon once more joined Sult for the ensuing three songs, which felt more like a miniaturized second set than an encore. The first cut they played, I didn’t recognize, but featured heavy lyrical mention of Abraham — could be new, could be a cover, could be old and reinterpreted, but so far as I could tell it wasn’t “Abraham Lincoln” or anything else from the back catalog. They followed that with “Basket of Eggs,” originally from Jam Room and more recently the title-track of the bonus acoustic EP from the Weathermaker Music reissue of Blast Tyrant, and finally closed out with “The Regulator.”

Kind of a morose note to end on, especially when I’ve seen other Clutch shows that cap more like a party than a concert — the time they were joined on stage in Atlantic City by then-touring partner Scott “Wino” Weinrich for “Red Horse Rainbow” comes to mind — but I like to think it was more the band’s knowing how in their element they were and how much the crowd was willing to go with them that let them make a few unexpected turns for the night. I mean, it’s one thing to get on stage, blast out “Burning Beard,” “Big News I & II,” “Elephant Riders” and “Careful with That Mic” — and nothing against that; I’ve seen and enjoyed that many times from Clutch — but though exhausted, they also seemed completely at ease. Why not relax and do something different when you’re among friends?

I was out of the Machine Shop on the quick and back to Detroit, from which I’d launch the long ride back to New Jersey that was then looming overhead. No regrets, though. If anything, I lost more sleep being excited about the show afterwards than I lost by going, and The Patient Mrs. was kind enough to start the drive in the morning anyway. Definitely it was the right choice to make.

More pics after the jump.

Clutch at the Machine Shop

Of the to-date nine albums in the discography of Maryland groove rockers Clutch, the three full-lengths they released on DRT Records represents in many ways their most interesting and expansive stretch of material. From 2004-2007, Clutch released three highly-varied albums and began the process of maturing from their rougher-hewn, heavier early days into the blues rock powerhouse they’ve since become. This period of the four-piece’s development is captured on three distinct CD reissues from their own Weathermaker Music label, boasting double-disc, expanded-digipak artwork editions of Blast Tyrant (2004), Robot Hive/Exodus (2005) and From Beale Street to Oblivion (2007), along with a companion disc of bonus material from each. The band’s legal disagreements with DRT – the label headed by Gentle Giant multi-instrumentalist Derek Schulman – resulting in their reclamation of the rights to the albums here find their resolution. One recalls that From Beale Street to Oblivion originally came in a jewel case with the artwork so misplaced that Clutch elected to sell the Canadian version on tour. Well, with the Weathermaker versions of these records, that won’t be an issue. From the art (gorgeous for each) to the releases themselves to the fan-gem bonus discs, these are about as complete documents as longtime followers of the band could ever hope for.

It’s worth noting as well in terms of artwork that Clutch’s most recent offering, 2009’s Strange Cousins From the West, was also given special treatment as an LP with some of the most appealing art I’ve ever seen this side of one of those glass-case $250 Boris limited edition boxes, and that cut-slipcase ethic extends to the digipaks here, continuity of aesthetic being an obvious focus for both the band – Neil Fallon (vocals), Tim Sult (guitar), Dan Maines (bass) and Jean-Paul Gaster (drums) – and the team behind Weathermaker Music, most notably label manager and longtime devotee Jon Nardachone. Blast Tyrant comes with a silver embossed ink depiction of the cover’s curious figure and is perhaps given the most reverence of the three reissues, if only for its including the Basket of Eggs bonus disc, which boasts the January 2011 acoustic sessions in which Clutch reworked older material – “Tight Like That,” an unplugged live version of “Drink to the Dead” from 2001’s Pure Rock Fury and Blast Tyrant’s own “The Regulator” – and set it alongside new cuts “Box Car Shorty’s Confession” and “Basket of Eggs” and a host of pre-Blast Tyrant demos that includes different lyrics for “Cypress Grove” and the unreleased songs “Walpole Man” (from which the back half of “Army of Bono” comes) and “Steve Doocy,” as well as rawer working versions of “Promoter” and “La Curandera” from the album proper. This alone is a boon for aficionados and worshipers, but the Chon Hernandez illustrations in the 20-page lyric booklet (dubbed “Blast Tyrant’s Atlas of the Invisible World Including Illustrations of Strange Beasts and Phantoms”) are no less a selling point. With  Blast Tyrant alone, Clutch prove that if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.

As to the record itself, Blast Tyrant was in many ways a culmination and a new beginning for Clutch. In 2004, it was their first album since leaving Atlantic Records, the first album they recorded digitally – Neil Fallon is said to have laid down his vocal tracks in Jean-Paul Gaster’s living room, and the liner notes confirm it – and in many ways, the first time the balance between heft and clarity was perfected in terms of their production. Where 2001’s Pure Rock Fury was rougher-sounding and 1998’s Elephant Riders overly smoothed out, Blast Tyrant (produced by Machine) was the proverbial third bowl of porridge that was just right. Aside from some of their most memorable songs and live-set staples like “The Mob Goes Wild,” “Cypress Grove,” “Promoter (of Earthbound Causes)” and “Profits of Doom,” Blast Tyrant showed Clutch’s burgeoning sonic breadth with the quiet, contemplatively morose “The Regulator” and “Ghost” and their prowess for raw boogie on “Subtle Hustle,” which even as basically a filler track still came across powerful and irresistibly fun. Their propensity for jamming, since much developed on tours and in their The Bakerton Group instrumental offshoot project, showed itself in the form of the short “Weathermaker” interlude and the album-closing afterthought “WYSIWYG,” and the rush of opener “Mercury” and the gang-chanted chorus of “Spleen Merchant” almost go without saying among Clutch fans.

Obviously the band themselves think highly of Blast Tyrant as well, otherwise the acoustic cuts on Basket of Eggs would probably have just been included on one of the other three albums and the demos paired with live tracks or something else. As the most recent output on any of these albums – Robot Hive/Exodus includes a DVD of the “Burning Beard” video as well as Clutch’s complete set from the Starland Ballroom date of the 2005 Sounds of the Underground tour in Sayreville, New Jersey and From Beale Street to Oblivion culls live tracks from a BBC session and some material that previously showed up on the limited Live at the Hi-Fi Bar release and the video for the hit single “Electric Worry” – Basket of Eggs could have easily been a separate EP release, and it’s the most definitive showing here of where Clutch are today, creatively speaking. “Box Car Shorty’s Confession” is a Cousin Joe blues cover, and “Basket of Eggs” from 1999′s Jam Room follows stylistic suit, and it’s in the reinterpretations of older material that Clutch really shows their blues-laden drive. “Tight Like That” alone is worth the cost of the entire release for its slide-guitar and rearranged vocals (the track was initially released on 1995 landmark self-titled LP), but “Drink to the Dead,” which was recorded in 2001 – a full decade earlier – is somewhat more awkward and “The Regulator” seems like it’s trying to insert blues lines where they don’t fit. Sult’s guitar, Gaster’s drumming and Maines’ bass are masterful as ever (the latter standing out particularly with the added room left by the absence of guitar distortion), but Fallon’s vocals are unsure in their placement in the midsection, and I’m left wondering if Clutch wouldn’t have been better off maintaining the atmosphere of the original song and simply stripping down the arrangement – though I’m also willing to allow I’m hardly impartial in this case, being a tremendous admirer of the regular album version. Sandwiched between the upbeat 12-bar “Box Car Shorty’s Confession” and the start-stop “Basket of Eggs” stands out some, but is no less awkward than the “Cattle Car” demo version of “Cypress Grove” in that it’s just not what someone familiar with Blast Tyrant would be used to hearing.

As much as Blast Tyrant signaled the beginning of a new era for Clutch, it was 2005’s stellar Robot Hive/Exodus release that confirmed it. Returning to Larry “Uncle Punchy” Packer to record as they had Pure Rock Fury, Clutch triumphed in the songwriting of “The Incomparable Mr. Flannery,” “Burning Beard,” “Mice and Gods,” the Jersey ode “Pulaski Skyway,” “10001110101” and the album’s blues-based later movement of “Gravel Road,” an interpretation of lyrics by Mississippi Fred MacDowell with original music by Clutch, and the Howlin’ Wolf cover, “Who’s Been Talking?” Listening back to the album now, it’s easy to see and hear how much of a complement it was to Blast Tyrant stylistically, while also developing its ideas further. The most notable difference between the two albums was the advent of organist Mick Schauer, whose added classic rock flavor was essential to the success of much of Robot Hive/Exodus’ sci-fi-meets-the-preacherman atmosphere. His otherworldly Hammond stood “10001110101” out among Clutch’s back catalog, and the flourishes added to “Never be Moved” helped make that song as pivotal to the album as it became, filling out Sult’s start-stop riffing while also adding to and underscoring the melody in Fallon’s characteristic lyrical ranting. Though Schauer was listed as a full-fledged band member at the time and did numerous tours with Clutch, he’s separated from the main lineup of Fallon, Sult, Maines and Gaster here, which could just as easily be a legal thing in terms of royalties as an indication of some personal falling out between him and the band that led to his departure following From Beale Street to Oblivion. I don’t know and won’t speculate, since what’s most important of all are the performances on this album and its follow-up, both of which were excellent and – perhaps most impressive of all — seamlessly integrated with Clutch’s already long-established songwriting, as shown on the mostly-instrumental “Small Upsetters,” which could just as easily be taken as a jammy companion piece to “Weathermaker” from Blast Tyrant if it wasn’t for Schauer. Likewise, “Tripping the Alarm” – so named perhaps for Sult’s opening guitar line – and the airy, expansive verses of “Land of Pleasant Living” felt lush where they might have otherwise been lacking.

Since in many ways these reissues tell the story of Clutch’s love affair with the blues, “Gravel Road” and “Who’s Been Talking?” feel especially important in light of the work the band has done to incorporate that influence since – on cuts like “Electric Worry” from From Beale Street to Oblivion, right on through “Struck Down” and “Let a Poor Man Be” from Strange Cousins From the West. These two songs represent the first time Clutch unabashedly embraced the genre, and as such might be the two most pivotal cuts on any of these three records (new material on Basket of Eggs notwithstanding), and seeing the band close with “Gravel Road” on the included Sounds of the Underground DVD, it’s easy to remember how potent and different they were at the time, now more than half a decade ago. Having been present at that particular show, it’s something special for me to watch, but for someone else, it’s probably not much different than a lot of pro-shot multi-camera filmed concerts. Some of the material was included on a festival compilation DVD, but to have the whole set is a welcome inclusion for longtime followers or anyone buying the disc on, say, the recommendation of a review, who’s never seen the band live and wants to know what they might have missed during the Schauer era, which found its apex in From Beale Street to Oblivion.

The third and final of the DRT albums, 2007’s From Beale Street to Oblivion had the near-impossible task of following Blast Tyrant and Robot Hive/Exodus. Clutch set a higher standard for their output than I think even they knew, and maybe in an effort to step back from some of the pressure or at least push their progress to where they wanted it to be at the time, they recorded in California with “Evil” Joe Barresi (Kyuss, Tool, the Melvins, etc.). The result was that Beale Street cast off a lot of the tonal heft of Robot Hive/Exodus and Blast Tyrant in favor of a more compressed sound with Fallon deeper in the mix. Early cuts like “You Can’t Stop Progress” and “Power Player” still became live favorites, as did “Child of the City,” but on the record itself, Sult’s guitar on “The Devil and Me” sounded thin in the chorus where it should have stood out with Fallon delivering the album’s titular line, and the interplay between Schauer and Maines and Gaster in the rhythm section was muddled where on Robot Hive/Exodus it had been so crisp and vibrant. It’s a somewhat darker album visually in terms of the artwork and thematically – the semi-political lyrical stance of “The Mob Goes Wild” from Blast Tyrant finding more fervent execution in album closer “Mr. Shiny Cadillacness” – and as the album was released in 2007, it would have been a document of America’s pre-Obama campaign hopelessness whether it wanted to be or not. Nonetheless, the vigorous “Bang, bang, bang, bang/Vamanos, vamanos!” chorus of “Electric Worry” – which also featured Eric Oblander of Five Horse Johnson on harmonica – would be restrained by nothing, up to and including flat production, and still earned Clutch some of their best commercial exposure to date and established their songwriting prowess in the minds of a whole new generation of followers. Quality cuts like “Black Umbrella” (shades of “Cypress Grove” lyrically), “Rapture of Riddley Walker” and “One Eye Dollar,” the last of which previously appeared on 1999’s Jam Room, showed the band’s songwriting was as effective as ever, but surface cracks were beginning to show, and Schauer, who by then was accepted as a given by the band’s expanding fanbase, was much less present in “When Vegans Attack” than even “White’s Ferry,” earlier in the album. Part of that could again be chalked up to the mix, but there’s no question Schauer was more following Sult’s riffs than playing off them, where on Robot Hive/Exodus, the situation had been reversed.

Given that, it’s something of a two-sided relationship with From Beale Street to Oblivion, which is all the more reason to be glad Clutch went with live tracks for the bonus material, as both the BBC session and the Hi-Fi Bar recordings showcase the chemistry of the band’s lineup in that era. Their take on Cream’s “Politician” proves every bit as appropriate a classic rock cover as when they did Jethro Tull’s “Cross-Eyed Mary” for Small Stone Records’ first Sucking the ‘70s compilation, and “Mr. Shiny Cadillacness,” “Electric Worry” and “One Eye Dollar” shirk off some of the restrained feel of the studio versions for a looser, jammy groove, “Mr. Shiny Cadillacness” especially propelled by Maines’ bass runs. Rounding out that set with “Cypress Grove,” they remind what Schauer brought to the tracks predating his inclusion in the band and lead well into the more proper (i.e., not radio/studio) live recordings of “The Devil and Me,” “Child of the City” “You Gonna Wreck My Life” and “White’s Ferry” from Australia, which themselves close out the bonus disc and the reissue series in energetic fashion. Both Schauer and Oblander were with Clutch for that tour, and the latter even takes lead vocal duties on Howlin’ Wolf’s “You Gonna Wreck My Life,” highlighting how far Clutch had moved in 2007 from the original blueprint of the band (Fallon, meanwhile was on guitar with Sult as he often is in live situations). Live at the Hi-Fi Bar was a short-run release and limited as well in terms of distribution, so there’s not really much redundant about getting these songs out, and “White’s Ferry” makes a fitting finale to From Beale Street to Oblivion’s much-justified second look. Listening to it, you can almost see the closing credits for this era of the band scrolling by.

Those who know Clutch and love their music will revel in the bonus inclusions here, and naysayers will continue to say nay independent of this or any other review. More importantly, Clutch will move on. Strange Cousins From the West saw them return to the “core four” lineup and refocus their attentions on rocking material, but there’s no turning back stylistically, and the maturity that came to fruition on these three albums couldn’t be undone even if the band wanted to – and I don’t think they do. With the probably three years that will have passed since Strange Cousins by the time they get their next record out, it will be fascinating as always to hear what sonic shifts Clutch will have undergone. Each of their albums reads like a document charting the band’s growth, like a height chart marked in permanent marker on your mother’s kitchen wall, and looking back on Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive/Exodus and From Beale Street to Oblivion is an excellent way to follow that progression. Whether you’re a longtime follower of the band who eagerly snatched these albums up when they first came out or someone who missed them and now find them out of print or harder to find, this is Clutch at their most essential yet, and the foundation of any worthy collection.

Clutch’s website

Weathermaker Music

While I wish I could say the occasion serving as impetus for ringing up Fallon was the impending new Clutch album — which is about due but still won’t be ready to go for some time from the sound of things — instead it’s a tour. Now, Clutch touring is no more “news” than are the crabcakes in the band’s native Maryland except in the particulars of where and when the crowd needs to show up, but when you hit the road alongside gen-you-wine legends Motörhead for a massive US run that you’ve in fact delayed writing your next record to undertake, well, I think that’s worth chatting about. I know if I was touring with Motörhead, I’d want to talk about it.

I found the same to somewhat be the case with Fallon, who is notoriously terse in interviews. He’s not impolite, not a dick by any stretch, but hardly one to sit and pontificate on the band’s history and future. It stands to reason that with the massive work ethic Clutch have displayed over their years on the road, writing and recording, and launching their own Weathermaker Music label on which their former DRT Records catalog — Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive/Exodus and From Beale Street to Oblivion — is in the process of being reissued and which put out their last offering (2009′s Strange Cousins from the West), Fallon would be more about the doing than the talking.

Nonetheless, from the road in Minneapolis, the singer took some time out to talk about reinterpreting older tracks acoustically for inclusion as bonus material on the impending Blast Tyrant reissue, progress writing new songs, playing with Motörhead and tour openers Valient Thorr, his growth as a vocalist, and more. It’s not a long conversation by the standard of some of what gets posted around here, but it’s always great to check in and find out what Clutch are up to next.

Unabridged Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.

Is it strange to be looking back at your career, in terms of the reissues? You guys are usually more focused on what’s next.

Yeah, you’re right. It’s usually much more exciting making something new than revisiting something that’s already done. But I think this is different for us. We reissued these [albums] because DRT, who had initially put these records out, lost a court case with us, and as a result, we were awarded these masters back. These records haven’t been in stores for quite some time, so it’s good to get them back out there, and I won’t lie, there’s a bit of spite and vindication in getting these back and putting our Weathermaker label logo on them and putting them out there.

I remember when Beale Street came out there was something about the artwork…

That was one of a long list of screw-ups on their part. I think sometimes are under the impression that you’re better off with an independent label than you are a major label. There’s something to be said about both, but at least with a major label, they’ll just turn around and drop your ass. Sometimes independent labels have more reasons to strangle you to death. But, you know, that’s water under the bridge at this point, and we were able to do the artwork right. If something goes wrong from this point forward with that kind of stuff, we know who to blame and it’s that much easier to fix it.

Having put out an album on your own on Weathermaker and worked and toured to support a new studio release, is the extra work worth the tradeoff?

Oh, it’s worth the tradeoff a thousandfold. Like anything else in life, with more work there’s more reward. By the end of our relationship with DRT, it was as if we didn’t have a label anyway. We were just waiting for them to pay for the studio time, which was something we would have to reimburse them for anyway. Now we’re responsible for that, and it wasn’t that difficult of a transition, because we were already touring and selling our records ourselves. It’s more responsibility, but these days, it’s hard to sell CDs. If you can cut out as many people in the process as you can and sell them directly to the fan, I think you’d be a fool not to.

You guys have the advantage of being long since established too. I think the Clutch fanbase is pretty loyal, and that’s got to help.

It sure does, but that wasn’t a happy accident. That was a lot of blood and sweat and tears. I think that kind of fanbase – there’s other bands that are like that, but it takes a lot longer to build up that base via word of mouth and live shows, but I always liken it to, “You can build a house out of sticks very quickly, but it takes a lot longer to build a house out of rock, but you know which one’s going to last longer.”

Do you get much time to reflect on the growth of the band? Is that something you like to think about? You’re on the road so much and it seems like two weeks later, Clutch is doing something else.

I don’t think any of us spend too much time looking back. For me, not to get too philosophical, but the creative process – whether you’re making music or art – is always about what’s new. To either rest on your laurels or to think that there’s more days behind you than there are in front of you is not creative. That’s not to say there’s no self-examination going on. We’re always trying to improve.

How was it for you — thinking of the Blast Tyrant reissue bonus material and the acoustic tracks — going back and reinterpreting older songs?

It was fun. At first, I approached it with a lot of trepidation, but then I realized listening to the tracks, “Wow, we’ve become much better musicians in the 15 years that were between those songs’ initial recordings and today,” which is good to know (laughs), that we’ve somehow managed to stay dedicated to learning and practicing. Whether it be getting better at rudiments or learning about other people’s music, you have a much broader palette to draw from when you’re trying to make something.

Was there something in particular you were able to draw from for those tracks, either adding to your approach vocally or redoing patterns?

Speaking for myself, I think I sing now whereas, on the first couple records, there’s just a lot of bellowing. I’ve gotten better at actually conceiving of a melody (laughs), and playing guitar as well. But also, collectively as a whole, the band, I think we understand compositions better. Sometimes I listen to our first records and I think I would love to go back and rerecord those, just because there’s so many things I would love to change. But I wonder if that’s like an artist breaking into a gallery and touching up his paintings. I don’t know if that’s cool or not, but it’s something I do think about.

So something like bonus tracks for a reissue seems like a really good avenue to do that.

Initially, we were going to put out an EP of acoustic stuff. It all started, Bonnaroo invited us to do an additional set of all acoustic stuff. We tried doing literal interpretations of the acoustic stuff and it wasn’t working out, so we just said, “Let’s start from scratch.” Putting it in that context of a bonus track, that it’s not perhaps “the next official Clutch release” makes it easier to wrap one’s head around, maybe. Some people are very puritanical about bands’ releases, or episodic, like some kind of story, but we’re very… open-minded about music. There’s never any kind of program that we need to stick to, if that makes any sense.

Along those lines, how is progress for the next Clutch album?

We have a bucketload of riffs that we’re starting to comb through, that we’ve been recording over the past two years. I would imagine just a fraction of those will end up on the record, but we just played a new idea last night on stage, just instrumentally, but that was the first time we’d done anything like that since Strange Cousins. Once this tour is over, in four weeks, three weeks, however long it is, we’re really buckling down and gonna start focusing on the next record, which should be out within a year, I would hope.

Is that your plan for the summer? You’re going to come off the road and write and record?

Yeah. That was our plan for right now, but then Motörhead asked us out on tour.

Yeah, you can’t say no to Motörhead.

Right (laughs). We’re gonna do some shows in Europe. Not too much – a couple weeks here and there – but we’re going to set up shop on the US front and then probably do some dates towards the early fall. What we’d ideally do is play some of these songs live on stage and work them out there, because that’s a much better litmus test than in the studio.

Do you have a plan for someone you want to work with recording-wise?

J. Robbins. He’s local and he’s great. What else could you ask for?

I guess it’s worth changing your plans for Motörhead, although I seem to recall you’ve played with them before. Am I right about that?

That’s correct. We did a UK tour with them about four years ago. Or five.

Is there anything in particular other than being on the road with them that you’re looking forward to about the tour?

They’re a great group of people. Their crew is awesome to work with. Sometimes going out on a tour can be made hellish by the headlining act’s crew, but they’re great people. Of course Motörhead’s awesome to watch every night. It’s pretty inspirational, because we’ve been a band for 20 years, and you can sometimes start thinking about stuff like your age or the age of the band or whatever, but then you see Motörhead go, and it’s like a motivational speaker. And Valient Thorr, the first band of the three, is a great band. Tours are so much easier when you enjoy the music that you listen to every day, day in and day out.

Clutch’s website

Weathermaker Music

Once again, the headline says “Rampant Speculation” and that’s what this is. Maybe in reading it, you’ll agree with something, maybe you’ll disagree. Either way, any comments are appreciated as always.

Let’s have some fun:

YOB: Sad as it is that Oregon doom forerunners YOB had to cancel their appearance at Roadburn and European tour, one can only hope their follow-up to 2009′s blistering The Great Cessation comes out that much sooner as a result. It will be interested to hear where the band goes stylistically. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt had plenty to be pissed about going into the YOB reunion, following all that Middian/Midian legal nonsense, but now that that’s through with, will he bring the same kind of vitriol to bare in the songwriting? Hopefully it’s not too long before we find out.

Colour Haze: They’re one of the classiest bands on the planet, and their last album, All, was hands-down my favorite record of 2008. They’ve released the Burg Herzberg two-disc live recording since then, but it’s time for new album, and according to the last Elektrohasch Schallplatten, it’s not far off. All had a more live, more organic feel than anything Colour Haze ever did before — the snare drum’s reacting to the bass and guitar rumble like a nod to everyone listening that it was done with everyone in the same room — and I’m looking forward to hearing how they try to top it.

Clutch: 2010 saw numerous reissues and the usual insane amount of touring, but in 2011, it’s time to see where the next stage in Clutch‘s ongoing development is leading. Maybe they’ll continue the blues-laden path they’ve taken on their last couple records, or maybe they’ll decide it’s time to confuse the hell out of everyone and do something completely different. Aside from being an astounding live act, Clutch are a fantastic group of songwriters, and it’ll be exciting to get to know a new batch of tunes both live and on disc.

Elder: Their self-titled was some seriously riffy business, and I haven’t heard the follow-up yet, but all accounts from those who have say it’s a more ethereal, more open and stonery sound these young Massachusetts rockers have taken on, and that’s just fine by me. MeteorCity is supposed to have the release out later this year, and I have the feeling that when ti finally hits, it’s going to catch a lot of people off guard, in a good way. Hard not to expect big things for a band like Elder, who have so much potential.

Dixie Witch: When it’ll be out, I have no idea, but Dixie Witch‘s fourth full-length will be the band’s first without guitarist Clayton Mills. His tone and natural bluesy shred was a huge part of what made Dixie Witch‘s prior offerings so killer, and by the time the album gets out, it’s likely to have been five full years since they released the excellent Smoke and Mirrors. This one’s long overdue.

Argus: True, I said I’d only list five bands, and these Pennsylvanian metallers make it six, but I’m genuinely curious to hear what they come up with for their Cruz Del Sur label debut. I dug heavily on the trad doom of their Shadow Kingdom Records self-titled debut, and vocalist Butch Ballch (formerly of Penance) never fails to deliver, so it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out.

There’s other stuff too: Olde Growth, Hour of 13, Wo Fat, Graveyard and a slew of albums that may or may not happen in time for December to roll around. Again, this is just the stuff I want to hear, so if you’ve got anything on your mind or something I should look out for, leave a comment. There’s nothing better than being exposed to new music.

New podcast alert!! New podcast alert!!

So help me Robot Jesus, I will have the second part of the Best of 2010 podcast up this weekend. If you missed it, the first part is here. I don’t know if it’s going to be tomorrow or Sunday, but one of these days…

Lots to come next week. Monday we’ll close out December and I’ll give the astounding final numbers for the month. Rest assured, my mind is blown by the success of the forums, and even if you’ve been paying attention to the tallies I’ve dropped here and on Facebook, I think yours will be as well.

We’ll kick off 2011 with a look ahead at some of the highlight releases allegedly on deck for the next few months, and I still have those “Best Of” posts I want to do, so I’ll see if I can’t get a few of those out the door as well. I’m supposed to be interviewing Laura Pleasants of Kylesa on Monday too, so keep an eye out for that, and there’s always reviews, Buried Treasures, On the Radars and the rest.

Until then, I wish you the happiest and safest of New Year’s Eves, and all the best wherever you are as 2010 bleeds into 2011 with all the smoothness of a Colour Haze track. We close out the week (and the year) with Clutch, because sometimes you just gotta have that groove, and because fishin’ ain’t what it used to be.

Neil Fallon, Tim Sult, Dan Maines, and Jean-Paul Gaster will say goodbye to 2010 the same way they began it 365 days prior, kickin’ out the jams on the big stage. Asheville, North Carolina‘s The Orange Peel will be the site of veteran rock band Clutch‘s traditional American New Year’s Eve performance.

In recent years the four piece Maryland hard rock act has LOUDLY rang in the New Year with epic performances in such great American cities as Detroit, Washington DC, Baltimore, Flint, and Grand Rapids, MI. Tickets are available exclusively to fanclub members beginning today, and will be open to the public this Friday. Next week, Clutch will announce a short December tour which will lead up to this special NYE date, as well as the support package which will accompany the band on the road.

2010 has seen Clutch release a plethora of well received international audio, video and digital product via their new label Weathermaker Music, including notable double disc reissues of From Beale Street to Oblivion and Robot Hive/Exodus. The expanded double disc edition of Blast Tyrant will be released in January 2011, with further details to be announced next week at weathermakermusic.com. Weathermaker will also be issuing forth special vinyl editions of all three reissues, to be ready for turntables in the Spring.

Bottom, Made in Voyage
Chrome Locust, Chrome Locust
Clutch, Jam Room
Fu Manchu, Daredevil
Jethro Tull, Aqualung
Lost Breed, Save Yourself
Lost Goat, Equator
My Dying Bride, Turn Loose the Swans
Natas, Delmar
The Obsessed, The Obsessed
Spiritual Beggars, Ad Astra

A few of those CDs I already own, but there are difference. The Fu Manchu is the original Bong Load Records version, where before I only had the reissue, and though it’s my third copy of Jam Room — probably my least favorite Clutch album — it’s the River Road Records pressing, and I think they only made six of them or something, so I was stoked to find it. Ad Astra is the Music for Nations digipak edition, and Chrome Locust is in a jewel case, where I’d only ever seen the digipak, so I grabbed that as well. The Jethro Tull had a sticker on it that it was the first CD issue, which made it too good to pass up. If you’re wondering, by the way, whether or not I believe everything I read on stickers stuck to jewel cases: Yes. Yes I do.

Lost Goat is on Man’s Ruin and I didn’t already own it, so that was a given. The Natas record I thought might have been a different catalog number than mine, but no, it’s a genuine double. I was bummed out on that until the other night when I thought to myself, “Gee, I sure would like to listen to the first Natas album,” and I actually had a copy on me because I was holding onto it to write about today. Maybe one just wasn’t enough.

Of the two Hellhound Records purchases, the highlight is unquestionably The Obsessed‘s The Obsessed. I had the Tolotta reissue previously, but you can’t beat the original. I had seen it for sale on Redscroll‘s eBay store, and asked if I could buy it right there in the shop. They were more than accommodating. The other Hellhound album, Lost Breed‘s Save Yourself, was the US version, where I’d only had the European before. Or maybe that’s reversed. I don’t know. The catalog numbers and back cover art are different. Apparently that’s enough for me these days.

I legitimately hadn’t owned the Bottom or My Dying Bride CDs (or the Lost Goat, which was meh), and I was stoked especially to hear the former, which didn’t disappoint. Crazy to think it’s been five years since Bottom put out their last album, but I suppose it has. Hearing their debut for the first time, it was easy to tell what Rise Above, Man’s Ruin and Small Stone all saw in the band, and by that I mean killer riffs and lethal groove. An excellent capper for an even more excellent haul.

Unsurprisingly massive update about an unsurprisingly massive reissue, plus tour dates after the jump. Check it:

Clutch have announced the track listing for the expanded-dual disc edition reissue of Robot Hive/Exodus which will be released worldwide on September 28 through Weathermaker Music. Currently out of print, Robot Hive/Exodus was at one point the band’s largest selling title of the decade due to the strength of its three extremely powerful yet diverse singles, “Burning Beard,” “10001110101″ and “Mice & Gods.” In addition to upgraded artwork and new “digi” packaging, this expanded edition will feature a bonus DVD which includes a classic 33-minute outdoor performance recorded on location at the Sounds of the Underground festival in July of 2005 in Sayreville, NJ. Also included is the Jeremy Hunt-directed “Burning Beard” video clip, which was the first ever Clutch single to reach the “year end” Top 10 most played on MTV‘s Headbanger’s Ball.

In total, the Robot Hive/Exodus reissue contains 23 songs and over 90 minutes of music. This is the second of three planned extended double disc reissues, as Weathermaker has already released From Beale Street to Oblivion in July, and plans to issue forth the Blast Tyrant package in November. For the über-Clutch fan and/or retro rocker, Weathermaker will see to it that all three releases will make their way onto limited edition vinyl.

On September 22nd, Clutch will embark on a nine-week tour with Black Label Society and Children of Bodom. In addition to 40+ dates with Zakk Wylde‘s widely popular hard rock act, the veteran rock band from Maryland have just announced six headline concerts that will be placed within the Fall tour, giving their North American fanbase close to 50 opportunities to see the band perform a combination of classic Clutch material as well as current fan favorites like “50,000 Unstoppable Watts,” “Let a Poor Man Be” and “Abraham Lincoln” from the band’s latest, Top 40 soundscan charting, “Strange Cousins From the West” full-length album.

Robot Hive/Exodus Reissue Tracklist:
Disc 1 (CD)
The Incomparable Mr. Flannery
Burning Beard
Gullah
Mice & Gods
Pulaski Skyway
Never be Moved
10001110101
Small Upsetters
Circus Maximus
Tripping the Alarm
10,000 Witnesses
Land of Pleasant Living
Gravel Road
Who’s Been Talking
Disc 2 (DVD)
Mercury –Live Sounds of the Underground
Profits of Doom –Live Sounds of the Underground
Mice & Gods –Live Sounds of the Underground
Gullah –Live Sounds of the Underground
Burning –Beard Live Sounds of the Underground
Impetus –Live Sounds of the Underground
The Mob Goes Wild –Live Sounds of the Underground
Gravel Road –Live Sounds of the Underground
Burning Beard video clip

Clutch Live
w/ Black Label Society, Children of Bodom and 2 Cents
9/22 Vancouver, BC PNE Forum
9/24 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Expo Centre
9/25 Regina, SK Agribition Hall
9/26 Calgary, AB Big 4
9/28 Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg Convention Centre
9/29 Fargo, ND The Venue *
9/30 Omaha, NE Anchor Inn
10/1 Clive, IA 7 Flags
10/2 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
10/3 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
10/4 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company *
10/5 Louisville, KY Expo Five
10/8 Asbury Park, NJ Convention Hall
10/9 Lewiston, ME The Colisee
10/10 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
10/12 Halifax, NS Cunard Centre
10/14 Montreal, QC Metropolis
10/15 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
10/20 New York City, NY Hammerstein Ballroom
10/22 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
10/23 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
10/24 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
10/25 Augusta, GA Sky City *
10/26 Orlando, FL Hard Rock
10/28 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
10/29 Corpus Christi, TX Concrete St. Amphitheater
10/30 Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre – Grand Prairie
10/31 Lubbock, TX Lonestar Pavilion
11/2 Austin, TX Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater
11/3 Tulsa, OK Brady Center
11/4 Sauget, IL Pop’s *
11/5 Grand Rapids, MI DeltaPlex
11/7 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
11/9 Rochester, NY Main Street Armory
11/10 Columbus, OH The LC Pavilion
11/11 Jonesboro, AR Brickhouse Grill *
11/12 Wichita, KS Cotilion
11/13 Kansas City, KS Uptown Theater
11/14 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
11/15 Grand Junction, CO Mesa Theater *
11/16 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
11/18 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
11/20 San Francisco, CA Warfield
* = Clutch headlining performance

According to Metal Insider, Maryland rockers Clutch will enter Magpie Cage Studios in Baltimore with J. Robbins around July 4 to record approximately half a dozen songs for an acoustic EP, to be released before the end of the year. Some of the titles being considered for the effort include a song called “Fixin’ to Die” as well as stripped-down takes of “Abraham Lincoln,” “Electric Worry,” “Regulator” and “Tight Like That.”