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.
We're now nearly three years removed from the masterpiece that is the Great Cold Distance and I'm fucking dying for new music from Katatonia. Yes, Andy and Jonas are also in Bloodbath, who put out both an EP and full-length in 2008 (which were insanely good), but it's no Katatonia.
All I'm saying is enjoy these clips and respect this band. They are THE prime example (with Cave In and possibly Clutch not far behind) of a band that sounds nothing like their early material, yet sound light years better. The only band that evokes as much darkness and hopelessness through their music is My Dying Bride...and Katatonia smokes those dudes.
Can't wait for the new record, possibly Summer 2009.
Time to get fancy! This weeks' feature is one of my favorite artists of all time, Matthew Good. Yes, I know he's Canadian but we wont hold that against him. The guy is amazing. I hear the sheep reference a lot (mostly from my wife) but dude is awesome and always has something incredibly relevant to say. He finally toured the US for the first time in nearly a decade, earlier this year. Bought my ticket, was all set to go...and got the flu. I thought I was going to die and missed the show. I also missed Clutch that same week. The flu is a cold bitch.
Anyway, I could go on for years about how important Matt Good is to how I craft songs and think about many issues that plague our society. He never comes with complaints...Just points out what's fucked and gives solutions and brilliant social commentary.
Here are a few of my favorites, acoustically. How else does one get fancy?
"Empty Road": "Avalanche": "Long Way Down" at home...
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:
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.
This owns you. I need not rave about Clutch, as they rock way too hard to spend precious time talking about them. Watch this clip from 2004 of the '95 classic "Tight Like That". You're welcome.
Actually, get "Get Damned", the new LP from The Agony Scene. A good band that may have just become great. I used to think of them as Zao Jr. (and I still kinda do), but this new CD just rips shit apart. I know, it's Metalcore or whatever term you want to call it, but it's a seriously solid record.
They have what I like to call the "Sparta Syndrome". This is when a band makes one record for a label, then switches to another for release #2, then another for release #3...and so on. Clutch has this disease as well. The Agony Scene were bunched into Christian territory on Solid State, then pushed as a Spineshank replacement at Roadrunner, and have now found a proper home at Century Media, a label that supports lifer bands and true metal.
In all honesty, I thought this record would just be decent. The drummer is as solid as they come, the production is stellar, the artwork and packaging are inventive and detailed...and the record simply slays. It's thrash for 2007. Bands like this, Himsa, Demon Hunter and A Life Once Lost (who's new record is unbefuckingleavable) that are taking metal back and not giving a fuck about trends, fashion or mainstream recognition.
Zao Jr...Maybe, but until those dudes get back in the studio, The Agony Scene is more than a seat filler. Way more.
Don't fool yourself, Cake is metal. No, not in the sense that they wear skintight black (faded) jeans tucked into pristine white hi-tops with big tongues and an Overkill t-shirt. They're more metal in the way that they just don't give a shit and never follow trends. They're basically the Pro-Pain of the AltCountryBonarooHippieSmellypeople World. Same record every time, but I'll be damned if I don't have all of em!
I'm on their mailing list, which is mostly politics and such. Hey, I hate Bush too. Most good musicians do. Anyway, us list members got the opportunity to pre-order their then-upcoming B-Sides and Rarities disc, wonderfully titled B-Sides and Rarities. It was only after I saw it used at Permanent Records in Brooklyn a few weeks back, that I even remembered I ordered the damn thing in the first place.
Well it arrived last week and I just got around to listening to it today. The album flows like a regular full-length (which only a few rarities comps can say, ie: Life Of Agony's "1989-1999, Megadeth's Japanese import of "Hidden Treasures", Clutch's "A Slow Hole To China") and proves just how metal they are. The disc kicks off with a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs". Best cover of "War Pigs" ever, and Faith No More is my favorite band. Their cover doesn't hold a candle to this. It's done in the traditional Cake way: 70's easy rock drum sound, thumping basslines, retro guitar licks and a trumpet solo to take the place of Mr. Iommi. Blashphomy some might say. Fuck them. This rules. I thought it might suck, but it blew me away.
Cake has always been consistant. Some records are better than others (Best: Fashion Nugget, Comfort Eagle) but they don't ever let down and they always put just enough sex, humor and underappreciated musicianship into their songs.
They did a fan video contest for "War Pigs". This my favorite one so far: And the classic "Friend Is a Four Letter Word" clip...
No, not another post about what I'm wearing today, although my pants are fantastic. Going to see the one and only Clutch tonight at the best venue in NYC, The Bowery Ballroom. If you've never seen the mighty Clutch live, you are missing out on one of the many reasons why they are one of the only pure rock n' roll bands left on this planet.
I've seen them just jam for an hour and say goodnight while opening for Limp Bizkit in 1998. I've seen them play for three hours, only playing songs from recent albums. I don't know what the hell to expect tonight. Who cares. It promises to rock. For the little money I have, I'd say "Spacegrass" is one of the most badass songs, ever.
Check out all of their albums right now. For a beginner, I'd start with their self-titled LP (1995) and then move onward to 2004's "Blast Tyrant". This year's "From Beale Street To Oblivion" is as solid as rock gets, boasting tons of bluesy riffs and groove-laden drumming, all whilist rocking your goddamn socks off.
The Mob Goes Wild. Indeed. Bam Margera directed the video. It's the best thing he will ever do.
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. 
