Clutch -- London, England -- April 8, 2007

[ravenheart]

From Beale Street To Oblivion Tour
Venue: Astoria
Support: The Sword, Witchcraft, Taint

Clutch
Mice And Gods
Can't Stop Progress
Power Player
The Mob Goes Wild
The Incomparrable Mr Flannery
Burning Beard
The Dragonfly
White's Ferry
Texan Book of The Dead
(In The Wake of) The Swollen Goat
Mr Shiny Cadillackness
Electric Worry
One Eye Dollar
Gravel Road
Who's Been Talking
-----------------
Pure Rock Fury

Witchcraft
Witchcraft
Schyssta Logner
Find My Mind
Chylde of Fire
Constitution of Murder
No Angel Or Demon
Sorrow Evoker

[sylpriest]

FROM THE RIGHT OF SPRINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!

that live must own

[ravenheart]

THE SWORD REVIEW

A full UK tour supporting Clutch was a pretty big opportunity for Texas doom outfit The Sword, who are regarded as a shining light in modern rock music. Their debut full-length, Age of Winters has been heralded as one of the best albums of 2006, and the chance to play in front of a sell-out crowd at the World famous London Astoria should have been a night to remember.

Opening up the bill were Welsh noise-makers Taint, who proceeded to spend 25 minutes doing just that; making noise. A largely unpleasant and unimpressive start to the show, all told, especially with Witchcraft up next. The Swedish doom rockers ripped through half an hour of their ’70s influenced rock ‘n’ roll from their debut self-titled album and latest effort Firewood, with precision and a lot of energy. And a singer that could sing, so instantly one-up on Taint. Their unashamed retro style didn’t appeal to everyone, but no one could deny their skill and songs, and probably if they didn’t go for the full flares-and-frilly-shirts look the crowd would have been a little more receptive. Too much is pinned on image, unfortunately.

The Sword were on third, and let themselves down from the get-go. Taint and Witchcraft had both enjoyed a good sound mix; perhaps a little bass-heavy. The Sword had no such good fortune (when you’ve got a professional in charge of the mix, luck shouldn’t enter into it, but it seems to). Ridiculous amounts of reverb on J.D. Cronise’s vocals and too much bass made every song largely unintelligible.

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