Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West

Published July 30 2009

*=Staff's pick	Motherless Child Struck Down 50 000 Unstoppable Watts* Abraham Lincoln* Minotaur* The Amazing Kreskin Witchdoctor* Let A Poor Man Be* Freakonomics Algo Ha Cambiado

Genre	Heavy Metal/Stoner/Blues	Neil Fallon	Vocals
Tracks	10	Neil Fallon	Guitar
Runningtime	45 Min.	Tim Suit	Guitar
Label	Weathermaker Music	Dan Maines	Bass
Release	14 July 2009	Jean-Paul Gaster	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Black Sabbath, Mustasch

The pure weight of this music counts in tonnes. It is the bluesy hard rock of the 70s all over again, but still it sounds strangely up to date with a touch of stoner. The tempo is mainly mid to slow, but it never gets dull for a second. The trio 50 000 Unstoppable Watts, Abraham Lincoln and Minotaur can be the heaviest suite in rock history. You can almost feel the yoke on your shoulders. As if that wasn't enough we soon get the lead soaked Witchdoctor and the heavy swinging piece of blues that is Let A Poor Man Be.

If the songs and the grinding riffs don't convince you by themselves, Neil Fallon's deep voice adds yet some force to the full experience. Anyhow, if one could ask for something more it would be a bit more variation in tone and character of the voice.

This is a good old album from start to finish. It is a well thought through flow of music that is destined to be played together in it's entirety, as opposed to records with a couple of hit songs bearing up a bunch of fillers. I can only congratulate myself for having the rest of the Clutch catalogue to explore further, after this late awakening.