I’m A Sucker For Clutch..

Clutch with Zakk Sabbath and Kyng. House of Blues, Orlando FL. October 4th,2016

 The most recent run of shows has traveled through North America and all of October with  Kyng and Zakk Sabbath as openers.

Kyng, formed in Los Angeles in 2008 and released their first album Trampled Sun in 2011. Followed by Burn the Serum in 2014 they are set for their third release this month titled Breathe in the Water. Being a favorite of SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal, Ozzy’s Boneyard and Octane’s own Jose Mangin, Kyng is getting the recognition they deserve. It’s great having a guy on the air like Jose to promote awesome bands that you would never hear anywhere else.

Kyng performed a thirty-minute set which included the title track from their new album which was released on October 7, 2016. In addition to some really great vocals and guitar work from Eddie Veliz, I found myself mesmerized by the quick fingers on the bass guitar by Tony Castaneda and the absolute pounding on the drums by Pepe Clarke.

Kyng is on fire and the trio has a big future in the world of hard rock and heavy metal.

Up next, and I couldn’t have been more excited, was the one and only Zakk Wylde. We all know and love Zakk from his twenty plus years playing guitar for Ozzy, which eventually led him to form his own band, Black Label Society.

Zakk is now out promoting a side project, showcasing his unbelievable guitar skills and his devotion to Ozzy and Black Sabbath; we have ZAKK SABBATH. Zakk Sabbath is exactly what you think it is.

It features Zakk Wylde on vocals and guitar along with drummer Joey Castillo (Queens of the Stone Age 2002-2012 and has also played with Danzig and Eagles of Death Metal) and Ozzy’s current bass player Rob “Blasko” Nicholson.

They sounded great together, but everyone’s eyes were on Zakk. With what seemed like over five minute guitar solos in every song the band put together a set of only six songs which made up an amazing fifty minutes of guitar shredding madness.

Zakk ripped his way through “Children of the Grave”, “Snowblind”, “War Pigs”, “Into the Void”, “Faries Wear Boots” and “N.I.B.” What a blast this is for not only the fans but for Zakk himself who hasn’t toured with Ozzy since 2009.

One of the highlights for those standing down on the floor was during “War Pigs” when Zakk stepped off the stage while playing and walked around the House of Blues for a bit; finally stopping for another five-minute shred-fest with his beloved fans just inches away from him.

After the conclusion of N.I.B. It was Clutch’s turn to don the House of Blues stage.

Back in 2010, Zakk was on tour with Black Label Society and it was Clutch in the opening slot. Tonight the tables have turned and the groovy foursome was there to deliver a full show.

Approximately ninety minutes of straight up rock n roll. Clutch put on a seventeen song set which consisted of six songs from their latest LP.

One of the many things I love about Clutch is that they can play anything from their library of music on any given night. You can search setlists and I can almost guarantee that if you see them live no matter where you are, the set will be very different then from the night before.

Their music keeps getting better and better to the point where the new songs are just as good as their older, more popular songs, if not better.  Clutch keeps progressing year after year.

 Lyrically, singer Neil Fallon is a genius. He writes songs that tell stories. Mostly all fiction but occasionally of personal life experiences. For example, “Sucker for the Witch” (hence the play on words as my title for this review \,,/) tells a story of when he was a child and on vacation with his parents in Salem Massachusetts. They had visited the Salem Witch Museum in the early 80’s and while leaving the museum he noticed a girl dressed all in black standing outside a witchcraft supply store. The girl was about his age and the back of her hoodie stated “The witches daughter.” Neil explains in a Youtube video that this was his first ever experience with a goth chick and it left an impression on him.

 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh-mT_pJa_M )

Alongside Neil you have guitarist Tim Sult, bass player Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and as they say in their song “D.C. Sound Attack!” They let the rhythm hit ‘em … With Fallon also playing guitar on a few songs the foursome convey a sound like no other hard rock band out today. Clutch combines hard and heavy with groovy and soul.

Clutch took the stage at 10:10p and gave the Orlando crowd their money’s worth for sure. Starting off with four songs from last year’s Psychic Warfare. “X-Ray Visions”, “Firebirds”, “Noble Savage” and a “Quick Death in Texas.”  A few of the older songs and fan favorites performed were “The Regulator”, “Struck Down” and “Pure Rock Fury.” (See the full setlist below)

The show definitely was not sold out at the House of Blues, but it was still a pretty good crowd for a Tuesday night. Very mellow too. I’ve seen Clutch many times over the years and the mosh pits get smaller every time, which is okay with me. I never really got into that. A small mosh pit did open towards the end during “The Soapmakers.” Fallon even jokingly mentioned that the mosh pit finally opened on a song about making soap …

Clutch closed out the night with a three song encore that had everyone on their feet singing “Bang, bang, bang! Vamanos, vamanos!”

Some may say that Clutch and Kyng are an acquired taste, but if you were in attendance at the House of Blues in Mickeyland, your palette was satisfied but another trip to their buffet was definitely in order.

For tour dates near your town and additional info:

http://pro-rock.com/index.cfm?page=Tour&categoryid=13

Setlist – X-Ray Visions-Firebirds!-Noble Savage-A Quick Death in Texas-(Notes from the Trial Of) La Curandera-Sucker for the Witch-Crucial Velocity-The Regulator-Struck Down-Pure Rock Fury-The Face-The Soapmakers-Son of Virginia-D.C. Sound Attack!A Shogun Named Marcus-Electric Worry-One Eye Dollar-The Wolf Man Kindly Requests…

More Pics By Travis Failey