CLAMFIGHT

CLAMFIGHT     “Clamfight”

By Dr. Abner Mality

I thought I recognized the name and sure enough, I’ve run into this New Jersey sludge/doom act before. There was a time 10 years ago and more when this kind of “beard metal” was everywhere. You don’t run into it as much these days, which is something that works in CLAMFIGHT’s favor.

They go out of their way to present a variety of tunes here. First track “Oar” is the longest by far and constantly evolves as it trundles along, starting with down-tempo bluesy restraint before ballooning into a gnarly sludge riff with bellowing vocals. Finally, it speeds up to a bruising pace. There is something of old MASTODON in CLAMFIGHT’s approach, but rougher around the edges. “Brodgar” is a BARONESS/MASTODON type cut with a more melodic focus but the vocals just don’t work at all here. They just sound really awkward and the mix of clean, raspy and growly doesn’t gel that well.

Fortunately, they hit back really hard with “Dragonhead”...this is a battering ram of a track with great aggression in a HIGH ON FIRE mode. Good stuff! The gentle instrumental “FBH” follows in stark contrast. “Drinking Tooth” is a more successful version of what “Brodgar” attempted...a sad and melancholy tune with a Southern kind of feel. The album wraps up with two long and powerful tracks, “Clamfight” and “Redtail”. The former unfolds much like “Oar” while the latter has a kind of soaring, epic vibe to its sludgy melodies. It really ends the album on a high note.

So CLAMFIGHT kind of picks up where they left off years ago, providing quality sludge metal for the modern age. Get your bucket and start digging for them.

CLAMFIGHT