Clutch

With the release of their highly anticipated 12th studio album, the gloriously titled “Book of Bad Decisions”, it would be easy to suggest that legendary Maryland rockers Clutch have made their finest record to date.

This may even be true. You see, the thing about Clutch is that ever since their 1993 debut Transnational Speedway League they've been in the business of writing stone cold classics, and even the most rabid fan would have trouble picking just one. “Book of Bad Decisions” won't make that task any easier. Rest assured, it's another classic.

“I never go into a record having an idea of how it's gonna sound,” he says. “But after hearing them live, I had an idea of how they could sound. I'm a big live recording fan, so I like when bands play together and I didn't wanna get into that manufacturing a record concept. I wanted it to be real organic.”

Indeed, 'organic' is a word that comes up a lot when talking to Clutch about the new record, Powell taking great care to get guitar tones right and making sure that each song had its own identity.

“I've always loved rock songs that just celebrated rock 'n' roll,” grins Fallon, “but that song was a bit more about the people who come to our shows, that make it as exciting for us as hopefully it is for them.

My favorite shows that I've seen bands do is like going to church, especially when everybody's in sync with each other and you walk out with your jaw on the floor. I feel incredibly grateful that people have walked out of our shows and felt the same way. It's a tip of the hat to them.”

“We're exceptionally lucky to have the fans we have,” Jean-Paul agrees. “They're diehard, and because of that, we take this that much more seriously. We do not take this for granted.

We know that those folks could be anywhere else, and they've chosen to spend the evening at a Clutch show, so we're gonna do the best we can to provide them with the best musical experience we can.

I think that translates to the records, because at the end of the day, all you have is your records. When this whole thing wraps up, those are gonna be the things that go down in history.”