Neil Fallon (center) started the band in 1991 with a group of high school classmates.
Neil Fallon, lead vocalist and guitarist for Clutch, turns 45 years old two days before the heavy rockers hit the Orpheum Theatre on Oct. 27.
When he started the band in 1991 with the same three high school classmates from Germantown, Md., who still share the stage with him today, he didn’t expect Clutch’s grip on American rock music to be so strong a quarter-century later.
“We never saw it coming,” Fallon says of Clutch’s longevity, which includes 11 studio albums since 1993 — including 2015’s Psychic Warfare, the band’s second consecutive release to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s “Hard Rock Albums” chart, following 2013’s Earth Rocker. “But our fan base is for life. I once heard [Rush vocalist and bassist] Geddy Lee talk about Rush fans in the same way as Clutch fans. They almost feel a sense of ownership, as if this is ‘my band.’ We’ve established an emotional connection with our fans.”
With thick, roiling riffs that blur elements of metal and funk with muscular vocals, Clutch took its early influences from the likes of Faith No More and Swans, gradually evolving into a smart, groove-laden band with something to say — and one that doesn’t slot neatly into either the “rock” or “metal” genres.
Psychic Warfare doesn’t make categorizing Clutch any easier. The album, a crime-themed concept inspired by sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, namedrops Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Stevie Nicks and the Cyclops. And it boasts such song titles as “Sucker for the Witch,” “Decapitation Blues” and the dark country closer “Son of Virginia.” Collectively, these songs play like a collection of short crime noir stories featuring deeply flawed characters.
“I have a love-hate relationship with concept records. They can be satisfying, like Dark Side of the Moon, or heavy-handed, like Kilroy Was Here,” Fallon says, adding with a chuckle that this is the first time he’s ever referenced Styx in an interview.
Although Clutch has been on the road for much of 2016, Fallon found time to record the self-titled debut from Dunsmuir, a new band featuring former Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell drummer Vinny Appice and Fu Manchu bassist Brad Davis.
Next year, Clutch will focus on recording its 12th record — and Fallon has no idea what it will be. “I honestly don’t know, and that’s the fun part,” he says. “It can also be the most frustrating part. But when you get that eureka moment, there’s nothing else like it.”
