Name: Clutch

Genre: Metal, Rock

Formed: 1990

At the Webster Theatre: 09/12/2009

Show Info: Doors: 7:30pm | Buy Tickets

Origin: Germantown, Maryland

Website: pro-rock.com

Myspace Page: /clutchband

Every so often you come across a band that’s so unique and every album is so refreshing that you forget just how long they’ve been around. Where heavy music is concerned the perfect example is Maryland’s Clutch. It’s hard to believe but these purveyors of blues-infused rock N’ metal have been kicking ass since 1991. Yet after almost twenty years of rocking out, these good ol’ boys show absolutely no signs of slowing down.

Very few bands know the true meaning of experimentation and expanding boundaries when it comes to their music, but Clutch are the exact opposite. In fact over the course of nine studio albums fans of come to expect a certain level of experimentation wrapped in a shroud of rock bombast. Their latest offering, 2009’s Strange Cousins from the West is no exception. Although it’s a more stripped down effort than previous releases from this decade it’s still a monster of a record that will leave kids across the world trying to replicate it in their garages and basements. Vocalist Neil Fallon continues to amaze with his ingenuity and range; his voice being an instrument all its own. Guitarist Tim Sult continues to write riffs that would make giants like Iommi and Page jealous, while the rhythm section of Jean-Paul Gaster on drums and Dan Maines on bass is one of the most underrated in all of music.

Where Clutch are really at their best though is on the live stage. Someone once told me that a band was only as good as their live show. If that is really true then Clutch are one of the best band sin the world, bar none. The energy and focus they put into ripping apart your local club or festival and upstaging every other band is ingenious. To this day they are the only band this music fan has ever seen open for Slayer and get an equal ovation as the thrash metal gods. Anyone who professes to be a metal fan should find that highly impressive. This Saturday, September 12, Clutch will once again grace the main stage at Hartford’s Webster Theater. Those who missed them the last time they came through town a couple years ago are strongly urged to make the trip out this time around.

Fans are also strongly urged to show up early and take in the openers for this tour, but specifically main support act Wino. Fronted by Scott “Wino” Weinrich, Wino is an existential journey through close to 30 years of underground rock history. After fronting some of the greatest doom metal/stoner rock acts of all time – The Obsessed, St. Vitus, Spirit Caravan and the Hidden Hand – Wino has put his name to his newest project and delivered another slab of down-tuned, crushing stoner rock. Well worth the early entry indeed.