BALTIMORE CITY PAPER
6/3/98

Lately critics have been tossing Black Sabbath's name around as a
synonym for "respectable metal".  Alice in Chains, COC, Tool, and Kyuss
have each been crowned the Sabbath of the '90s.  But if there's one band
that truly holds the key to the house that Sabbath built, it's clutch.

Like Sabbath in it's early days, Clutch cannot be easily categorized.
If you define the band as metal, you're wrong.  If you define it as
punk, hardcore, psychedelic, or alternative, you're not getting the
whole picture.  Clutch, without any trace of pretense has evolved into
more than all of those categories put together.

With the Harpers Ferry, W. Va. based quartets new release, The Elephant
Riders, Clutch refines the sound it forged on past efforts such as
Transnational Speedway League (on East West) and the Recent Clutch
(Elektra).  The Sabbath influence in undeniable, especially on the
infectious "Muchas Veces."  But Clutch isn't a group of ripoff artists
just tuning the guitars down and adopting a sludgy tone.

The Elephant Riders' title track and "Eight Times Over Miss October" are
classic Clutch, with their slamming locomotive grooves an Neil Fallon's
frothing-at-the-mouth vocals.  Fan will also delight in bouncy tunes
such as "The Soapmakers," while "The Dragonfly" is so trippy it will get
you high just listening to it.  The band's
bust-in-with-a-can-of-whup-ass approach to songwriting sometimes gives
way to bluesy jams that longtime fans might not appreciate, but this
newfound jamminess yields some pleasant surprises, such as
"Crackerjack"'s trombone section.

Every genre has artists who mine the past for gold.  The blues has Jonny
Lang and Kenny Wayne Sheppard.  Rap has Puff Daddy.  R&B has Maxwell and
D'Angelo.  The members of Clutch are hard rock's '49ers.  The foursome
knows there are more modern ways to get the job done, but all have been
forsaken to preserve a sense of tradition.  For Clutch that tradition
places emphasis on musicianship, songwriting, and keeping to the band's
odd lo-fi sonic personality.  Clutch may follow in Black Sabbath's
leaden footsteps, but is also stomps new musical paths - Larry Nichols