As a proposition Clutch is almost unfathomable in it’s simplicity; a quartet of corn-fed Maryland beards raised on beer and barbecue, whose dedication to the Titanic Riff is rivalled only by their predication to the earth shaking, Tectonic Groove. It’s a formula that over 9 albums and approaching two decades Clutch have honed to a rough-hune perfection, exploring it’s every permutation and chalking up one of the most formidable back catalogue’s in rock music along the way.

Taking to the stage with the aptly named 50,000 Unstoppable Watts Clutch’s live appeal is instantly recognisable - a lurching behemoth of taut guitar work and rolling rhythms that grab you by the neck rather than the hips, delivered with a wry sense of humour and a lack of pretension more akin to operators of heavy machinery than rock stars. Serious work carried out by serious men who may have experimented extensively with psychotropic substances in their youth.

And for the most part the fruits of their labour are astounding. Clutch navigate a set of perfectly crafted stoner rock juggernauts with seasoned professionalism; furious renditions of ‘Pure Rock Fury’ and ‘Burning Beard’ threaten to wake the Gods with sheer primeval intent, whilst newbies such as ‘Minotaur’ demonstrate that although their most recent long player Strange Cousins From The West is no stone-cold classic, it can still handle a few rounds with the big boys. It seems strange then that somewhere in the third quarter of the set you may find your attention starts to wander, as one riff seems to blur into another and those instrumental breakdowns start to feel just a little… Unnecessary.

You see, if Clutch have an Achilles heel it’s this: they have just one gear. At their best this seems something of an irrelevance, the sheer brilliance of the material is enough to carry them through. However in a set that eschews the dizzy heights of Blast Tyrant and Robot Hive / Exodus in favour of the fair-to-middling territory of their last two records you can’t help but long for something a little more from the whole affair, perhaps knowing that on a better day Clutch would be the band to deliver it.

Ross Allmark