Maryland monster riffmisters Clutch are back in Belfast once again, on a wee whistle-stop world tour of Ireland. They land at The Telegraph Building on the penultimate show, before they say “Adios” once again to their Irish fans for a while. Clearly, after TWO shows in Dublin, Belfast AND finally Limerick, I think it is fair to say Clutch have a cult following here in Ireland.
It has been a few years since I caught my first glimpse of this band at The Limelight in the heart of Belfast City Centre, but tonight’s venue was an upgrade as they quickly sold out and we now get to experience these cats on a stage worthy of their reputation and fan demand here in Belfast.
Now, I am still not fully up to speed on Clutch, so I am looking forward to engrossing myself in tonight’s performance so I can properly get a feel for why this band is adored far and wide. Anytime there’s a conversation about what bands people want to see at a festival or a gig near them, Clutch are always in the mix. So tonight will be an interesting one for sure as I try my best to dissect their sound and appeal to such a broad spectrum of metallers.
Up first, though, we have Irish band Ten Ton Slug, self-described as “Riff Driven Sludge From The West Of Ireland”! I’ve caught these cats a few times before, and the last time was possibly Bloodstock 2021? When we had an international free festival due to the COVID Restrictions still in place at the time. These guys are a hefty beast of a band, a behemoth-sounding four-piece, and they set about blowing the cobwebs off all who venture out early this evening. At first, the arena looked a little sparse, but I’ll put that down to the glorious weather outside; by the time The Slug had laid waste to a few tracks in their set, the room looked suitably filled.
These guys have been on a run since their latest release, Colossal Oppressor, which has been hugely popular on the Irish and UK scenes, and they have garnered a reputation as one of the giants of their genre on the Irish scene. We do love a bit of Doom, Sludge and Groove Metal here in Ireland; it seems to bring out the best in us. Just tag along to Crypt Of The Riff or The Siege Of Limerick to get a better understanding of just how dark the Irish can be. These guys, though, tonight, nailed it. A savage performance leaves everyone in no doubt that Ten Ton Slug weren’t just here to make up the numbers. A brutal and unforgiving performance no doubt won over a whole new army of fans for the lads, well played.
Photos By Mark McGrogan
@flashartmark #flashartmark
A short changeover and we have the mighty Clutch up next! As I have said before, these guys have a fanbase so deeply ingrained in the band’s DNA that it’s unreal. The room is rammed, and those hardcore fans have pushed up front as the band kicks off with X-Ray, Firebirds and Slaughter to get the blood boiling! Neil Fallon is like a man on fire! He paces the stage like a caged animal as each track unleashes more adrenaline as he drags along the Belfast crowd through each song on their sizeable set. He orchestrates them at will, the front row living their best lives to the soundtrack of their year. Everyone seems to know every word, and Fallon calls on them at will to come along for the ride as the band just lays waste to The Telegraph Building; the roars from the crowd as each song builds are deafening!
” Why, thank you kindly, ” Belfast Fallon says before they unleash Crucial, and the room goes wild once again. Fallon covers every inch of the huge stage, corner to corner, speaking directly to those below as he eye fucks them into submission, they bend to his will and give themselves wholeheartedly to his commands. The beaming smiles far and wide across the front row speak volumes as they race at a relentless pace, crashing their way across their weighty and lengthy set.
The simplicity of what they do is really the key to their success, a solid backline, glorious guitar lines, thunderous bass, and a slamming drummer all brought together by an enigmatic frontman like no other! #simples If only that were the case, we’d all be millionaires! Or in a band and broke, but having fun playing for chicks and free beer! There is definitely a secret sauce in the Clutch family that makes it all tick and resonate with their fanbase, Fallons on stage presence is something to behold and if you’ve been lucky enough to catch them live then you know doubt will have succumbing to his mojo, the band as an entity live are monstrous, it’s feels like the roof could come crashing down at any second with the barrage of sonic abuse being tossed out from the stage. The band starts and stops on a dime, taking no prisoners as they push their Irish fans into a frenzy. Fallon tries his best to interact with a few revellers in the front row, but the strong Northern Ireland accent melts to the poor man’s brain, and he has to move on.
You can see by looking around the room just how much this band and their music mean to the fans: grown men’s arms thrown in the air mirroring Fallon’s every move, and he engages as best he can with as many as he can, meaning these happy fans will leave here tonight with a bucket list item ticked off for sure. More than anything, that’s what it’s all about: that sense of community that happens when a band like Clutch clash with a room of fans, and that kinetic energy just takes off. It is a beautiful thing to see. They say in life you should take time to smell the roses, but on nights like this, you simply need to observe the room and soak it all up. If it feels this good standing at the side of the pit watching it, what must it feel like bearing this music, bringing it out to the world and getting a response from a crowd 5000 miles from home night after night? Quite the rush, I’d say.
The whole show feels like a cathartic experience for both fans and band alike, a solid relationship like two old friends thrust together once again after a long absence, just taking off like it never happened. There really is something special about witnessing a bond so enveloped, ingrained in its fanbase, is lightning in a bottle, and you just can’t buy that. It’s as real as it gets, and that is the secret to Clutch’s success. These fans are all in and always will be. By the time the last notes of ‘Rats’ rang out and the lights came back on the hall is filled with a mass of sweaty bodies, the stiffling heat of the day fused with a gargantuan performance by the Germantown rockers just pushed it all into furnace territory, the huddled masses stream out into the streets clambering for cool air and I can hear the soundtrack of the night being sung by drunk revellers reliving their favourite songs, track by track. The band moves on to Limerick before heading back into the EU, France and Spain, so you still have a chance to catch them in 2026 while you can.
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Clutch is:
Neil Fallon – Vocals
Tim Sult – Guitar
Dan Maines – Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums
Find Clutch Online:
Photos By Mark McGrogan
@flashartmark #flashartmark
