Metal underground heroes Clutch on tour with new album

Clutch has been kings of the metal underground for years by this point – on the strength of such past classic as ‘The Elephant Riders’ and ‘Pure Rock Fury.’ But with their latest release, ‘From Beale Street to Oblivion,’ the quintet – which includes oft-bearded singer Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster, and organist Mick Schauer – Clutch is threatening to infiltrate the mainstream full-on. And it’s not that the group has softened their sound at all, it’s just that it’s arguably the band’s strongest album from front-to-back. Produced by Joe Barresi (who has worked with Kyuss, Tool, Melvins, Queens Of The Stone Age, etc.), the twelve track album touches upon a myriad of hard rock styles – stoner rock, southern rock, blues metal, and plenty of tasty jams.

“This is probably the most ‘live’ album we have recorded,” enthuses Fallon about ‘Beale Street.’ “We went out for a few weeks, and played the music on the road. So, when we went into the studio, all of us knew exactly what was going to happen - a first for Clutch. I don’t know why we haven’t done it this way all along; it’s so much easier. We also recorded the basic tracks directly onto tape. Nothing digital in there at all. We haven’t done that since ‘The Elephant Riders’. And this record has a few more bluesy elements than has been the case in the past, but nothing so blatant that it could be called alien to what we do.”

One of rock’s most hard-working live bands, Clutch will be supporting the March 27th release of the album (which is their third for the DRT label) with a world tour – including U.S., European, and Australian dates, as well as an appearance at the mammoth Bonnaroo Festival on June 14th.

“Musically, we’ve become much more of a rock ’n’ roll band now, as opposed to being a metal or hardcore one,” says Fallon. “Our style is riff oriented, with a swing. It’s never been a calculated move; we just followed our instinct, and that is leading us closer to those bands to whom we listened in our childhood. Bands which are now termed as ‘classic rock’.”

With ‘From Beale Street to Oblivion,’ it won’t be long until Fallon and company are mentioned in the same breath as their classic rock heroes.

CLUTCH "FROM BEALS STREET TO OBLIVION" confirmed tracklisting:
1. You Can't Stop Progress 2:40
2. Power Player 3:05
3. The Devil & Me 3:55
4. White's Ferry 5:23
5. Child of the City 3:51
6. Electric Worry 5:15
7. One Eye Dollar 1:24
8. Rapture of Riddley Walker 4:08
9. When Vegans Attack 4:54
10. Opossum Minister 4:27
11. Black Umbrella 4:05
12. Mr. Shiny Cadillackness 5:11

LIVE DATES INCLUDE:
Wed 03/14/07 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
Thu 03/15/07 Detroit, MI State Theatre
Fri 03/16/07 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room
Sat 03/17/07 Toronto, ON Opera House
Mon 03/19/07 Cambridge, MA Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub
Tue 03/20/07 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Wed 03/21/07 Clifton Park, NY Northern Lights
Fri 03/23/07 Norfolk, VA The NorVa
Sat 03/24/07 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall / The Casbah
Tue 04/03/07 Stoke, UK The Sugarmill
Wed 04/04/07 Manchester, UK Academy 3
Thu 04/05/07 Glasgow, UK The Garage
Fri 04/06/07 Birmingham, UK Barfly
Sat 04/07/07 Oxford, UK Zodiac
Sun 04/08/07 London, UK Mean Fiddler
Tue 04/10/07 Portsmouth, UK Wedgewood Rooms
Wed 04/11/07 Northampton, UK Soundhaus
Thu 04/12/07 Nottingham, UK Rock City
Fri 04/13/07 Newport, UK T.J.'s
Sat 04/14/07 Colchester, UK Colchester Arts Centre
Sun 04/15/07 Sheffield, UK Corporation
Tue 04/17/07 Ghent, BEL Charlatan
Wed 04/18/07 Cologne, GER Underground
Thu 04/19/07 Bochum, GER Matrix
Fri 04/20/07 Tilburg, NET Roadburn Festival
Sat 04/21/07 Hamburg, GER Molotow
Sun 04/22/07 Malmo, SWE KB Club
Mon 04/23/07 Stockholm, SWE Debaser
Wed 04/25/07 Helsinki, FIN Nosturi
Fri 04/27/07 Oslo, NOR Oslo Spektrum Arena ANS
Sat 04/28/07 Goteborg, SWE Sticky Fingers
Sun 04/29/07 Copenhagen, DEN The Rock
Fri 05/11/07 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sat 05/12/07 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
Sun 05/13/07 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Tues 05/15/07 Cincinnati, OH Bogarts
Thurs 05/17/07 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Fri 05/18/07 Lawrence, KS Granada
Sat 05/19/07 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
Mon 05/21/07 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
Wed 05/23/07 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Thurs 05/24/07 Los Angeles, CA Roxy Theatre
Fri 05/25/07 Los Angeles, CA Roxy Theatre
Sat 05/26/07 San Diego, CA Brick by Brick
Thurs 05/31/07 Brisbane, AUS The Zoo
Fri 06/01/07 Sydney, AUS The Metro
Sat 06/02/07 Melbourne, AUS Hi Fi
Thurs 06/14/07 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival

For more information, visit Clutch’s official website: www.pro-rock.com