Of all the places I expect to find stoner metal, Italy was so far down on the list it fell off and got lost among the detritus of the city sidewalk. Power metal? Sure. But the psychedelic strains of fuzzed out desert rock felt like a far cry from the Mediterranean. I don’t know if The Clamps are the exception that proves the rule or the foundation of a new movement, but I can say that Megamouth – the band’s third album – certainly hits all the right notes, and is a swaggering, piss-taking rock and roll machine that’s a refreshing way to open up 2024.

Formed in 2012, the trio (that most holy of band configurations) of Ben on guitars and lead vocals, Bely on bass and Marcy on drums traffic in a nasty hybrid of punk, stoner, and speed that come together with a vocal snarl that might be the cut that makes the band stand out. Debut Deadly Kick for a Fat Fucker had the chops from a musical perceptive, but the thin production and washy lyrics kept things at arm’s length. Jumping to Heavy Psych Sounds for 2017’s sophomore Blend, Shake, Swallow was the right move, thickening the musical sauce with more low end and giving more attention to the overall mix, settling Ben’s roar right in the thick of the sound. That refinement (a weird word to use in conjunction with stoner metal) is perfected on Megamouth, from the way the guitars clip on the instrumental opening title track to the final boogie moments of closing track “Slippin’ away”.

It’s not a direct comparison, but the first vibes I get listening to “Forty-Nine” which is the first vocal song on Megamouth is Motörhead. There’s a similarity in how rock and roll is the foundation for which everything else is built up on, and Ben’s vocals have a similar cadence, opting for a raspy snarl when a dozens other bands would’ve tried a cleaner tone to better emulate so many of the desert rock bands out there. The guitar tone is fantastic, super distorted but never losing any clarity when those chunky chords come into play. Tempos maintain a solid head swing through the album’s 35 minutes, and if there’s not a whole of variation between rockers like “Freedom to Run (Down)” and, uh…rockers like “Cubomedusa” well you’re not exactly coming to music like this to hear a bunch of dudes experiment with a formula. You’re coming to hear a bunch of dudes live and die by that formula, playing it like it’s as essential as air or beer or any other vital ingredient for the continued existence of humanity. Part of what draws me to the music on Megamouth is the band knowing how important groove is when it comes to riffs – most of the tracks have extended intros so you can feel the groove hard before jumping into the verses.

So get ready to sway and swing to the salty swagger of The Clamps and Megamouth. The best sound in the world is an amp cranked beyond its means, and a locked groove that gets your head rolling in between sips of your favorite spirit. All the tracks on this album will give you that, and maybe induce you to stick to that new year’s resolution of more activity. Easy to do when it’s i the name of rock and roll, right?

— Chris

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Megamouth will be available January 12 on Heavy Psych Sounds Records. For more information on The Clamps, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages.