Clutch - Burning Beard

My friend Nathan recently passed this band off to me. At first listen I recognized that this wasn't his usual taste of metal and mayhem. This band sounded like they had grown up on Anthrax and Iron Maiden. But then all of the sudden they decided to inject the blues. It is there and then it isn't. The touch of stop, start rhythms combined with the deep range of singer Neil Fallon creates a backdrop of a Southern style that builds with each song. If Lynerd Skynard had been a hard rock\metal funk band, this would have been their sound. Their album Robot Hive\Exodus is a perfect example of that. They have a new album entitled From Beale Street to Oblivion coming out in May of this year. So we will see if they decide to continue this highway into the South. Here is the video for the lead single off of that album called "Burning Beard".

Clutch is a musical group from Germantown, Maryland in the United States. They have been playing together since the early 1990s, producing records at a rate of approximately one per year. They released their first EP, Pitchfork, in October of 1991.

Though each of Clutch's albums is marked by its own distinct and cohesive sound, the band's musical style may be said to have migrated from metallic hardcore punk to hard rock over the course of its career, with strong blues influences becoming more prominent in later years. As vocalist/guitarist Neil Fallon notes, "We've been really conscious of the blues over the last couple of years, and you have to admit that the blues really is the source of all rock and roll. I think it's important to go to the source to find that inspiration." Clutch has also been categorized as stoner rock; however, its blues influences and unusual lyrical style make the group difficult to classify.

Despite having signed with major record labels in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Clutch has not pushed for mainstream popularity, and their songs rarely receive airtime on commercial radio or music television. Instead they have accumulated a devoted cult following. This following has been cultivated by an ambitious touring schedule; the band has often performed more than 100 shows per year.