Exclaim
6/98

Elephant Riders continues Clutch's progression away from the chunky
overdriven riffs and barking vocals formula of their first EP, toward
more melodic, complex and psychadelically experimental sounds. Although
I love their last record and I dig TSL, I found Neil Fallon's rythmic
growl developed a certain hypnotic monotony two-thirds of the way
through those discs. His bad motha fuckin'  roar makes unforgettable
appearances on ER, but he also mixes things up in term of textures. The
big-ass riffs are still there, but now Clutch are fucking around with
time signatures and melodically dynamic variations. If you loved the raw
Sabbath-inflected onslaught of their self-titled record, you might not
dig the Southern progressive-aggressive vibe of this disc. Those willing
to grow with the band, and those who like heavy, soulfully sophisticated
blues-based grooves,and cleverly skewed lyrics accompanying their
grimacing air guitar freak outs will love ER. And well they should- 
Clutch is one the best aggressive groove bands out right now, live and
on disc. - Matt McMillan