Clutch frontman Neil Fallon says he wanted actor Tommy Lee Jones to voice the opening track on upcoming album Psychic Warfare.
The Affidavit features ambient noise and Fallon’s spoken word as he plays the role of a detective. But he really wanted the star of No Country For Old Men and the Men In Black films to voice the part.
Clutch were keen to come up with an opening to the record rather than launch right into the track X-Ray Visions. After dismissing the idea of an instrumental opener, the settled on a piece that links to the second track.
In an album commentary video issue via the band’s YouTube page, Fallon says: “When we got the mixes of the record we were on tour and we got to talking about how we could intro the record, other than just starting cold with X-Ray Visions.
“The subject of ambient noise came up. A couple of days later the bus was parked in Memphis, Tennessee, in front of The Peabody Hotel and I believe it was a jazz and blues awards ceremony that was going on. The place was just rammed.
“I walked into the lobby with my iPhone and made these circuits around the bar and lobby and recorded the conversations, the sounds of ice and drinks and clinking china.”
He continues: “A couple of days later we listened to the ambient noise and it was hard to justify by itself, so I listened to the first words of X-Ray Visions and realised this could be a statement of sort.
“The person you hear speaking – I wanted to get Tommy Lee Jones to do it but I’m sure he’s busy. I did my best to mimic the man, terribly. It’s a private investigator or detective asking the character in X-Ray Visions what the hell happened.”
Clutch release Psychic Warfare on October 2. Last week Fallon revealed how many of his best ideas come to him when he’s on the toilet. They return to the UK and Ireland in November.
