CLUTCH
LIVE FROM THE DOOM SALOON VOLUME 1
Wild, whiskey-steeped rides from below the Mason & Dixon line
IT DOESN’T MATTER how much this world acclimatises to the current events or for how long, things will never sit comfortably with any of us. Thank heavens, therefore, that we can still experience live events, if only online. That said, the 40-minute technical delay gets things off to a wobbly start and opening act SAUL fail to steady the ship. The light show and camera changes are slick but the music – think metalcore crossed with Five Finger Death Punch – gels as well as it sounds, although Wage War delivers a tasty chorus and the notion that, if they can get the balance right, their combination of sounds might just work after all. BLACKTOP MOJO do away with the glitz and glamour of aesthetics, delivering half an hour of quality Southern hard rock from their rehearsal space, a solitary camera angle making the performance a lot more intimate and warm.
As CROWBAR kick into Planets Collide, it’s evident that their Louisiana recording studio might provide a rawer sound, but it still conveys the sheer
power and heaviness that Kirk Windstein and co have been so brilliant over the last 30 years; even the false start to Broken Glass doesn’t undermine their sludge metal fiesta.
CLUTCH have been streaming mini-sets from their ‘Doom Saloon’ on Youtube since the middle of April, but for their first headline show of
2020 they up the ante considerably. Representing every studio album in their hour on screen, they’re as raucous as can be within their confines and
Neil Fallon’s tireless efforts to connect with the virtual audience pays off admirably. Whether it’s deep cuts like
A Shogun Named Marcus or the more recognisable Electric Worry, there isn’t a moment where the energy dips below maximum as rooms across the planet boogie to some of the greatest modern rock songs ever penned. As this is supposedly ‘Volume 1,’the idea that more of these will follow is salivating. A band who are rarely disappointing live, with that arsenal of tunes for everyone to enjoy? Same again please, bartender! ELLIOT LEAVER