Review Summary: While Sunrise on Slaughter Beach may not have the scope of Clutch’s absolute best albums, it’s a swell change of pace
Clutch is one of those bands whose style doesn’t change too much overall, but you start noticing different phases pop up through their career when you look a little closer. Their thirteenth full-length, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach, feels like the start of a new phase much like Earth Rocker and Blast Tyrant before it. It’s the band’s shortest album to date at a compact thirty-three minutes and features a cleaner, more laid-back execution that diverts from the hard-driving approach of their 2010s trilogy.
Tracks like the opening “Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)” and “We Strive for Excellence” still feature the fast-paced hard rock of albums past but the album’s best songs tend to come from the more relaxed pacing. “Slaughter Beach” is a particular highlight with its heady stomp and catchy chorus, the backing vocals on “Nosferatu Madre” remind me of their acolytes in Mississippi Bones, and “Jackhammer Our Names” has the sort of sea shanty refrain that feels like an update of “Drink to the Dead.”
While Sunrise on Slaughter Beach may not have the scope of Clutch’s absolute best albums, it’s a swell change of pace. I’m into the watery oceanside vibe on tracks like “Mercy Brown” and the production is considerably more leveled out compared to the brickwalling that defined 2018’s Book of Bad Decisions. It feels like the closest they’ve come to true stoner rock in some time yet still features all the wit, chemistry, and charisma that is unmistakably them. If it’s not the start of a new phase, then it’s at least an easygoing yet engaging breather.
