Considering that Lionize are signed to Clutch’s own record label, that Jetpack Soundtrack is co-produced by Clutch’s Jean-Paul Gaster and that the Silver Spring, Maryland quartet will be hitting the UK in April with Neil Fallon’s mob, it doesn’t take a genius to deduct which band might provide their closest sonic reference.
It’s nigh-on impossible to listen to the rolling, bluesy funk of Replaced By Machines or the loose-limbed grooving of Reality Check and not hear echoes of their patrons’ much-acclaimed latter-day sound, but it would be doing Lionize a grave disservice to label them merely as Clutch Jr.
A band for 10 years, the quartet’s consummate musicianship draws upon soul, funk and reggae influences in addition to riffing off Zeppelin and Deep Purple ideas, and the cowbell-heavy, punchy Skynet and the laidback, dub-infused Sea Of Tranquility offer proof of their quality, dexterity and diversity. Best get down early to those upcoming Clutch dates, then.
