Clutch - Strange Cousins From the West

OK a little rant before i begin this review,i am not really a Clutch fan.I thought the debut and "Blast Tyrant" were good albums but the rest has pretty much left me cold.I was almost going to ignore this album completely until a friend insisted i check it out so i did.It was worth it because while i can't say this is their best album, it is much better than most of their other albums,however there is a downside and i will get to that later.This is their 9th album and shows signs that are approaching a peak in their musical growth and songwriting status.Stand out tracks like "Struck Down", "Let a Poor Man Be", and the moving lead single "50,000 Unstoppable Watts" are full of blues rock influences and are instantly memorable even after just one play through.There is a lot of strong guitar harmonies and good riffage throughout and the vocals are pretty good for the most part with his bluesy like chant.There is still some negatives however as the songs seem almost a bit too predictable once you reach the halfway mark on the album.Now you can argue that point with a lot of bands but in this case it seems even more so.Other points to argue about are long empty spaces and wandering guitar lines that ultimately don’t add anything to the song. And those catchy riffs? After you’ve heard them about four hundred times in the same song, the luster wears off. This is the death of “The Amazing Kreskin” and “Abraham Lincoln,” two otherwise promising songs. To finish up this is a album that Hardcore "Clutch" fans will like,fans of "Pure Rock Fury" and "Blast Tyrant" may seem disappointed.I am in the middle of those two,there is some great tunes but a lot of filler.I guess you can make up your own mind.6/10