Premiere: Clamfight – Self-Titled Album Releases This Friday, 16th May
Clamfight‘s self-titled album crashes onto the metal scene like a storm, delivering a powerful blend of heavy sludge and doom across seven intense tracks. The album opens with the isolated and intense The Oar and closes with the grief-stricken Redtail, they expertly navigate their genre’s depths with crushing riffs and relentless energy.
Each track draws listeners deeper into a sonic abyss, showcasing Clamfight’s mastery of heavy, atmospheric sounds as the album’s intricate storytelling takes centre stage, balancing relentless energy with moments of eerie calm. And about how the album came together, drummer and vocalist Andy Martin says…
‘We started recording Clamfight the weekend lockdowns began in New Jersey. I almost never write lyrics before we hit the studio and as the recording sessions went on, the state of the world forced its way into the record’s themes. The pandemic was obviously dark days, even if in some ways where we are today feels darker, but I found a lot of strength and comfort in the woods and the surf and my relationship with the guys.’
He then adds, ‘We’ve always been close, but I think the sudden inability to see each other and to have to weather some substantial changes, including some real losses over FaceTime as opposed to being in the same room, really underscored how much we all love and need each other.’
Clamfight is an exhilarating journey, or as Matthew Williams said in his recent review, ‘it feels like a fierce war cry’. Now click below to experience this doom and metal masterclass in its entirety…
More On Clamfight And Their Self-Titled Album
New Jersey/Philadelphia sludge metal quartet Clamfight presents their eponymous fourth album, Clamfight.
The members of Clamfight are childhood friends who played their first show together in the Fall of 2005. The band’s lineup has remained the same ever since, with bassist Louis Koble, guitarists Joel Harris and Sean McKee, and drummer/vocalist Andy Martin.
Over the past twenty years, the band has played shows along the entire East Coast and beyond, having shared a lot of laughs and shenanigans as well as loss and heartache together along the way. Having released three albums to date – Vol. I in 2010, I vs. The Glacier in 2013, and III in 2018 – the band now presents their most somber yet victorious record yet with Clamfight.
Clamfight began work on album number four right as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. With only drum tracks finished the weekend before the lockdowns began, the sudden downtime gave the band the opportunity to broaden their sound. With their longtime friend, mentor, and producer Steve Poponi, the band expanded their sonic range, bringing more dynamics and intricacy to the seven new songs.
The pandemic also changed the record lyrically and thematically. Lyrically, Clamfight became a sort of diary or memoir, but not about masks and temperature checks at the grocery store, but about how the love and friendship between the band helped get them all through those dark times. If there’s a central theme to Clamfight it’s that life is short and precious, but that the people around you – the people that you love and that love you back – are the ones that make it worth savoring.
Clamfight was recorded by Steve Poponi and Matt Weber at The Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, New Jersey where it was also mixed by Poponi and Dave Downham, mastered by Dave Downham, and the album’s cover art and layout was handled by Morgan E Russell. The record features guest vocals on Brodgar by Sam Marandola and on Clamfight by Stephen Murphy and JJ Koczan.
Clamfight Tracklist:
01. The Oar
02. Brodgar
03. Dragonhead
04. FRH
05. Drinking Tooth
06. Clamfight
07. Redtail
Clamfight is:
Louis Koble – Bass
Joel Harris – Guitar
Sean McKee – Guitar
Andy Martin – Drums, Vocals
Clamfight Live Dates:
05/31/2025 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA – Album release show w/ God Called In Sick, Dirt Pile
06/20/2025 – Goldsounds – Brooklyn, NY w/ Hollow Leg, Florist, End Of Hope
06/21/2025 – Poponipalooza ’25: D.I.L.F. – Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
Clamfight, the new seven-track self-titled album, releases independently this Friday, 16th May, and is available on compact disc and digital download over Bandcamp.
Label: Independent
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
