The group’s fourteenth studio album was written and recorded at their longtime Frederick, Maryland base, the Doom Saloon, and reunites Clutch with producer Machine for the first time since 2015's “Psychic Warfare.”
Following the recent release of a new single, “The Drifter Returns,” the band has issued the title track in sync with the album’s announcement.
"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?),” says frontman Neil Fallon. “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.
"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,” explains Gaster. “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?"
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