Maryland rock institution CLUTCH have announced their fourteenth studio album, Wasted Lands, set for release on 22nd January 2027 via the band’s own Weathermaker Music. An extensive variety of pre-order bundles are available now. The announcement arrives alongside the release of its raucously groovy, riff-driven title track, “Wasted Lands” and accompanying official music video which will be available to watch at 5pm (BST) today.
Got something you want to ask the band? You can find vocalist Neil Fallon in the live chat section answering your questions ahead of the premiere from 4:50pm BST under the OfficialClutch YouTube handle.
Watch the “Wasted Lands” music video HERE (available @ 5pm BST).
Stream “Wasted Lands” HERE.
Pre-order Wasted Lands HERE.
Written and recorded at their longtime Frederick, Maryland base, the Doom Saloon, Wasted Lands reunites CLUTCH with producer Machine for the first time since 2015’s Psychic Warfare. The sheer velocity of their creative collaboration can be felt from the first note of the record and is expertly displayed on today’s release title track, “Wasted Lands”. Neil Fallon’s lyrical knack of conjuring characters from a handful of strange, sharply observed details and dropping them into CLUTCH songs with their own vibrant and storied mythologies has long been a defining characteristic of the CLUTCH canon. On “Wasted Lands,” he conjures a creature so malign that H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King are invoked only to make clear that even they could not dream it up. Rumour casts it as a government experiment, a heavenly angel or an omen preparing the ground for the end of days. Nobody knows for certain. The locals call it Neil Patrick Fallon.
Sharing some thoughts on today’s release, vocalist Neil Fallon says:
“The inspiration for the lyrics in Wasted Lands came about when it was brought to my attention that someone had been dragging my name on Facebook (weird, right?). Apparently, I had reneged on a free t-shirt and dinner. I think it was a prize in a pay to play contest. Not to overstate the obvious, but it was a load of horse hockey. Many people tried to explain to this person that it was not me and that they had been hustled. But they simply would not believe it. So I thought, screw it, no half-measures. You want a monster? Let’s give you one.”
Beneath Fallon’s lyrical story-craft, Jean-Paul Gaster, Dan Maines and Tim Sult lock into a classic-CLUTCH, riff-driven groove featuring a very intentional and strategically placed bass-drum hit from Gaster. One he knew would make the live crowd go wild.
He shares:
“There’s a part where Neil says, ‘Vegetable, mineral, man, or beast.’ And I put a bass drum on, ‘man or beast,’ and Machine thought that was kind of weird. He was like, ‘Man, you’re covering up the vocal!’ And I said, ‘No, that bass drum is gonna make the crowd go nuts, I guarantee it.’ And it does, because there’s nothing more exciting than having a big bass drum slam through a PA, and Neil singing a vocal on top of it. I mean, I get goosebumps from that, you know?”
Across Wasted Lands, CLUTCH keep their riff-heavy foundations intact while making room for a sharper melodic streak. Tracks including “Colorado Fuel And Iron,” “Stage Fright” and “Loaf ‘N Jug” build their considerable weight around chord progressions as much as individual riffs. “Beware The Fever” brings banjo onto a CLUTCH record for the first time, using a rough demo played by Fallon and recorded by Gaster during a writing session. Despite several attempts to re-record the performance, nothing quite came close so the original recording is what went on the record.
Fallon’s lyrics open in the rubble of the Georgia Guidestones on “The Drifter Returns” and close beneath an exploding star on “The Message Is Clear.” The route between them runs through Colorado’s Highway 50, abandoned company towns, corporate appetites, creature-feature horror and deep space.
Speaking on the announcement of their fourteenth studio album, CLUTCH share:
“Exploded monuments, haunted coal towns, robber barons, time cops, a chestburster, fifteen tons of antimatter and a creature called Neil Patrick Fallon. Wasted Lands came from one clear intention: write a great rock record that will make fans go nuts when they hear these songs live, while leaving enough space in the creative process to follow the unexpected turns that keep Clutch exciting to us and our fans after thirty-five years together.”
“Wasted Lands” Track Listing:
2. Stage Fright
3. Loaf ‘N Jug
4. High Class Action Lawsuit
5. Chestburster
6. Beware The Fever
7. Wound Collector
8. Colorado Fuel And Iron
9. Streets Are His
10. The Green Skull
11. Wasted Lands
12. The Message Is Clear
CLUTCH have assembled an extensive variety of physical pre-order items. The standard black vinyl edition, cassette, and standard CD will be available everywhere, alongside the following exclusive editions:
- Red vinyl, exclusive to clutchmerch.com
- Red CD, exclusive to clutchmerch.com
- Yellow Smoke vinyl, exclusive to US independent retail
- Green Smoke vinyl, exclusive to Amazon.com
- Sea Blue Smoke vinyl, exclusive to TalkShopLive
- Blue vinyl, available internationally through HMV in the UK, JBL in Germany, FNAC in France and JB in Australia
Wasted Lands will be released worldwide on 22nd January 2027 via Weathermaker Music. To pre-order the album and see all music and apparel products available in the US and additional territories, go to: clutchmerch.com. UK fans, select items from clutchmerch.com now offer domestic shipping!
US fans will have the opportunity to experience some of the new material from Wasted Lands for the first time when the band head out on their 16-date US headline tour next month with support from Slomosa and Blood Vulture.
The band then head to Australia in January 2027, where they are excited to kick off their global Wasted Lands tour with a bang in Perth the day after the album is released. The run features support from Corrosion of Conformity and also stops off in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne before wrapping in Adelaide on January 30th.
For more information and to purchase tickets head to clutchmerch.com.
CLUTCH US TOUR 2026
WITH SLOMOSA AND BLOOD VULTURE
Fri, Oct 16 | Charlotte, NC | The Fillmore Charlotte
Sat, Oct 17 | North Myrtle Beach, SC | House of Blues
Sun, Oct 18 | Jacksonville, FL | FIVE
Tue, Oct 20 | Tampa, FL | The Ritz Ybor
Thu, Oct 22 | New Orleans, LA | House of Blues
Fri, Oct 23 | Robinsonville, MS | Bluesville at Horseshoe Tunica
Sun, Oct 25 | Fayetteville, AR | Ozark Music Hall
Tue, Oct 27 | West Des Moines, IA | Val Air Ballroom
Wed, Oct 28 | Green Bay, WI | EPIC Event Center *Date changed
Fri, Oct 30 | East Moline, IL | The Rust Belt
Sat, Oct 31 | Cincinnati, OH | The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Sun, Nov 1 | Fort Wayne, IN | The Clyde Theatre
Tue, Nov 3 | South Burlington, VT | Higher Ground
Thu, Nov 5 | Hampton Beach, NH | Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Fri, Nov 6 | Wilkes-Barre, PA | F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
Sat, Nov 7 | Norfolk, VA | The NorVa
CLUTCH WASTED LANDS AUSTRALIA TOUR 2027
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
Sat, Jan 23 | Perth | Metropolis Fremantle
Mon, Jan 25 | Brisbane | Eatons Hill Hotel
Wed, Jan 27 | Sydney | Enmore Theatre
Fri, Jan 29 | Melbourne | Forum Theatre
Sat, Jan 30 | Adelaide | Froth & Fury Festival
CLUTCH have spent more than three decades building a career entirely on their own terms. Formed in the D.C. suburbs in 1991 by Neil Fallon, Jean-Paul Gaster, Dan Maines and Tim Sult, the Maryland foursome emerged from the orbit of the city’s hardcore scene before quickly developing a sound that refused easy categorisation. Across thirteen studio albums, relentless touring and a musical vocabulary that has pulled from hardcore punk, noise rock, blues, country, funk and heavy rock, CLUTCH have remained unmistakably themselves. In 2008, they founded their own label, Weathermaker Music, taking full control of their records and establishing the independent model that has carried the band ever since.
Their fourteenth studio album, Wasted Lands, is set for release on 22nd January 2027 and shows CLUTCH at full throttle. Their first full-length since 2022’s Sunrise on Slaughter Beach, the record was written with the stage firmly in mind after the band scrapped two earlier batches of material that felt too studio-bound. It also reunites CLUTCH with producer Machine for the first time since 2015’s Psychic Warfare, following previous collaborations on Pure Rock Fury, Blast Tyrant, Earth Rocker and Psychic Warfare. Wasted Lands pairs the band’s riff-heavy foundations with a more melodic approach to songwriting while still finding room for a few firsts, including Neil Fallon bringing banjo to a CLUTCH record. Written and hammered into shape together at their longtime Maryland base, the Doom Saloon, it is a direct product of the chemistry, independence and restless musical curiosity that have kept the same four musicians moving forward since 1991.
Clutch are:
Neil Fallon – Vocals
Tim Sult – Guitar
Dan Maines – Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums
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