Clutch Drummer Jean-Paul Gaster Says They’ll Start “Refining” New Songs Next Week

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing rumblings from the Clutch camp that they’ve been gradually gearing up for their follow up to 2022’s Sunrise on Slaughter Beach. First we heard frontman Neil Fallon estimate that a new record would likely become a thing in 2025. Then we had bassist Dan Maines revealing that they’ve got “about a solid 10 ideas” that could end up on the next record.

Now, in an interview with Colombia’s El Expreso Del Rock (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Clutch drummer Jean-Paul Gaster talked about the band’s songwriting process for the upcoming record. As a result, we now not only know that they’ll really begin working on the new songs next week, but we now know they’re once again be using producer Tom Dalgety for the next release.

“At the moment, we have about eight or nine new song ideas, and our friend Tom Dalgety, the same producer from before, he’s gonna come and hang out with us next week. And we’re gonna start working through those ideas. And we will not record an album [next week], but we will work on these ideas and sort of refine them, perfect them, and then at that point, we’re gonna set those songs aside and then we’ll write another batch. And then from there, we will make the record.”

So starting next week, Clutch will be somewhere in the world banging out some new tunes in the confines of their jam room. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that.

During the interview, Gaster discussed how the band generally handles the transition into a new album cycle — especially given how much they tour on any given new release.

“Typically, we will finish a tour and maybe take a week, maybe two weeks off. We just kind of go home and do home stuff, but then we’re back in the jam room again, and it’s usually three times a week. And usually when we get together, we’re writing new music. Unless there’s a show coming up, we just start playing riffs. And we have all the equipment always mic’d up, the computers, they’re ready to go. So the minute somebody has an idea, boom, I go push ‘record’ and we document that idea. And sometimes that idea becomes a song, and sometimes that idea is just something that we did for an hour. But it’s okay, because you have to keep playing.”

With August fast approaching, that leaves just a few scant months until 2025 rolls around. Which means we’ll be closer to new Clutch. And that’s something to get excited about.