REVIEW: CLUTCH – “Sunrise Of Slaughter Beach”

Clutch are back with their thirteenth album, ‘Sunrise of Slaughter Beach’. It’s been an unusually long wait between releases; almost four years. Has the long, tour-less break due to the pandemic caused Clutch to lose their fire? 

“Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)” quickly puts those fears to rest. Continuing in the vein of “X-Ray Visions”, it’s a high-octane sci-fi blast that immediately grabs your attention and never let’s go. 

The title track “Sunrise on Slaughter Beach” takes a different direction. Its groove laden mid-tempo riffing hearkens back to ‘From Beale Street to Oblivion’. It’s here that the excellent production starts to shine, it’s clear enough that you can really hear the sheer power with which drummer Jean-Paul Gaster attacks his drum kit. 

“Mountain of Bone” puts the roll in rock and roll, rumbling along at a steady pace led by bassist Dan Maine’s impeccable sense of rhythm. Good bass lines are often overlooked in the world of rock and metal, so I’m glad to see that Clutch’s songwriting gives Maine’s plenty of time to shine. 

It wouldn’t be fair to call “Nosferatu Madre” and “Mercy Brown” a mid-album slump, but the pace does begin to slow. While solid songs, Clutch has trod this ground many times before, and done so with more vigor. With that said, the female backing vocals in “Mercy Brown” are an interesting addition, making it more memorable than it would be otherwise. 

“We Strive for Excellence” ups the tempo and gives vocalist Neil Fallon the chance to let loose with his trademark all-American preacher-meets-southern rocker style. The last few albums have been a tour de force from Fallon and despite four years between albums, he doesn’t miss a beat. 

“Skeletons on Mars” and “Three Golden Horns” nicely round out the album with a classic dash of the more loose, almost jam-style sound that the band are known for. Finally, “Jackhammer our Names” finishes things off with a sombre dirge-esque conclusion. It’s one of Fallon’s best performances of his entire career but is let down a little by a distracting choice of effects pedals on the guitar.

It’s impressive that the band managed to fit so many stylistic shifts in such a short album while still sounding cohesive. At only nine songs and 33 minutes, it’s a quick, tight experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s a better decision to keep things tight; to my ears, the previous album ‘Book of Bad Decisions’ could have used a bit more of a trim. 

Clutch’s ‘Sunrise on Slaughter Beach’ is an enjoyable listen and easy to recommend. While there’s a lot of diversity and occasional experimental additions, it’s still going to sound very familiar to anyone who’s listened to Clutch before. For most, that’s not going to be a problem; the band has its own unique sound, and 13 albums in, it’s still as great as it was in the early 90s.