Clutch continue to churn out heavy-hitting rock music more than 30 years into their career, most recently releasing their 13th studio album, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach. The Maryland band will hit the road this spring for headlining North American tour featuring support from Amigo the Devil and Nate Bergman.
Heavy Consequence caught up with Clutch singer Neil Fallon backstage at Louisville’s Louder Than Life festival, where he talked about the latest LP, the inspiration behind the single “We Strive for Excellence,” and the band’s longevity.
The song “We Strive for Excellence” contains a number of references to 1970s pop culture, including Farrah Fawcett, Evel Knievel, and The Six Million Dollar Man, and celebrates a time when kids engaged in activities that had a daredevil quality about them.
“That song might have been some kind of psychological reaction to being stuck inside,” Fallon told us in the video above. “I have a 12-year-old son, and I was getting real frustrated with the notion that his childhood was gonna be spent virtually. There’s something to be said about the education of breaking your arm, or getting road rash or poison ivy. That’s real life.”
As far as Clutch still going strong after more than 30 years as a band, Fallon remarked, “I spent far too many years thinking this was a temporary situation. I had it hammered into my head at a young age that this was not a viable career option. And it took me a long time to arrive at the fact that yes it is. Once that happened, it became a lot more fun.”
Watch our video interview with Neil Fallon above, and pick up tickets to Clutch’s spring 2023 tour via Ticketmaster or StubHub.