Clutch throws a curveball on their new album, Sunrise On Slaughter Beach.

The groove metal band from Maryland has moved into its fourth decade. Sunrise On Slaughter Beach is the thirteenth studio album they have created, and there has never been a dull moment in the band’s history. Tim Sult, Dan Maines, Jean-Paul Gaster, and frontman Neil Fallon have crafted yet another unforgettable record that will be immediately embraced by fans.

But curveball, I say? Here is a widely quoted comment by Fallon on the new record. I saw this first at Lambgoat. “Sunrise on Slaughter Beach is a weird record. It was, by and large, a studio creation. It reminds me a lot of Jam Room in that regard. Under normal circumstances we may not have entertained the idea of using vibraphones, theremin, or backing vocals (thank you Deborah Bond and Frenchie Davis!). But as they say, necessity is the mother of weirdness.”

Clutch has never been a stranger to innovation and exploration. For example, “In Walks Barbarella” from their previous album The Book Of Bad Decisions was a surprise with its prominent use of brass. The extensions on the new record Fallon talks about are interesting and entertaining, and there is never any confusion about which band is playing when you listen to the set. Clutch is one of my favorite bands, and they have been since the first time I heard them. I have seen them live more than any other act, and I plan to keep that metric going until the end.

Sunrise on Slaughter Beach is out now in all its weirdness through Weathermaker Music. You can stream it anywhere, and you can buy it at the links below. Where will this one land in the annals of the band? That’s hard to say. What I do know is that when I drop the needle on any Clutch record, I never pick it up until it has run its course, and that is a fact. Sunrise on Slaughter Beach is no exception. I could go on and on about each and every track on the new one, but I am not going to do that. Instead, I insist that you go listen to it. The review will write itself in your head. Highly recommended.

Photos by Wayne Edwards.

Links.

Clutch website, https://www.pro-rock.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Clutchband/

Weathermaker Music, http://www.weathermakermusic.com/