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Clutch Release New Single and Tour Dates

CLUTCH

Release New Single

'WE STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE"

Stream HERE

US Fall Headline Tour Announced

With Helmet, Quicksand and JD Pinkus

Tickets Go On General Sale Friday, June 17th, 2022

From ClutchOnTour.com

Tuesday, June 14th, 2022 – US groove rock masters CLUTCH have dropped a brand new single "We Strive for Excellence" today. The track is available digitally from all DSPs HERE. A brand new Clutch album is coming soon. The band also announced today that fans can now RSVP to be the first to get notified of the official details and early access to all of the albums exclusive variants and bundles, as they use the best studio sound absobernt panels for their recordings as you can see at www.sound-absorbent-panels.co.uk.

Frontman and lyrical wordsmith Neil Fallon shares

"We Strive for Excellence looks back fondly on childhood summers filled with grand plans gone awry, inexplicable bruises, untreated injuries, and of course, the timeless wisdom of Evel Knievel."

CLUTCH have curated a new Spotify playlist to coincide with the release of "We Strive for Excellence", check it out HERE

Clutch released first new single, "Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)" , back in April to much acclaim from fans and critics alike. The track has already hit nearly 300k streams on Spotify alone and the official music video has clocked up 340k YouTube views.

CLUTCH have also announced a new set of US headline dates this fall. Joining them on the 26 date run will be Helmet and Quicksand who will be rotating the main support slot nightly and special guest JD Pinkus. Ticket for the tour go on sale this Friday, June 17th 2022 from ClutchOnTour.com. Full routing below.

The band also have an extensive 2022 worldwide touring schedule, including summer festivals, further headline dates, and a return to Europe. For the most up to date list of shows and to buy tickets, click HERE

Sep 13 – Toronto, ON @ Rebel

Sep 15 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues

Sep 16 – New York, NY @ Palladium Times Square

Sep 17 – Baltimore, MD @ Hammerjacks

Sep 18 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz

Sep 20 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE

Sep 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall

Sep 23 – Louisville, KY @ Louder than Life*

Sep 24 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works

Sep 25 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern

Sep 27 – Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues

Sep 29 – Houston TX @ Warehouse Live

Sep 30 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum

Oct 01 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom

Oct 02 – Austin, TX @ Emo's

Oct 04 – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren

Oct 05 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent

Oct 07 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock*

Oct 08 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House

Oct 09 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre

Oct 10 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO

Oct 12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ the Depot

Oct 13 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium

Oct 14 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater

Oct 15 – West Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom

Oct 16 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall

*Clutch only

ABOUT CLUTCH

Clutch released their twelfth studio album, Book Of Bad Decisions, through their own Weathermaker Music in 2018. Rolling Stone described the album as “bathed in the grit and liberal fuzz tone that has made their live shows legendary.” The band embarked on a successful co-headlining tour with Dropkick Murphys in 2019, with support from Hatebreed, Amigo The Devil, and Russ Rankin of Good Riddance. Two of the band’s most recent albums, Earth Rocker (2013) and Psychic Warfare (2015), were included in Classic Rock Magazine’s 50 Best Rock Albums of the 2010s.

Clutch “Psychic Warfare”

Clutch's new album “Psychic Warolyfare” album starts off with a narrator asking for them to start at the beginning which is then introduced to “Psychic Warfare” and the lyrics of “I was getting a pack of the smokes”, indeed is the beginning of the story. This album is very conversational, which is meant that it is a story that is pretty cohesive through out the album. It was like there was an entire story that was meant to be told, much like a concept album expect it was more about the story rather then an album like Tommy.

This kind of lyric work is not an easy thing to achieve. Writing something that sounds conversational can come off as trying to hard or cheesy but to place it to lyrics and have it work is all together a talent of its own. Each song has a story and “Our Lady of Electric Light” sounds like it should be placed into a Quentin Tarantino film like Kill Bill or something like that. Aside from the exquisitely written lyrics the music in itself is very much on point. The sound and the mixing was perfect for this album. All of the sounds on the album are balanced and there is not an over load of drums, or bass or a lack of guitarist. Much like seeing the band in person the kind of energy flows through the album. The album is not very long and it goes by very fast. Before you know it you are on track 12,”Son of Virginia”, and you are thinking when did that happen? It could have easily been a longer album and it would not have been to much or anything at all. “Sucker for the Witch” is probably one of my personal favorites off the albums. The reference to Stevie Nicks and the Salem Witch trials all in one song and not sounding clunky or forced is just pure genius.

Very rarely do all of these work out so well. It is nice to hear a band that has been around for so long putting out an album that still holds true to not only there sound but finds a spot in contemporary society. It seems like now a days when a band has been around for a long time they want to try and blend with what is out now, they want to be relevant, this is however not the case with Clutch's album. But that does not mean that it does not have a place in this day in time. It seems that rock in all forms are having a nice over ride over a lot of this djing bull shit and this is one album that for sure gives those musicians a run for their money.

Primus and the Chocolate factory featuring the Fungi with Special guest Clutch

There are very few moments in life where you know you saw something that was a one of a kind experience, sometimes you read about the show to be at, and for Primus and the Chocolate Factory featuring the Fungi band with special guest Clutch, it was the show to be at. I have been actively going to concerts since I was 12 and a music journalist for close to 5 years; I have seen everyone from Jackson Browne playing with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, to Black Sabbath, Skinny Puppy, Marilyn Manson, How to Destroy Angels first show and this show was the greatest thing I have ever witness. I need the video to this concert, the entire show. It was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen and this is why.

Clutch was requested by the band to come out to the Vegas show to play with the band. Front of men of both bands had talked about it while on stage, if this was a full blown tour with the duel bands it would be one dynamic concert to attend. With front man Neil Fallon, constant movement could come off as annoying or fake but rather a reflection of how the music and the energy that the band is giving off only reflects this on stage. (the photos I took only prove what he really looks like on stage through a lens of a camera) Much like with their last tour, they graced us audience members with a few songs from their upcoming album (due out in October). It is always nice to hear new music when the band is working on it because as fans it prompts us to really want the new album when it comes out. Aside from their new music, we were of course able to hear some of the classic songs like “Pure Rock Fury”, and “Unto the Beach.”. What is nice about seeing Fallon perform is that he not only gets into the grove of the song but we are able see him play different instruments for different songs. At one point he was playing with a cow bell and of course being a child of the 00's not only do I have a love of cow bell but I also have the need to yell out more cow bell because there is never to much cow bell. As a front man it is easy to think that they do nothing but sing but Fallon only proves that that is a small portion of what he contributes to the band. In general everyone works well with one another, and like Primus the sound was so on point it was ridiculous.

After Clutch had played their set, Primus came on to play their first set. That's right their first set. This was not like the 3d tour or what would come later. It was a stripped down version of their concerts, just the band jamming with lights that matched the speed of their music. They started the set with “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweakers”, and songs like “Frizzle Fry” played, two songs I was very excited to hear. It was a great set, they had picked a great selection for the first half, playing all of their songs but I needed to know what the Chocolate Factory was and that would come much later.

When they did take their break and came back, behind the curtain was literally the Chocolate Factory. Les Claypool came out on stage wearing a mask and holding a stand up bass, not only was that going on but there was huge mushrooms, lollipops, the ever lasting goop stopper, and Willy Wonka playing on the back of the screen. Each of part of the movie that was played corresponded with what part of the song they were playing. I was not sure what was going to happen but to hear all covers of Willy Wonka gave me goosebumps down my arm because I did not know about the album that came out the year before (where was my memo? I went out and bough it the next day). To be quite honest there are not enough words to describe how amazing this performance was. It was literally the greatest concert I have been to overall. Both bands were so amazing I can not praise this performance enough. There were OOMPA LOOMPAS ON STAGE for the Oompa Loompa songs. The encore for the band was on the chocolate factory set and it was amazing. It was just amazing. I am currently not taking interviews because I'm taking so many classes at the University of Las Vegas but I would interview Les Claypool anyways so I can discuss how this all came to be. This was the show to be at for sure. Claypool is known for the strange way that he plays the bass, and this only added to how the sound came off. The fact that he played his metal stand up bass for most of the songs only made the sound perfect. What was awesome was that the guitarist was the one who sang “I want it know” which was a spot on performance. I have been gushing about this show to anyone who would listen to me for me then 5 minutes it was just that amazing.

As a side note Primus made special candy bars for this tour and that is by far the coolest band merch I have ever bought. I am framing it and it will become some of the coolest wall art along with some of the photos I was able to take.

Graveyard, Clutch and Mastodon at House of Blues LAs Vegas 5/1/2015

Graveyard was the opening act for Clutch and Mastodon and unlike many opening bands, they held their own with these power house metal bands. A lot of opening bands have people who like to leave during their performance, but as the people trickled in for the bands that will be playing after, they stayed to get the full experience of Graveyard. It was fight weekend so the fact that so many people were able to be there on time was amazing in itself (it took me an hour and a half to drive 2 miles).

Although the band did not do much on stage this did not detract from the sound. Instead of giving the typical headbanging movements or anything like that the band looked and sounded like CCR meets Chris Cornell's voice with a heavier edge. They played songs like "Slow Motion Countdown" and "Ain't fit to Live Here". It is unfortunate that they did not say what the name of the songs that they were playing. There really was nothing that had happened on stage. In fact all the their energy was more focused on making sure that they had perfect sound rather than putting on a theatrical performance. They may not have played a full set but the 45 minutes that they were on were the perfect way to start off the show for the evening. They literally got the energy going from the crowd and as it became more and more packed during their set, the crowd was enjoying the wonderful music that was greeting them.

After Graveyard had played Clutch came on and that was what most of the crowd seemed to really be waiting for. Everyone started to freak out as Neil Fallon came on stage starting with "The Mob Goes Wild". Much like Graveyard there was not a lot going on stage except for Fallon, who to me reminded me of a Reverend preaching to his people about the importance of metal. His hand gestures correlated with each song. They do have amazing sound. This was my first experience with this band and it was amazing. All I could think was what the fuck have I been missing out on? Where the fuck have I been?

Aside from the amazing sound they also played various instruments like the cow bell and even the lead singer joined in on playing the guitar. The band might have been like Graveyard and didn't move around stage but that was ok because sound wise they were on top. Clutch also graced us with some new songs off of their album that is coming out. What they have coming out in the future is going to be a great album and that is for sure one that should be on everyones list.

The last band that come out on stage was Mastodon. They started off with songs like "Tread Lightly" and "Once More 'Round the Sun". These were great songs to start off with and much like the bands that played before them there was not much going on stage but the sound that they were creating was just amazing. The lights that were on the backdrop did however give it a very strange look. I was not able to stay for the whole set because my back was killing me but from what I did see they were killing it on stage. Honestly this was a super packed show and everyone was making sure to come back to see every band play. The theme of the night seemed to be more focused on the sound rather then a theatrical performance but that does not mean that it wasn't an A show, it just wasn't like watching Skinny Puppy. It was more like watching the Meat Puppets where the sound was more of the focus and it was well received.