Not to nitpick but why did you add "for the sake of being abrasive"?
Are they now less abrasive for the sake of it? Do you feel that they are more "honest" musicians now or something?
(full disclosure: I rarely ever listen to Clutch but when I do it's the "abrasive" stuff)

I have never heard of the Clutch. Please tell me the more about him.

Did I miss something?

I know this is an old post, but I just have to say that I adore their first album, and the next handful are great too. I was introduced to them with their blues stuff, but I stayed because of "Binge and Purge."

I've never heard that before. Thanks for posting it. Really great track. I'm never a fan of live tracks because the nuance gets lost in bad recordings and reverb but I'm looking up the studio track now.

Any other recommendations?

**** yes I've heard of Clutch. Bumping this thread because MB's straight up sleeping on the greatest rock band of this millennium. Shame!

Been spinning Blast Tyrant a lot lately. So much swagger that my dick grew 3 inches bringing me up to a respectable 4 and a half. Saying how godly they are live is a cliche at this point but I'll throw it out there again in case you're uninformed.

Can’t say I’ve heard of them but a cursory listen reminds me of a cross between Sabbath and Deep Purple fronted by a cross between Beefheart and Zappa. None of which is a bad thing. Not especially hyped but I will certainly delve into their catalogue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3XEIOqWtnA

I love Clutch but I hear they don't play anything off their first like 4 albums anymore which really sucks cause those are some of their best

A decade later and I'm pretty ashamed of this statement :shycouch:

Maybe there's less aggression in my life. Time does funny things. I still wouldn't call PRF their best album but it certainly has more going for it than the title track.

As for the evolution of the band, when asked what's Clutch - my answer is Blues. Not blues rock / white-guy-wanking-a-guitar-in-Eminor. The Blues. Man screaming about the ills of the world he's forced to face.

Yes, they have some straight rock albums - Earth Rocker is solid rock start to finish. But Psychic Warfare and most recently The Book of Bad Decisions are very much a return to form to the bluesy jam based reflections on the world. I don't think Neil and the boys have really peaked in this current phase either. The next one should be really good.

They're one of the only bands where I will purchase a new album without hearing anything first.