Clutch - Strange Cousins from the West
 

this marks the bands first release on their own label 'Weathermaker Music'. i had high hopes for this disc, especially with the creative freedom they provided for themselves. instead, they ditch the organist that added nice textures to their sound on their last discs, strip down the guitars even more and basically release a meandering platform of watered down blues metal for a paranoid preacher / freeman / black's law activist.

conspiracy theorists worldwide will love this album, anyone with a clue will get a headache from rolling their eyes so much.

i'm left horribly disappointed.

when i saw the thread, i was like :D, but now i'm like :(


but yeah, there was a part of me that wanted to love this album as well, instead while i was satisfied musically, it didn't really go as far musically as i wanted it to, like it had on a cd like Robot Hive/Exodus.

still, there's plenty of songs that i loved/will still love to this day (Motherless Child, Struck Down, Algo Ha Cambiado, Freakonamics).


and i still love Neil Fallon's lyrical work, how almost spastic and paranoid it all is while being clever and witty.

sorry dude, i know they're one of your favourites but i can't get behind this album. i'll have to give it another listen or two. musically there are a few tracks that piqued my interest. though i'm really surprised they chose to strip down and minimize their sound now that they had full control.

as for Fallon's vocals, i found the paranoid social commentary to overshadow any lyrical wit present. by the end of the album i found it overbearing. there's no feeling of having his tongue firmly planted in his cheek with his delivery either, i'm not getting the feeling that he's joking about his belief that a supernatural act will change the future sooner than later. or how the government is keeping him down or coming after him.

what i liked most about their older material was the lyrical depth present. there was always some sort of socio-political message present but it was always hidden way deep inside some odd little story and now those metaphors have been stripped to the bone if used at all.

i guess it's a departure for the band, and i guess it's up to me to choose whether or not i tag along. at this point i'm not rushing to be first in line along their new path.

Way late here but...