Clutch is fucking awesome. My wife (who hates basically every band I've ever shown her, minus a few songs here and there from Corrosion of Conformity and Keith Caputo) even digs on them. I go through phases with Clutch, where either I love them or I'm simply OBSESSED with them. Only a handful of bands (and I truly mean a handful) can go through a musical evolution as they have and not get any backlash. None. If anything, they've earned themselves MORE fans.
Right now, I'm jamming on the 2LP 180g, six panel, megafuckingawesome Strange Cousins From The West vinyl that I picked up on my birthday, complete with new sequencing and two bonus tracks ("Metroliner Special" and an extended version of "50,000 Unstoppable Watts". It sounds epic. Mostly because it is.
My favorite song off Strange Cousins, "Abraham Lincoln". Live in England. Awesome.
They are THE American Rock N' Roll band of the past 15 years. Don't let Corrosion of Conformity hear this, because I feel the same about them. Unfortunately for COC, Clutch continues to put out records every 18 months or so and thoroughly kicks my ass every time. It can be hardcore, bluesy, funky, harmonica-y...You get the point.
They're recently started their own label, Weathermaker Music and have released both a live DVD and companion CD to kick things off. Check out the funkiness here. Cannot wait to see these dudes in Sacramento next month.
Here's a little bearded gem for your holiday weekend:
(I know it's Wednesday...at least that's what my wife tells me. It's about the balls, not the day).
Who likes metal? Who likes Southern metal? Who likes videos that look like they were a blast to film? If it's not you, we can't be friends. Alabama Thunderpussy were always good at being average (at least vocally)...especially at a horrific performance with some guy that looked like one of the Geico Cavemen, two years ago with COC and Crowbar in NYC. The band also must've felt this way and got rid of the Neanderthal and replaced him with one of the baddest motherfuckers, Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Pitts vs Preps, Witch, FLOODGATE). Exhorder was the band that showed Pantera how to groove long before they were badasses (although the Cowboys From Hell perfected it, and have now been ripped off...cough...influential...whatever).
Kyle Thomas made his debut with ATP on their latest release, Open Fire, a motherfucker of an album. Think about all that you like about rock n' roll, turn that shit up to 11 and there you go!
CLUTCH!!! The best pure balls-out rock band on the planet (don't let COC hear that). They get better and better with every release and keep ther fanbase growing year after year. They still sell lots of records and put on one hell of a show. As a serious Clutch fan, I enjoy their hardcore roots but love where they've gone since. My two favorite LP's are their self-titled 1995 release and Blast Tyrant, two incredible slabs of The Rock. However, in the grand tradition of quoting things, I celebrate their entire catalog.
This clip not only fits right at home with Testicular Tuesday, it practically invented the shit. Clutch rules. Bottom line. Done. Game over.
Anyone who's down with the mid to late 90's budding Stoner scene knew about Karma To Burn. In fact, in 1996 Roadrunner Records (who were struggling to find their identity; Post-Max era Sepultura, pre-Nickleback, riding with bad hip hop and dance records), put out a CD Sampler of some kick ass jams, featuring Fu Manchu, the first official recording of Queens of The Stone Age ("18AD") and a new band called Karma To Burn.
Roadrunner picked them up for a deal and released their self-titled debut in 1997 to rave reviews and a ton of critical acclaim. A solid record, but by no means a classic. Some great tracks on there, but some real filler as well. Apparently, three-fourths of the band felt the same way and decided the singer was the "filler". They decided this quickly too. Within a month, I was checking them out for the first time live, playing direct support to Corrosion of Conformity (along with Drain sth and local South Florida heroes Gonemad), on the "Wiseblood" Tour.
I guess Roadrunner decided having a band with no singer wasn't marketable, so they dropped 'em. Spitfire picked them up and Karma To Burn went on to release two unbelievably great LP's, Wild Wonderful Purgatory and Almost Heathen. The riffs are so good, you never miss a singer or even feel that one was ever needed. In fact, when they toured on these records, they played a lot of the older stuff off the Roadrunner release and no vocals were missed there either. Just a bad-ass power trio.
In 2002, rumors were circulating that Karma To Burn was going to record a new record, with a little help from some serious fucking friends. They would provide the rock and a series of vocalists would sing on different tracks. I know that the following had signed up: Neil Fallon (Clutch), Pepper Keenan (COC), Kirk Windstein (Crowbar) and I'm pretty sure John Garcia (Kyuss, Hermano, Slo-Burn) was down as well. Unfortunately they broke up prior to laying tracks down and all we're left with is three records.
Last year, Metal Mind Productions re-released all three CD's in a beautiful box set, complete with demos, bonus tracks and live performances. It's limited to 1,500 copies and since their a German label, it costs a bloodsucking $56 dollars! Their debut is out of print but easily available used and their last two releases are still in print.
I love how Roadrunner thought that instrumental rock was unmarketable. Look at how things have changed in just 10 years. Some of the most important and genre-bending bands out there today either have no singer, or use vocals very infrequently. Just a few examples: Explosions In The Sky, God Is An Astronaut, ISIS, Mogwai, Cult of Luna, Pelican...The list can go on forever.
True trailblazers, but in reality, just three dudes who fucking rock.
Instead of talking up the much-anticipated release Down III: Over The Under, I decided to recommend some records of the members that make up this Megalodon of a band. Just within the walls of Down, the following bands exist (or have existed at one point): Pantera, Superjoint Ritual, Graveyard Rodeo, Corrosion of Conformity, Eyehategod, The Mystik Crewe of Clearlight, Crowbar and Kingdom of Sorrow, not to mention hundreds of guest spots and other smaller projects. My loyalties lie with the best songs and COC had em' all beat by a long shot. I love me some Pantera and Crowbar, but there's just something about the way Pepper Keenan can write a riff/song/melody/lyric, that can make you feel like you know exactly what he was going through when he put the pen to the paper.
Check these records out and you will cease being a douche bag almost immediately:
** Note that the bold titles are the essential LP's to start with **
COC- Blind, DELIVERANCE, Wiseblood, America's Volume Dealer, In The Arms of God and the Live Volume CD/DVD
Pantera- Cowboys From Hell, VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER, Far Beyond Driven, The Great Southern Trendkill, Reinventing The Steel (also check out Official Live 101 Proof and Power Metal, for the nutbag who needs to see Phil in all his cheesy glory...Rex Rocker, priceless).
Crowbar- s/t, Time Heals Nothing, Broken Glass, ODD FELLOWS REST, Sonic Excess In Its Purest Form
Superjoint Ritual- USE ONCE AND DESTROY
and of course all three Down LP's. The new one kills, just as I expected. I'm not recommending any Eyehategod, not because I don't like them...Simply becausse I was never a big enough fan to push their records on anyone. I love the heavy shit, but if there's no structure or understandable vocals, I have no use for it.
Respect this:
...And this:
...And then this:
...And if you think you're awesome enough, the heaviest thing ever:
I love Stoner Rock. I don't care if it's a tag that Stoner Rock bands dislike. If you sing about getting stoned and play your banged up $129 Strat thru a bass amp with chorus, fuzz and distortion, you, my friend, are in a Stoner Rock band. In the recent issue of Decibel Magazine, they dedicate nearly half the issue to the knowns (Queens of The Stone Age, Clutch, Wino, Fu Manchu) and unknowns (Electric Wizard, Bongzilla, a mountain of late 60's and early 70's riff-heavy groups) of the history of this awesome genre. They do leave out COC and Crowbar, which irks me, since I believe that COC's "Deliverance" and Crowbar's "Odd Fellows Rest" are some of the best records in and out of the genre, ever.
Clutch likes to distance themselves from the tag, but dudes, you write songs like "Willie Nelson", to which the chorus goes "I don't know if I'm coming or going/If it's them or me/One thnig's for certain/Willie Nelson only smokes killer weed". Right. I'm sure he does. Oh yeah, this song was first released onn the High Times magazine compilation, "High Volume". QOTSA distance themselves as well, but face it Josh...Your roots are in Kyuss, the originators of Desert Fuzz. Even if it didn't make the list (which it did, at #8), the self-titled Queens CD frm 1997 is not only their best LP, it's one of my favorite albums. Not a second of wasted material on it. Nearly flawless.
So of course, of all the killer Stoner bands, I think I found the best one to drop twelve bucks on. Thank you Southern Lord Recordings for fooling me once again. After reading an article about a riff/groove-heavy power trio (I fucking love power trios...Who doesn't?) about Weedeater, I picked up their new LP, "God Luck and Good Speed". Best.title.ever. Unfortunately, not best music ever. Not even fucking close. I dug it upon first listen, but as with most Southern Lord releases (Wino-related bands being the only exception, cause he's the God of The Riff), it's takes a horrible turn for the worse on repeated listens. It's heavy, distorted and unbelievably sloppy...Even for a bunch of potheads.
For killer new records by bands that might not be stoner rock (or they might be), check out the following releases:
Mondo Generator- Dead Planet Brant Bjork- Tres Dias Coliseum- No Salvation The Hidden Hand- The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote Clouds- Legendary Demo Zozobra- Harmonic Tremors Queens of The Stone Age- Era Vulgaris Unsane- Visqueen Clutch- From Beale St. To Oblivion Melvins- (a) Senile Animal Alabama Thunderpussy- Open Fire
Check out this clip of "Streetside" by The Obssesed, feturing Scott "Wino" Heinreich. I saw these dudes open for White Zombie in 1994. They had a brief run with Columbia for this one record "The Church Within". It kills:
If you dig it, also check out ANYTHING from the countless bands that Wino has shaped and formed over the years. This dude IS a walking riff machine:
Saint Vitus The Obsessed Spirit Caravan Place of Skulls The Hidden Hand Probot
Clutch is fucking awesome. My wife (who hates basically every band I've ever shown her, minus a few songs here and there from Corrosion of Conformity and Keith Caputo) even digs on them. I go through phases with Clutch, where either I love them or I'm simply OBSESSED with them. Only a handful of bands (and I truly mean a handful) can go through a musical evolution as they have and not get any backlash. None. If anything, they've earned themselves MORE fans. 
