DOUBLE TAKE REVIEW: This is a first. Two reviewers took home the same disc and gave two completely different reviews. The first one you'll read is from Steve, and the second is from Sean Cold.
STEVE'S REVIEW: By now, if you listen to rock radio, you've heard the oh-so-distinct grind of "Careful With that Mic", the new single from CLUTCH, the Maryland-spawned foursome, who refuses to let themselves be pigeonholed into a genre.
What I mean, is that on this latest disc, their big single is a rock/rap hybrid... which, in all honesty, is a mockery of rock/rap music, poking fun at Fred Durst. Considering the popularity of that single, which focuses mainly on vocals, it's ironic that the music these guys write (and never stop writing, at that) is so diverse in nature, mixing power chords with jazzy, soulful rythms.
My one criticsm of this disc is that is seems to be mixed a little uneven. On some tracks, the guitars are so thick, they overpower the rest of the band, and on some traks, the guitars are buried by the bass. If that was intentional, then I think it's a bad move, personally... Then again, who the fuck asked me to begin with?
AND NOW, SEAN COLD's REVIEW: As first impressions go, I could have easily summed up my feelings on the latest Clutch offering in two simple words: It Sucks! Now, after listening to Pure Rock Fury a few times, including on my way home in the car, I can now honestly say I gave it a fair shake. I have learned over the years that every now and then, an album or song can grow on you like fungus. Sadly, Pure Rock Fury is not one of said albums.
It seems that Clutch doesn’t have anything going for them except a cult status. For one, they have had the staying power to stay together since 91 Funny thing is, I never heard of them before this week and I have quite a good idea why that happened. Now while the music isn’t all that bad, Neil Fallon’s vocals are annoying at best. He just flaps, talks and jives through this entire disc. The fucking laugh during “Careful With That Mic’” would make a deaf person happy not to hear it. The bluesy riffs are just drowned out by Neil’s incoherent mumblings.
I have tried really hard to listen to this album and just try and pick out a good point. I know it sounds lame but the only good thing I can say I found in listening to Clutch’s disc is that it ended quickly. I knew it was a hard task I have taken to review albums here but hopefully I will not be stuck wasting valuable minutes of my life listening to a shit fest like this. To think that is yet another three albums by this band that I have never heard of is just a testament in my mind on how bad this band is. At least now I can describe Pure Rock Fury in four words: It really fucking sucks!
