CLUTCH To Finally Begin Recording New Album In Early 2026

In a new interview with U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, CLUTCH frontman Neil Fallon spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to the "Sunrise On Slaughter Beach" album, which was released in September 2022. He said: "We did begin a pre-production and writing session earlier this year, but then we went back out on tour. There will be another writing session in January, and the plan is to record in late January or early February. Nowadays, from finishing a record to mastering takes up to six months. And the great thing about being our own record label is that if it doesn't feel right to put it out at that time, we won't. We'd rather wait and make it as good as it can be. That's where we are at. There are a number of songs in the can, but I'm not going to predict when it might be released."

Asked if the new material "sounds good", Neil said: "Every year it gets harder and harder to come up with stuff, because you already have these existing records, but… yeah. We know that [as an album] it'll be alright."

Back in May, CLUTCH revealed that it had reteamed with Grammy-winning producer Gene "Machine" Freeman (LAMB OF GOD, KYNG) for the recording sessions for the band's next studio album. Freeman previously worked with CLUTCH on 2004's "Blast Tyrant", 2013's "Earth Rocker" and 2015's "Psychic Warfare" LPs.

In March 2025, Neil told the Mark And Me podcast about CLUTCH's next LP: "Yeah, we're writing now. It's taken longer than I think we would've liked to have, but to be honest, we toured a lot in the past three years, like really grounded down. When you come home from tour, you don't wanna turn around the next day and say, 'Let's get together and write a song.' Gotta take a bit of a break. And we took off maybe four weeks and then got back together. And we get together maybe once, twice a week for four or five hours. But again, it's, like you gotta write a lot of garbage to get to the good stuff. And it seems the less premeditated it is, those are the songs that end up as part of the canon, almost the accidental songs. Those are the ones that seem to be the best."

CLUTCH has been writing new music on and off around its touring commitments, preparing for what will be the band's fourteenth studio LP. Although CLUTCH previously announced it was working with producer Tom Dalgety once again, those plans appear to now have been abandoned.

As previously reported, CLUTCH and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will join forces for the "Suffer No Evil U.S. Tour 2026" in April and May. Support on the trek will come from JD PINKUS.

CLUTCH shares more in common with THE GRATEFUL DEAD, RUSH and THE ALLMAN BROTHERS than their heavy riffs and heady twists-of-phrase might suggest. Because like those bands, the supporters who adore CLUTCH are there for the experience, community, and authentic connection. To love CLUTCH is to feel a sense of ownership, membership, and belonging.

Seneca Valley High School classmates Neil Fallon (vocals),Tim Sult (guitar),Dan Maines (bass) and Jean-Paul Gaster (drums) share an unshakeable musical and personal bond now three decades strong. Shaped by the same region which birthed BAD BRAINS, MINOR THREAT and RITES OF SPRING, CLUTCH crafts hyper-literate and libertine jams informed by hardcore fury and fuzzy, athletic, stoner rock.

Live shows over the years include tours with SLAYER and SYSTEM OF A DOWN and more recent co-headlining treks with DROPKICK MURPHYS, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and MASTODON. Like SLAYER or IRON MAIDEN, CLUTCH outlasted rock bands anchored to "hit songs" and the pressure of replicating them. The foursome from Germantown, Maryland, isn't bound by trends. Across thirteen studio albums and assorted releases since 1991, they've earned a reputation as one of the best around.