Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Agog With Spastic Baskets, June 28, 2005
The always hard to categorize Clutch are becoming even more hard to categorize with each passing album. These guys are both hardworking and relentlessly creative. This disc is a little less metallic and more experimental than their last outing, the great Blast Tyrant. However, that old Clutch heaviness is still plentiful here, especially in the neckpain-inducing "Burning Beard" and the strangely angular "Circus Maximus." The best aspect of Clutch's approach is the jam-oriented interactions between the disarmingly funky basslines of Dan Maines and the off-kilter stoner-metal riffs of Tim Sult, built upon drummer Jean Paul Gaster's driving and genre-jumping rhythms. Meanwhile, singer Neil Fallon sounds more and more like he's drowning in oppressive political and religious demagoguery, and this describes both his cryptic lyrics and his riot-inciting vocals.
The biggest development for Clutch here is the addition of fulltime keyboardist Mick Schauer, who has been fully integrated into the band's sound, instead of just adding ornamentation. This has pushed Clutch further into an unmistakable classic rock and blues sound, evident in the surprisingly no-nonsense tunes "10001110101" and "10,000 Witnesses." There are even a few snippets of balladry here, like in the verses of "Land of Pleasant Living." Most unexpectedly, the album ends with two reverential 12-bar blues workouts. The first is a lyrical cover of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "Gravel Road" on top of slammin' Clutch-created blooze mayhem; this is followed by a full cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Who's Been Talking." You might just think that Clutch is evolving into an older and wiser blues band (albeit a strange one), but I bet they'll add a new element or three to their sound on the next album. [~doomsdayer520~]
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece, September 16, 2005
You've got to give Clutch credit. Despite being one of the most revered and underrated bands in the hard rock/metal genre, they continue to pump out excellent albums one after another, and "Robot Hive/Exodus" is no exception. Taking a step back with the more metal aspects of their sound and fusing an almost funk sound with blues and classic rock, Clutch's diversity can be seen to full effect. The driving rhythms that fuel the opening "Incomparable Mr. Flannery", "Burning Beard", "Gullah", and "Never Be Moved" are must listens, but the band really shows their stuff on "10001110101" and "10,000 Witnesses". The previously mentioned tracks are standouts, but make no mistake that there is not one track on this album that you'll want to skip through. "Robot Hive/Exodus" is one of those few albums that come along every once in a while that will leave you in awe, and it's a modern day Clutch masterpiece. It's a perfect place to start for new fans, and it's definitely one of, if not the, best albums of the year in ANY musical genre.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than Blast Tyrant? Quite possibly., May 24, 2006
And that is saying a lot, believe me, as I pretty much regard Clutch's 2004 effort, "Blast Tyrant" to be a rock'n roll masterpiece, not to mention one of my all-time favorite albums, and I know that a lot of Clutch's fans feel the same way. When I first heard Robot Hive/Exodus, I was of the opinion that it was good, but not quite as good as their last release. Lately, however, this album has grown on me something fierce, and I felt compelled to write up a review to try and explain exactly why.
Whereas Blast Tyrant feels more direct, "punchier" if you will, Robot Hive/Exodus feels more bluesy, even gospel-tinted, by comparison. The album flows very smoothly, partially because nearly all of the songs fade from one into the next, and in part due to the fact that they simply complement each other extremely well.
Make no mistake, though. This is one hard rocking beast of an album, replete with Jean-Paul Gaster's jazzy drumming, Dan Maines' funky basslines, Tim Sult's fuzzy guitarwork and Neil Fallon's wonderfully weird lyrics and gravelly vocals. Indeed, Fallon displays his mastery of the microphone once more, and seems to be more comfortable with his role in the band than ever, as he slides effortlessly through the band's grooves and guides the listener through gleefully absurd apocalyptic visions, robot revolutions (and revelations), and an increasingly surreal colosseum on the song "Circus Maximus" ("Every time I open my window, cranes fly in to terrorize me.", "Tipping cows in fields Elysian", "Celebrities and tentacles regard the beast with two backs." and so on..). You'd be hard pressed to find a cooler doomsayer anywhere.
And then there is the newcomer to the band, one Mick Schauer, whose understated keyboard and organ playing adds a whole new dimension to the band's sound. It's hard to picture the songs on this album working without Schauer's contributions, which lend the whole album, as well as Clutch's sound in general a new flavour and allows them explore new musical vistas. After listening to RH/E extensively, I've found myself sorely missing it when going back to their previous albums.
The band seems more confident on this album than ever before, and therein lies part of its charm. The songwriting feels tighter here than it has on previous albums, and there is no shortage of sublime, groove-laced hard rock passages to be found here. The standout tracks for me, aside from the two opening tracks would have to be "Gullah", "Pulaski Skyway", "Never Be Moved" and "10,000 Witnesses". I seem to be able to listen to these songs pretty much anytime, anywhere, and not get even remotely tired of them. But honestly there isn't one track on this album that I would want to skip over (the two delta blues homages at the end of the album took the longest to grow on me, but grow on me they did), and that to me is the mark of a truly great album.
Just about all of the songs included here are infectious to say the least. Even as someone who usually never feels inclined to sing along to anything, it is really hard to resist here. If you don't have a silly grin on your face, or at least a small smile after spinning this disc, you are beyond all hope. To put it simply, Robot Hive/Exodus is every bit Blast Tyrant's equal and, in my humble opinion, even better, as it will no doubt stay with you longer. If you like rock and roll in any way, shape or form, there simply is no excuse for not having it in your collection.
And yes, it has cowbell on it.
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