Clutch frontman Neil Fallon believes sales of 2013 album Earth Rocker only appeared strong because the state of the music industry means everyone else’s sales are weak.
And he doesn’t intend to become distracted by attempting to match achievements with upcoming title Psychic Warfare, out in September via the band’s own Weathermaker Music label.
Fallon tells Motorcityblog: “Clutch charting on Billboard, and being number 1 on iTunes, is indicative of anaemic album sales in general. That wouldn’t have happened 15 years ago.
“We sell the right amount of records to the right people, and slowly over time, that number gets bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s not because we figured out how to write a Karen Carpenter song.”
He adds: “Because of the internet, and because of us kind of taking control of what we do, we’re not trying to turn this band into some multi-platinum wonder story.”
Fallon also reveals that he keeps a daily “regiment of stretching” after undergoing neck surgery in 2013 to repair long-standing back problems.
He says: “I don’t bang my head – that’s a no-no. That’s what got me in that place for the most part. It’s made me think about how much you take health for granted when everything’s fine, and eventually you have to pay a bill if you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do.”
Clutch release 11th album Psychic Warfare in September and return to Europe this month, including an appearance at the Download festival:
Jun 05: Rock Im Park, Germany
Jun 06: Goffertpark, Netherlands
Jun 07: Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun 09: Luxembourg den Atelier
Jun 12: Download, UK
Nov 20: Dublin Olympia Theatre
Nov 21: Belfast Limelight
Nov 27: Paris Le Trabendo, France
Nov 28: Cologne Essigfabrik, Germany
Nov 29: Hamburg Markthalle, Germany
Dec 01: Aarhus VoxHall, Denmark
Dec 03: Gothenburg Tradgarn, Sweden
Dec 04: Copenhagen Store Vega, Denmark
Dec 05: Berlin Postbahnhof, Germany
Dec 06: Frankfurt Batschkapp, Germany
