Clutch : "Psychic Warfare"

Never really paid a ton of attention to Clutch, but I'll give them a shot today.  There is a more straight up rock feel to them and less of the bouncing , chanting stoner version of nu-metal they came out with in the 90s. The chorus is catchy so it doesn't take long to hear how these guys have made the name for themselves. I'm not blown away, but it is fun party music. There is a pretty straight forward chug like 70s proto-metal on " Firebirds" . The chorus is big and singer Neil Fallon throws his voice around with tons of personality. The bass leads into "Sucker For the Witch" which is the first song that has a similar to swagger that I remember the band having , but it is still more drenched in 70s on this ode to Stevie Nicks.

There is tinge of ZZ-Top to " A Quick Death in Texas". This is no mistake as he says at one point "Forgive me Mr. Gibbons" This song however doesn't impress me as much as the first few. He does return to the more chanted vocal on "Your Love is Incarceration" which has his bluesy bellow calling out over the funkier Texas rock, not what I could call metal, but I don't think this band is invested in being metal. They slow down into more of a western sway for "Our Lady of Electric Light" the guitar leads are very psychedelic. The chorus is not quiet sung but works well for this song which sets itself apart from the blustery blues . I had to go back and check because I thought I was going crazy as the Huntress album I just reviewed had a song called "Noble Savage" on it. This song is upbeat , but nothing really special though I begin to notice Fallon's voice at times sounds like Tom Jones.

There is a better groove to "Behold the Colossus". The lyrics are foolishness about monsters, and I love monsters so me to say it's foolishness means it has no clear purpose. It goes into almost a more country passage where the chorus might go. If you like some of Mastodon's winks in a honky tonk direction, then you will be all over this album. There is a slightly more of a metal vibe to "Decapitation Blues". It is from more a blue ridden Corrosion of Conformity like place. "Son of Virginia " might as well be Lynyrd Skynyrd song. If I smoked pot I am sure I would be more into this kinda thing. These guys are talented and this is of course well put together and preformed, so I'll give it an 8.