Clutch 10th studio album "Earth rocker" arrives just in time to be your reliable friend in a weird and unpredictable year for music so far. Who would have thought that the two most acclaimed pop albums in 2013 to this point, come from that one goofy guy from N'Sync and David friggin Bowie. (I remind you, we have reached the year 2013, and Aladdin Sane just got 40 years old) But don't worry about it, this band which has yet to prove their ability to write a bad album, is not about to go down the experimental route, nor are they going to dissapoint. If anything, "Earth Rocker" is a throwback to their earlier heavy and aggressive style, while always staying true to what the band is about. As a result, we get a great effort by a band which seems to be absolutley comfortable with where they stand and manages to put together an album that is sure to please the fans with it's no-nonsense-attitude, while also being a great entry point for new audience, because this album is basically Clutch in a nutshell.

As musicians, Clutch always have been incredibly tight and while none of the band members are outstanding technicians, all of them are so comfortable playing with each other, that the final package is just a blast. "Earth Rocker" is no diffrent from that, with most of the tracks being so energetic that it's very hard not to get up and rock out to them. But, altough Greg has already pointed it out in his great review, no review of this album is complete without mentioning the standout performance by guitarist Tim Sult. While he always had a great knack for writing both catchy riffs and fist pumpingly awesome solos, his work on this album towers everything he has achieved before. Every single song on "Earth Rocker" comes with great riffs which range from downright aggressive and in your face ("The Wolf man kindly requests", "Mr. Freedom?) to heartfelt and blusy ("Oh, Isabella", "Gone Cold"). Once you've heard the lead melodies of "Cyborg Bette" or "Crucial Velocity", you won't get rid of them, and you will enjoy every second of it. That's not to say that the other band members don't get their moments to shine, the rhythm section does a great job supporting, and provide the necessary stability, to the wild and at times frantic performances by Sult and Fallon.(by Robert Kruell)