Close observers of the two stompingly heavy, thrillingly ebullient recent singles put out by Maryland rockers Clutch might have noticed a few curious references in their lyrics: Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone) and We Strive For Excellence both seem to throw in cultural touchstones from a simpler age than the troubled one we now live in. The former asks: ‘Can you pass the Voight-Kampff test?’ and ‘Are you familiar with the Roy Batty Method?’, while also throwing in mentions of a ‘Doc Tyrell’, and ‘the Tannhauser Gate’. All of which, movie buffs will know, come from seminal 1982 sci-fi film Blade Runner, while ‘Boss Metal Zone’ is the name of a classic guitar distortion pedal. The other, We Strive For Excellence, talks of how ‘We pledge allegiance to the denim flag’ while throwing in talk of illegal M80 firecrackers, ‘BMX grips’, a ‘Farah Fawcett lighter’ and other minutiae familiar to the youth of the 1980s (especially American ones).
According to Clutch frontman and lyricist Neil Fallon, such details were the result of lockdown songwriting sessions in which the freedoms we were all missing suddenly came into focus sharply.
“I think going into writing the record [Clutch’s new album Sunrise On Slaughter Beach], I was thinking, okay, I don’t really want to write a bunch of lyrics that are going to constantly remind me of 2021 and all the things that went along with that. And as a parent, watching my son having to do home schooling and unable to interact with his friends, it really put into focus the joys of, you know, getting on your bike, planning to run away from home for half a day. It’s sort of
