Clutch: Blast Tyrant

Originally authored by Gregg.

This review is skinned. You may choose from a number of different themes.

Theme: Stoner Guy
Stoner: Fuck yeah man. (bong noises) These guys are fucking smoking all time man. Like that song ‘Spacegrass’? Dude this is like that only more, dude. (bong noises) (more bong noises) Dude did you hear that? You have to be stoned to come up with that shit. (bong noises)
Another stoner: Dude Spacegrass isn’t on this record. (bong noises)
Stoner: Yeah but these dudes know weed, man.

Theme: Pretentious Rock Critic
Never content to be just a hardcore band, or an alternative act, or anything else, Clutch’s latest offering, Blast Tyrant, continues the trend started with Elephant Riders: offbeat storytelling, widely varying rhythms and song structures, and the widest array of guitar tones you’ll hear this side of a Robert Fripp record. Guitarist Tim Sult covers the lead and rhythm roles with an aplomb rarely seen; bassist Dan Maines lays down a solid complement to Sult worthy of Jaco Pastorious. Jean-Paul Gaster is a master of their hybrid sound, never falling into the hardcore even-four-on-the-floor and yet not overplaying as you would expect from such a virtuoso. And at the front is Neil Fallon, who has grown from a “mere” aggressive growl to a vocal style all his own.

Theme: 15-year-old girl
Whatever, he’s just yelling a lot and it all sounds the same.

Theme: my dog
I would like to consume the Pretentious Rock Critic as a public service to all mankind.

Theme: Me
I’ve been listening to Clutch since I heard the Pitchfork EP in 1992. I saw ‘em live hundreds of times, it seems like, from 1993 on. I don’t think any other band has grown as much as they have and still manages to rock out. Lately Clutch sounds like a hardcore version of jazz improv group: they’ll have a structured thing and then just explode into some kind of improv, some kind of weird jam, and then tie it all back up at the end like clockwork. There’s rhythms here you’ll never hear from a “normal” band.

Of course all this fucks them when it comes to getting on the radio, but that’s OK. They have rarely disappointed live, and as long as they can keep it happening, I’ll keep buying.