Concert review: Clutch & Corrosion of Conformity | 04.14.26, The Factory (with photo gallery)

Photo of Clutch’s Neil Fallon by Laura Jerele

It was a packed Tuesday night at The Factory and yeah, I love it when St. Louis shows up for a show. I’ve been here for Clutch before, and walking in it was pretty much wall-to-wall people in various Clutch shirts from every era from previous shows. Not exaggerating, it looked like a traveling museum of their tour history in St. Louis. Old, new, faded, and even brand-new merch still stiff because they seriously just bought it and put it on. It was like fans had a story on their back.

Also… it’s a Tuesday night. Explain to me why there are kids here!?! Like actual little kids. And not bored either, they’re totally into it with massive headphones over their little ears, yelling lyrics, fully in it and rocking out! If you think about how long Clutch has been doing this and it kind of hits you that this is still growing. Music fans keep discovering cool, established bands. And I’m so here for it!

Corrosion of Conformity have such longevity and still sound as brazen (and as loud) as ever. When they came out and kicked things off, they didn’t waste a second trying to win people over. They just went for it. It was loud, thick, zero fluff. Pepper Keenan has that voice that sounds like it’s been dragged across gravel in the best way, and paired up with Woody Weatherman and Mike Dean, it just lands heavy. As heavy as ever! They’ve been rotating in songs like “Clean My Wounds,” “Albatross,” and “Vote with a Bullet” on this run and every one of those hit with no dead spots, still high energy and just straight heavy. I was so impressed with their energy and this was one of those sets where you look up and go, “Oh, right, this band is still has so much in ‘em.”

Clutch’s stage setup is big, but not in a try-hard way. It’s just amps, lights, and massive amounts of space. The lighting looked great all night, nothing overdone, but it was still lush and moody depending on where they were in the set. Neil Fallon does not stand still. At all. He’s pacing back and forth the entire time, working both sides of the stage like he’s got two different crowds to keep tabs on. Arms going, face going, every lyric has something behind it. It’s not just the delivery, it’s a whole thing to watch. He’s super mesmerizing. 

Meanwhile Tim Sult, Dan Maines, and Jean-Paul Gaster stay set back, almost tucked into the back half of the stage, and weirdly that makes it hit harder. I like how they used space and distance. And yeah, it was loud. Like, if you didn’t bring earplugs, you were making a bad decision loud. Absolute must.

They pulled from all over the place, setlist-wise. No drop-off, no weird pacing, just steady and heavy AF. They included “Promoter,” “Big News,” and “X-ray Visions.” I kept going back to the kids thing, though. Seeing a 7-year-old screaming along while someone next to them is in a 20-year-old tour shirt is kind of the whole point of a band like this. It’s been going on forever and somehow still feels current. | Laura Jerele