Neil Fallon Says Clutch’s Next Record Has “Taken Longer Than I Think We Would Have Liked”
We’ve all heard for a while now that the four Marylanders who’ve made their living selling the world top shelf rock n’ roll — Clutch, that is — were working on their follow up to 2022’s Sunrise On Slaughter Beach. A new record from those dudes is always cause for celebration, but recently it’s been all “we’re working on it” and “we’re going to go back in the studio soon” and “wait until after our tour”. It’s all been a little long in the tooth for the impatient Clutch fan and apparently vocalist Neil Fallon’s itching to get things moving a bit faster too.
During a recent interview with the Mark And Me podcast, Fallon said the band was still putting the new slab of songs together. And while there’s interest from everyone involved to commit to working on the record, they’ve needed time to recover from recent lengthy stints on the road.
“Yeah, we’re writing now. It’s taken longer than I think we would’ve liked to have, but to be honest, we toured a lot in the past three years, like really grounded down. When you come home from tour, you don’t wanna turn around the next day and say, ‘Let’s get together and write a song.’ Gotta take a bit of a break.”
That’s completely understandable, even if it means we all have to wait a bit longer before we get some new Clutch tunes. Now that they’ve had some time to cool their heels, Fallon said the guys meet “once, twice a week for four or five hours” to work on the next record, which helps them keep their creative process in a more natural state and not forced.
“You gotta write a lot of garbage to get to the good stuff. And it seems the less premeditated it is, those are the songs that end up as part of the canon, almost the accidental songs. Those are the ones that seem to be the best.”
In the meantime, Clutch has gone on to announce a second leg to their ‘Full Ahead Flank MMXXV’ Tour, so they’ll be busy on the road and not necessarily writing/recording new material, so maybe don’t hold your breath for a new record just yet. You can still enjoy them live by checking out the list of dates below and picking up your tickets today.
Clutch ‘Full Ahead Flank MMXXV’ Tour – First Leg
06/06 Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
06/07 Pickering, ON @ The Arena at Pickering Casino Resort
06/08 Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre Theatre
6/10 Moncton, NB @ Molson Canadian Centre at Casino New Brunswick
6/12 Lynn, MA @ Lynn Memorial Auditorium
6/13 Portland, ME @ State Theatre
6/14 Bensalem, PA @ Parx Casino
6/15 Albany, NY @ Empire Live
6/17 Morgantown, WV @ Ruby Amphitheater
6/19 Sault Ste Marie, MI @ Kewadin Casino Indoor Concert
6/20 Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theater
6/21 Elizabeth, IN @ Caesars Event Center at Caesars Southern Indiana
6/22 Pelham, TN @ The Caverns
6/24 Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
6/25 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
6/27 Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live!
6/28 Greensboro, NC @ Piedmont Hall
Clutch ‘Full Ahead Flank MMXXV’ Tour – Second Leg
07/30 Little Rock, AR @ The Hall
07/31 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
08/01 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
08/03 Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
08/04 Sturgis, SD @ Bike Week at Iron Horse Saloon
08/05 Bozeman, MT @ The ELM
08/07 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
08/09 Edmonton, AB @ Midway Music Hall
08/10 Tsuut’ina, AB @ Grey Eagle Resort & Casino
08/12 Fargo, ND @ UP District Festival Field
08/14 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
08/15 Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory
08/16 Hammond, IN @ Horseshoe Hammond Casino
