ALBUM REVIEW: Sunrise On Slaughter Beach – Clutch

You won’t find a band cooler than CLUTCH. You can look, but you won’t. The Maryland hard rockers have been doing their thing for over three decades now; same core line-up, no long breaks or hiatuses, and not a single misstep in sight. As such, there really isn’t any room for the kind of superstitious shithousery one might want to throw around as the four-piece gear up to release album number 13. Unlucky for some, but definitely not for CLUTCH, Sunrise On Slaughter Beach feels like something of a done deal before you’ve even hit play.

Of course, the band still need to deliver here; and deliver they do. They make it seem so effortless too, reeling off riff-driven bangers like the opening pair of Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone) and Slaughter Beach with unshakable and unmistakable swagger and groove. Tracks like these are CLUTCH‘s bread and butter, and we get many more prime examples before Sunrise On Slaughter Beach‘s 33 minutes are through. Nosferatu Madre arguably out-riffs them all, while We Strive For Excellence provides not only another barnstormer but also a title that may well summarise this band’s music better than any review ever could.

Inescapable, as ever, is vocalist Neil Fallon. One of the most enigmatic lyricists ever to grace the world of rock music, or as he puts it himself in the aforementioned Red Alert… “The greatest living science fiction writer in the world”, Sunrise On Slaughter Beach finds the frontman in his usual fine form. Rarely do we have any idea what he’s actually on about, but with lines like “Hand in hand we walk together along slaughter beach” and “A dynasty of one ascends to the throne” he continues to imbue CLUTCH‘s music with the kind of esoteric badassery that has set them apart from so many of their peers for so long now.

There is more to this album than riffs and one-liners though. Fifth track Mercy Brown takes pride of place as the record’s centrepiece, and also its longest and most dynamic offering. There’s a bit of a moody, old West feel to this one, not to mention a rousing, epic chorus and backing vocals from Deborah Bond and Frenchie Davis that even tip it towards hallowed Dark Side Of The Moon territory for a nailed-on highlight. Elsewhere, Skeletons On Mars throws up arguably the most psychedelic break on here – replete with some wild theremin work courtesy of J. Robbins in another first for the band – while Jackhammer Our Names centres on steady toms and a sulking bassline to bring the record to a dark and hypnotic close.

This is the part where we’d usually say something about how surprising it is that a band who’ve been in the game this long can keep delivering material of this calibre; but in CLUTCH’s case it really is no surprise at all. In the interest of balance, this isn’t exactly the most out-there departure from the path they’ve trodden since at least as far back as 2013’s Earth Rocker, but they haven’t stood stock still either. Throwing in new elements like the female backing vocals and theremin – as well as Gaster’s vibraphone contributions – is proof enough of a band still looking to move forward, even if this does tick all the boxes fans were hoping it would. This record sounds rich and warm, it flows swiftly and smoothly, and ultimately sees CLUTCH continue to nail their life-long pursuit of excellence.

Rating: 8/10

Sunrise On Slaughter Beach is set for release on September 16th via Weathermaker Music.

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