Saturday, September 11, 2021

Clutch Collector's Series #1

Clutch is one of those rare bands that I find got better with age. While I enjoy thier early records, they don't come close to comparing to anything they released from the mid-00's on. There are plenty of people that don't like the band's change of direction to a more varied rock style, but for me, those records have stayed fresh and I still visit them on a regular basis.
Earlier this year, Clutch announced that they were going to be doing a collector's series of vinyl reissues for their albums. The series will cover several Clutch albums, remastered and packaged with reimagined artwork. The first one in the series is Blast Tyrant from 2004, and is really my starting point in the band's discography. I didn't own this album on vinyl yet, so I decided that I might as well grab this pressing. Man, I'm glad that I did because the packaging on this this fucking fantastic. It is so well done that I'm obviously going to have to keep up with the series and buy each one that is released.
A lot of care and thought went into this pressing. The pictures really don't do it justice, but the gatefold jacket is printed on metalized polyester paper that looks amazing, and the embossed seal that states “Clutch Collector’s Series Small Batch Pressings” on the front is a nice touch. Damn, even the colored vinyl complements the entire packaging.
Inside the gatefold is a full spread that expands the cover art, with the entire thing done on that reflective metallic print. Quality.
To cap it off, this special pressing comes with an art print that is signed by the band and numbered. While Clutch consider this a "small batch" pressing, there are still 5,000 of these things. I don't know...maybe that is a small number for a bigger band, but it still seems like a lot to me. I'm still stoked that I was able to get one though. Looking forward to the next one in the series!

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