Maryland rock institution CLUTCH have released “Beware The Fever,” the haunting new single from their forthcoming fourteenth studio album, Wasted Lands, due 22nd January 2027 via Weathermaker. Bringing banjo onto a CLUTCH record for the first time, the release arrives alongside the announcement of the band’s mammoth Give The People What They Want 2027 USA headline tour with special guests Corrosion of Conformity, Agnostic Front and Chuck Ragan.
Watch the “Beware The Fever” music video HERE.
Stream “Beware The Fever” HERE.
Pre-order Wasted Lands HERE.
Following “The Drifter Returns” and the riotous title track, “Beware The Fever” takes Neil Fallon’s lyrical storytelling into a landscape inspired by the ghost towns of Appalachia and central Pennsylvania. These are communities whose most prosperous days lie generations behind them, where industrial decline and supernatural unease make particularly sinister companions. As Fallon explains:
“They’re the perfect backdrop for all manner of strangeness. “Beware the Fever” started out as a lark. I played some random melodies on a poorly tuned Deering Goodtime banjo and JP put a hip-hop beat to it. I thought that would be the end of it. Boy was I wrong. As a result of this, I now spend a lot of my free time watching banjo tutorial videos and the algorithm is really pushing AARP benefits and retirement properties in the Ozarks. Beware!”
Drummer Jean-Paul Gaster shares:
“The music for “Beware The Fever” came to life in what I believe to be record time for our band. It started with one of those pre-recorded drum loops. This time Neil recorded some banjo parts first. He followed up with some electric guitar and then bass to create the massive chorus. The whole process took less than 20 minutes. I loved the music right away. I remember listening to the instrumental demo over and over again wondering what Neil might sing on it. It was months later while in pre-production with Machine that we finally heard those amazing lyrics. “Beware the fever running through town”. This song is easily one of my favourites on the record. The banjo you hear on the album is from that first demo Neil played in the Doom Saloon one afternoon in January of 2026.”
Written and recorded at the band’s longtime Frederick, Maryland base, the Doom Saloon, Wasted Lands reunites CLUTCH with producer Machine for their fifth album together and their first since 2015’s Psychic Warfare. Their first full-length since 2022’s Sunrise on Slaughter Beach, the record was written with the stage firmly in mind, pairing the band’s formidable riffs and rhythmic instincts with more melodic, chord-driven songwriting. It arrives 22nd January 2027 through the band’s own Weathermaker Music.
Pre-order the album HERE
