Clutch: Sunrise on Slaughter Beach

Short and sweet, Clutch's latest platter of heavy, groove-laden sounds barely tops the 35-minute mark, but that just means all killer and no filler from this veteran band who just never seem to disappoint. From the opening barrage of riffs of "Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)," you instantly know you are in for a hard-hitting ride with these 9 new songs, and it's one winner after another here. The title track is a lean, mean, mid-paced blues metal thumper led as always by Neil Fallon's snarling vocals and the expert riffage courtesy of guitarist Tim Sult (is it me, or does this song remind a little of Black Country Communion?), "Mountain of Bone" is particularly sludgy and crushing, Jean-Paul Gaster's drums pounding every step of the way, which gives way to the spooky, New Orleans soaked horror rock of "Nosferatu Madre," another meaty, heavy number on an already rock solid album.

Things get all moody and bluesy on the slow burn of "Mercy Brown", Neil showing off his soulful side on this one before the band kicks in with some booming Sabbath-meets-Zeppelin fury at the mid-way point. "We Strive for Excellence" is a typical high-energy Clutch banger, riffs & rhythms pummeling and Neil snarling all over the top of it all, as is "Skeletons of Mars", an angry, pulverizing rocker with tremendous groove. The album concludes with the frantic "Three Golden Horns" and slow, moody closer "Jackhammer Our Names", the latter more of a haunting blues track that differs greatly from the rest of the album, but it's an effective way to end this mostly uptempo and heavy album.

While many longtime bands occasionally stumble and fumble as they get farther along in their career, Clutch have managed a consistency throughout their catalog that's hard to ignore. Sunrise on Slaughter Beach is another must-hear album from them in a discography of gems.

Track Listing
1) Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)
2) Slaughter Beach
3) Mountain of Bone
4) Nosferatu Madre
5) Mercy Brown
6) We Strive for Excellence
7) Skeletons on Mars
8) Three Golden Horns
9) Jackhammer Our Names

Added: October 14th 2022
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 599
Language: english

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