Psychic Warfare

There’s always been a slight wink in Clutch’s pummeling, parallel-universe take on Southern rock: Here, singer Neil Fallon introduces the band by shouting out their astrological signs (“X-Ray Visions”) and later admits that despite his Catholic upbringing, he’s a sucker for witches (“Sucker for the Witch”). Sonically, the band’s approach remains brutal but lithe, using the deadpan old-Western humor of Fallon’s storytelling to lighten the propulsive sludge of the rhythm section. Always a world unto their own, Clutch soldiers on.