Clutch: Impetus

Clutch: Impetus

1997

Earache Reccords

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Impetus (Demo)  2. Pile Driver  3. Passive Restraints  4. Impetus  5. High Caliber Consecrator


Essentially, this is just a reissue of 1992's "Passive Restraints" EP with two additional tracks tacked onto the beginning...This seems to be the only way to find the "Passive Restraints" EP these days...See, when I was growing up, the cassette copy I had looked like this...

 I love love looooove this EP....For a scant three songs and a running time that falls short of 15 minutes, "Passive Restraints" has always felt like such a well-rounded and satisfying release....Very much in the heavier, Helmet-ier, less-blues rock vein of "Transnational Speedway League"... Everything you need to know about early Clutch is right here:

The song "Passive Restraints" showcases their always brilliant deep-woods poetry ("My Father was black, My Mother was Decker... " still stands as one of my favorite opening lines), " "Impetus" shows what it sounds like when they unleash their thrashing churn at maximum speed, and the epic 7-minute "High Caliber Consecrator" still stands as one of their finest moments...Slow, crushing, and ominously restrained until you get to the blow-out "Too Little, Too Late" section when suddenly the whole structure is leveled in a righteous display of pure rock fury...Definitely feels like the blueprint for the later "Binge and Purge"...

As for the bonus tracks, we have an early take of "Impetus" that sounds fairly close to the final version, despite some more dramatic vocal separation in the speakers. There's also a song called "Pile Driver" that I was disappointed to discover was not a cover of the Koko B. Ware classic of the same name...

Turns out it's an original...Would have sounded right at home on "Passive Restratins" but would have undoubtedly been the weakest track on the album...They were probably right in not using it...

Ultimately, Clutch fans abso-fuckin'-lutely need the original 3"Passive Restraints" tracks...But if you already own that EP, then I don't think the two bonus material is vital enough for a re-purchase...But if you see both at your local record store (which is probably unlikely since "Passive Restraints" has been outta print for years) go for the "Impetus" version, cos "Piledriver" is still worth a listen...

Here's "High Caliber Consecrator" by Clutch...