10th Anniversary Special - Andy Martin from CLAMFIGHT Interviews Steve Howe from OUTLAWS OF THE SUN

It's hard to believe that I've been doing Outlaws Of The Sun for ten years when I started the blog back in 2015. Time has flown. I was going to keep this very low-key as I'm not really big on celebrating big landmarks anymore. However, Andy Martin (Drums/Vocals) from the mighty Sludge/Stoner Metallers CLAMFIGHT asked if he could interview me for the blog.

And I was highly intrigued by that idea. It's been a while since I was interviewed. So I agreed. Andy had complete control with this interview and it was quite refreshing being the actual subject matter for a change. Anyway, read what I have to say about everything Outlaws Of The Sun.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Steve! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview and happy ten years of Outlaws of the Sun! You’ve been a huge supporter of Clamfight and a ton of other bands and I want to say that we all really appreciate you and all your hard work. Now’s let finally hear a little about the man behind the riff-curtain!

Can you give a brief history of how Outlaws of the Sun came about and where it is today.

Hi Andy. Thanks for having me and for doing this interview. Outlaws Of The Sun came about quite quickly as I left The Sludgelord blog that I created back in 2011. As I felt that site was moving further away that I wanted to achieve with focusing upon bands within the underground scene.

The original plan back in July 2015 was to have a long break and see if I wanted to come back. As I was burnt out by this time. However, some folks contacted me saying if I ever decided to come back that they would love a review from me. So with that amazing support I started the blog.

Ten years later I’m still here. Didn’t expect this to last. I’m still featuring the usual mix of news, reviews, interviews and premieres. I’ve had a few breaks due to personal issues but I always come running back. 

What’s your earliest musical memory?

My earliest musical memory is seeing a Pop Concert back in 1983/84 which was like a Radio Roadshow featuring the best upcoming artists of the time. The only band I can remember was seeing Musical Youth (Yes, the dudes who released Pass The Duchie). 

Then mostly listening to Pop-Music when I was younger and perhaps getting into Dance/Rave music for a while back in my early teens. Nothing exciting to report with my earliest musical memory. Was kind of a late bloomer to all things LOUD and HEAVY.

Where did you grow up? How has that shaped your taste in music and art?

I grew up in a place called Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne based in the North East Of England. Well, we do have a certain musical pedigree where I’m from. STING is from Wallsend, Bryan Johnson from AC/DC is from Newcastle upon Tyne.

We also provided the world with VENOM and SKYCLAD. Two different kinds of HEAVY METAL were formed right here. We’ve had a few other famous musicians from this area. 

Growing up where I lived was a working class area where the main areas of industry was to do with Shipbuilding and that did install a sense of grittiness and realism that I like my music with. 

My brother moved me over to the areas of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal when I was about 18/19 years old. As I said previously I was a massive Dance / Rave fan. Though, I have to thank Soundgarden’s BLACK HOLE SUN which warped my fragile little brain with it’s brilliant video and groundbreaking sounds. 

Is there a record, movie, or any other piece of art that’s important to you today as it was when you were a teenager?

SOUNDGARDEN - Superunknown. The album that started my love affair with HEAVY ROCK music and opened the door to many other bands though I was a huge fan of THE WHO and THIN LIZZY in my formative younger years. But this record changed my whole outlook. Redefined my whole world with Black Hole Sun, Fell On Black Days, Spoonman and The Day I Tried To Live.

HARD BOILED - Another big hobby of mine is movies and Hard Boiled blew my mind when I watched back in 1994. As I was kind of bored with Hollywood action movies and to a certain extent Hong Kong movies. However, this John Woo / Chow Yun Fat masterpiece came to may attention and I loved its tone, execution and overall story of how it played. Perhaps the greatest action movie ever made. Yeah, this riffs on DIE HARD big time but this is GUN-FU and HEROIC BLOODSHED of the highest order. 

NEUROMANCER - William GIbson. This book came out in 1985 but I didn’t read it until 1993 when I was bored at home and bought a copy for £1. Such a groundbreaking book which still confuses and delights me to this very day. The whole CYBERPUNK movement wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for NEUROMANCER and films such as THE MATRIX either. 

Outlaws of the Sun traffics in bands that are certainly more on the underground side of things. What was your gateway band or record to the underground?

Well, before I started covering Doom, Sludge and Stoner bands I used to cover the more extreme stuff along with Thrash Metal for a while for different webzines. I grew disillusioned with the Doom and Stoner scenes though I still loved Mastodon greatly around that time. 

However, around 2008 I heard a record that took me back into the scene as it completely blew my mind. That record was MEANDERTHAL by TORCHE. I loved it’s mix of Punk, Psych, Fuzz, Sludge and Stoner grooves wrapped around Pop based movement. The song Grenades just showed me a side I hadn’t heard before. It felt fresh and that reignited my passion for the Stoner Metal scene. Then I started discovering other great bands and listening to records of bands I loved years ago that I missed the first time round.

How’s the local scene where you live? Any local favorite bands or venues we should all know about?

The local scene isn’t as popular where I live in Newcastle Upon Tyne. We have some bands from the Doom, Sludge and Stoner scenes that visit amongst the superb local venues we have. 

There’s a very good Rock / Metal scene for places such as Trillians Rockbar, The Cluny, The Grove, Little Buildings, Think Tank and The Lubber Fiend are some very cool venues that I enjoy.

We have some very cool Stoner Rock/Metal bands with PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS being the most well known. DUNES are from here and fastly making a name for themselves.

Cult Drone/Doom Metallers BONG are from the area as well. So we do have some great pedigree within the underground scene. 

Can you name three bands you think more people should know about and why?

This is a tough one. And apologies to the bands who I’ve missed out.

MOON DESTROYS - An amazing band featuring Juan Montoya and Evan Diprima in their ranks. A stunning mix of Doom, Shoegaze, Psych, Grunge and Alt Metal vibes makes their debut album She Walks By Midnight such a standout. They’ve just signed to Blues Funeral Recordings who will be re-releasing their debut album and another record is being planned for next year.

https://bluesfuneralrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/she-walks-by-moonlight

TORSO - A one-man wrecking crew by Graham Bywater. On their new album Annihilation Day blends Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Grind, Thrash, Noise Rock and Black Metal to devastating effect. TORSO fuses classic horror styles from John Carpenter, Italian Horror Movies and American Horror Stories are the main influence for the storylines but maybe some Italian seediness comes into play as well. TORSO adds brutally funny storylines into their music. The music is quite ELECTRONICA obsessed with a grindcore style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal developing at full throttle.

https://hereliestorso.bandcamp.com/album/brain-cells

ALPHAWHORES - You can Come Out Now. A brilliant band that blends Alt Rock, Shoegaze, Psych, Fuzz, Sludge, Grunge and Stoner melodies to great effect. They have a deep love and respect for the 90’s scene but also incorporate modern day elements. This is their second full length record with members Massiel Pinzón (Drums/Vox) and Juan Carlos García de Paredes (Guitar/Vox) both adding their own distinctive vocal delivery which is quite commercial at times but never takes away from the superb enjoyment of the whole album.

https://alphawhores.bandcamp.com/album/you-can-come-out-now-album

What’s three things you wish bands knew about you and your website?

Hmm. I don’t know how to answer this one. I think the only one I can think of is that I’ll try to feature as many bands and artists that I possibly can. If I missed your original request then please contact me again and I’ll do my best to get back to you. However, I only have so much time in the day.

The other one is that I do this in my spare time and there maybe moments where I don’t get everything right the first time so please be patient. I also have my job and personal life to focus upon as well.

Apologies if that seems like I'm complaining but I’m not. I love doing the blog and promoting the underground scene. I still need some time away to recharge my batteries.

What’s the wrong way to reach out to you for an interview or review?

Email is my preferred choice but I’m happy to be contacted by Facebook Messenger but not on a constant basis or across different Social Media platforms.

What’s the worst interview you’ve had?

Worst interview I ever had was with a UK Progressive Sludge Metal band who shall remain nameless. They were performing locally in my home town and I just wanted to go to the venue and see them perform. However, they convinced me to do the interview which I did. However, it was a complete fucking shit show as the band were drunk and just not interested in answering my questions. So I managed to get about 5 mins from a 30 mins discussion. I put the interview together but the band wanted the final say on what I put together.

They wouldn’t let me publish the interview as they felt it put them in a bad light. I sent the interview off to their PR Rep who agreed with me. They apologised and asked me not to publish the interview which I agreed to. That whole experience put me off that band full stop. Never listened or featured them on the blog since then.

The best?

The best. I have to say John Garcia back in 2017. As he was so down to earth, warm hearted and such a lovely guy to discuss things with. He’s brilliantly funny and gives truthful answers.

https://outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com/2017/01/speaking-in-tongues-interview-with-john.html

Brant Bjork. One of my all time favourite artists. I’ve interviewed him about 10 times over the last decade or so and every time is such a different experience than the last time. However, this was my all-time favourite as we chatted about so much that I left out a great deal of the conversation. I wish I did a two part interview but folks tell me this is the best one I’ve done with Brant Bjork so who am I to argue or disagree with…

https://outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com/2016/08/music-for-people-interview-with-brant.html

What keeps you and Outlaws going? We live in an age of constant distraction and are subject to a steady stream of bad news. How do you tune that all out and write about music?

Outlaws keeps my mind completely sane. I have a stressful job and music helps to keep me grounded. I manage to do two reviews a day which is a great help to me for my mental heatlh and all round well being. I completely zone out of the news as I’m not political as much now. I’m getting old and I still care about the horrible shit currently going on around the world.

When I’m not reviewing music I like to listen to old albums I haven’t heard in years. Watch movies and TV Shows. Hanging out with my friends and supporting my beloved Football team Newcastle United.

We occasionally chat about movies or tv over social media and that’s got me wondering, what’s a movie that is as important to you now as when you were a kid?

Damn. That’s a great question. I could have easily put Star Wars but I’m going to say Enter The Dragon. As that was the whole gateway into the Martial Arts world and Action Cinema in general. That led me to discover Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Jet Li and Donnie Yen.

This also led to my love affair with Asian Action Cinema.

If I had a second choice then I will definitely say Star Wars. I’m not too keen on the recent Sequel Trilogy but I did love some of the recent Disney+ TV shows such as Andor (Amazing Show) and The Mandalorian (Well S3 was bit of a shit show).

What’s the best movie you’ve seen recently?

I’m going to say SINNERS. I adored that film. Love the mix of Horror, Thriller, Action and Crime Thriller set against a brilliant backdrop of Blues Music, Soul, Hip-Hop and even Rock music.

This is followed closely by SUPERMAN. Huge James Gunn fan and he brilliantly delivered this great movie.

2025 is almost through. If someone demanded your favorite albums, movies, tv shows of the year what would they be?

Top 5 Movies

SINNERS
Superman
F1
The Gorge
Warfare

Top 5 Albums

Slomatics - Atomicult
BREATH - BRAHMAN
Museum Of Light - Diviner
Pelican - Flickering Resonance
KAL-EL - Astral Voyager Vol 1

TV Shows

Andor Seeson 2
Daredevil Born Again
SMOKE
The Pitt
Dept Q

Thanks again for all you do, and for taking the time for this interview. Again, I hope all your music-writing compatriots are to all of us in the scene. Any parting words of wisdom for your readers?

Thanks for allowing me to do this interview. I had a great time doing this.

My only passing words of wisdom - Take care of yourselves out there. Look after your family and friends. Don’t take nothing for granted. Thanks to everyone for their awesome support for the last ten years or so. Here’s to the next ten!

Words by Andy Martin and Steve Howe

Thanks to Andy for doing this interview. Thanks to everyone for their amazing support over the last decade or so. It really means a lot. Thanks again.

CLAMFIGHT Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

CLAMFIGHT - CLAMFIGHT (Album Review)

Release Date: May 16th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD

CLAMFIGHT  - Tracklisting

1.The Oar

2.Brodgar 

3.Dragonhead

4.FRH

5.Drinking Tooth

6.Clamfight 

7.Redtail

Members

Joel Harris: guitar

Louis Koble: bass

Andy Martin: drums/vocals

Sean McKee: guitar

Review

Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal veterans CLAMFIGHT return with their self-titled album which sees the band deliver a heavier, muscular and progressive sounding record. The band started making the album before the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns started to take hold which altered the course of the album completely with CLAMFIGHT focusing upon the challenging times they went through. However, the record allowed the band to focus upon the personal relationships they’ve established within their own lives and musical surroundings. 

CLAMFIGHT recorded this album with longtime producer, friend and mentor Steve Poponi who sadly passed away in 2023. Despite the dark times and personal setbacks CLAMFIGHT went through making this album, there is a sense of hope and belonging that comes shining through the sublime vocals and emotionally charged lyrics. The sound itself is quite downbeat when the mood calls for this style of music with intense Sludge, Doom and Stoner Metal rhythms with a sense of Psychedelic urgency appearing within the flashier and progressive instrumental passages that CLAMFIGHT show right away on the excellent opening track of The Oar.

The Oar feels inspired by the likes of Mastodon, Neurosis, Goatsnake and Orange Goblin with CLAMFIGHT still being themselves with flashes of sheer brute force Sludge/Stoner Metal aggression. The sounds have the right balance of Classic Heavy Metal and free-flowing fast-paced technical ability which is perhaps some of the best sounds we’ve ever encountered from the guys. A great start to an epic album.

With CLAMFIGHT demonstrating a new found melodic approach with rich creative storytelling then I’m happy to say this is their best record to date with a high amount of trippy based grooves that sees the atmosphere transcend into areas of Blues Rock, Swamp Rock and Southern Metal without a care in the world. There’s some wicked Folk, Roots and Earth inspired lyrics appearing especially on Brodgar which also features wonderful guest vocals from Sam Marandola (Oldest Sea) which feels like Fleetwood Mac joining the NOLA METAL revolution.

CLAMFIGHT delves right back into THRASH METAL / PUNK ROCK territory on tracks such as Dragonhead and Drinking Tooth whilst keeping their WEEDIAN vision intact. The Fuzz and Psychedelic instrumental solos that transpires from these tracks are constantly evolving and allowing the record to have a hopeful and GRUNGE based attitude.

Most people will perhaps be drawn to the title track the most with CLAMFIGHT calling upon the vocals talents of Steve Murphy (Kings Destroy) and JJ Koczan (The Obelisk) who the band have known for years. There’s a wide mixture of different styles musically speaking with the vocals being quite different as well. The SPEED METAL grooves are quite refreshing to hear along this part of the album being the most HEAVY METAL obsessive track on the album with plenty of bone-crunching melodies being delivered throughout.

The final track Redtail allows CLAMFIGHT to end the record on a triumphant HIGH with a mixture of Classic Rock, Psych Rock and uplifting soundscapes which could easily be considered as a perfect and fitting tribute to Steve Poponi and the great work that he delivered with the band over the years.

CLAMFIGHT may have been gone a long time but it’s great to have them back and deliver an absolute masterful and MONSTER of a record that demands your undivided attention.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR and CLAMFIGHT for the promo. 

CLAMFIGHT is available to buy now on CD/DD from all good stockists.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

CLAMFIGHT Return With A Vengeance. An Interview With Andy Martin From Doom/Sludge Metallers CLAMFIGHT

Doom/Sludge Metal veterans CLAMFIGHT make a welcome return after a seven year absence with their new self-titled album. The album is more primal, aggressive and technically impressive compared to previous CLAMFIGHT records. However, the record has a lot of emotional depth, heart and melody which allows the “GRUNGE” aspect of the band’s music to fully shine through.

The album took a different creative turn thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic which I discussed with Andy Martin (Guitar/Vocals) from the band in this interview. 

So let’s get straight down to business with this great interview.

Hi Andy. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today. 

Pretty good, thanks! The new record comes out this week and I just got married so despite the state of the world I’m pretty stoked.

Can you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is today.

The four of us have been bands together since we were teenagers and Clamfight has existed since 2002 with our first show in 2025. Currently we’re a lot older and grayer than when we started, have a lot of family and work commitments but are incredibly excited to get out there and play some shows.

We last spoke back in 2018. What have you guys been upto since then. As it’s been over seven years since Clamfight’s last album with III released back in 2018.

There’s been a lot of big life changes since, three kids between Joel and Sean, new jobs, but somehow, we keep on keeping on. Show wise, since the release of III we have yet again covered the East from Maine to Florida.

Obviously the COVID-19 Pandemic had a big effect for you when making this album. Can you describe how this impacted the band itself and changed the musical dynamic for the original plans for the new album.

Speaking for myself, it made me realize how much Joel, Louis, and Sean mean to me. That changed the entire lyrical direction of the album. Logistically speaking it made recording a much slower process. We finished the drums the weekend the East Coast shut down and then I think it was 5 or 6 months before we were able to get back to the studio.

With that in mind, are you happy with the way the new album has turned out. Has it changed dramatically to Clamfight’s original plans for the record.

We are. The extra time allowed us to really flesh this record out and expand it sonically. It’s absolutely the best record we’ve ever made and I’m not sure it would have been if we’d knocked it out as planned in 2020. 

What can people expect with this new album. As it’s your most aggressive, heaviest and bleakest release to date.

It’s certainly got some of the heaviest stuff we’ve ever done on it, but also, I sing more than on any prior record. Sean’s guitar work is beautiful. It’s blistering when it needs to be but there are a lot of quiet moments and also hooks ha ha ha. I think when you hear it, I’d hope you think, “wow, these guys love Soundgarden and Converge in equal measure.”

Are you prepared to surprise your fanbase with quite a challenging and complex album to your previous records whilst still maintaining that core “CLAMFIGHT” sound.

Ha, I hope! The reviews so far have been super kind, and since it’s been done for so long a lot of our friends have heard it already. I’d like to think that since we’ve been quiet for so long people will be happier to get something different from us as opposed to a rehash of the same old thing. 

You have some fantastic guest vocals on the new album with Sam Marandola (Oldest Sea) appearing on “Brodgar” and Stephen Murphy (Kings Destroy) and the legend that is JJ Koczan (The Obelisk) both appearing on “Clamfight”. How did these collaborations come together. 

Friendship. We met Sam after shows started again and immediately hit it off. She is stunningly talented and super fun to be around. Having her not hesitant when we asked her to be on this record was an honor. JJ and Steve are hugely important to us. No one would know who we are without JJ.

My memory is a little fuzzy but I’m pretty sure we met JJ within a year of us starting to play live, so we’ve known him for 20 years? Steve and the Kings Destroy guys are like our big brothers. So yeah, when we had this 7-minute autobiographical song, we knew these were the guys to sing on it and were over the moon that they said yes.

You’re releasing this album yourselves. Was that an easy or hard decision to make. 

It wasn’t an easy call, but it was the right one. It was a lot of work for us, and between families and our jobs, it’s not like we have a lot of free time, but we didn’t want to be beholden to anyone else’s schedule. Also, we didn’t want to let anyone down if we got too busy to properly push this album.

Did you have any label interest in releasing the new album. I’m surprised that you’re releasing this yourselves. As you’ve worked with some cool labels in the past.

We talked to some great people about it and appreciate the opportunities we were offered but they just weren’t right for us. 

What formats is the album being released upon.

For right now just digital and CD, but I think vinyl is inevitable.

The artwork is stunning for the new album cover. Very primal and showcases your heavier organic sound. Who designed the artwork and how much influence did you have with the final design.

Thank you! The art was by Morgan Russell, an old buddy of mine from my Scottish archaeology days. She’s done some T-shirts for us and has done some killer beer labels in the UK. There is a lot of forest and ocean imagery on the record, and I made a hilariously bad sketch of what I thought it should look like, sent Morgan that and the lyrics and she went off and crushed it. Morgan sent us stuff throughout the process but basically all we ever said was, “that’s incredible, keep going.” She did an amazing job.

What inspired CLAMFIGHT when writing, recording and making the album.

There weren’t a lot of conscious decisions about how we wanted this to sound beyond wanting some shorter songs than the ones on ‘III.’ We didn’t set out to make a prettier record, but it happened, and I think that was due to the extra recording time and our main dude Steve Poponi pushing us to be better musicians.

Lyrically, I was influenced by the Pandemic and where we all our in lives. We’re in our mid-forties, and you just start to lose people at this age, so instead of being about Vikings or something, the theme of the record became, “life can change in an instant, love the people around you as hard as you can.”

CLAMFIGHT have been a band for over twenty three years now. What have been your high points and low points performing with the band within that time.

The high points are that we keep enjoying each others’ company and still love jamming and playing shows. We lost Steve Poponi in 2023, who was a very good friend and recorded all four of our records. That was brutal. 

Looking back would you change anything about your time or things experienced with CLAMFIGHT.

Haha, same answer as always, probably just our name? Although I think I’m coming around on that.

Will you be touring this record at all. Will you be touring locally or further afield to promote the album.

Certainly, the whole East Coast, but we’re eyeing the Mid-West now too. Honestly, if people want to see us somewhere we haven’t been before, reach out and we will try our damndest to be shirtless in your town. 

If you are, how would you describe the live CLAMFIGHT experience?

Chaotic. Furious but also fun? We’re not super serious people and I think that comes through when we play live. Honestly, as much as we can’t get out there and tour for three weeks straight, I consider us a live band and really believe that’s where we’re at our best.

Thanks for your time Andy, Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom for your fans at all. Or anything else you would like to add.

Thank you Steve for all your hard work on this site. We’re always grateful to anyone that’s supporting heavy music.

Things are obviously tough all over these days, so be good to each other. Lean on your friends, and be someone your friends can lean on. 

Clamfight loves you.

Words by Steve Howe and Andy Martin

CLAMFIGHT is available to buy now on CD/DD from all good stockists.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

CLAMFIGHT - III (Album Review)

Release date: January 19th 2018. Label: Argonauta Records. Format: CD/DD

III - Tracklisting

1. Whale Road

2. Selkie

3. Echoes in Stone

4. Eynhallow

5. History of the Earls of Orkney

Members

Joel Harris: guitar

Louis Koble: bass

Andy Martin: drums/vocals

Sean McKee: guitar

Review

Greetings all,

I had the most righteous honor of checking out the new album by Philadelphia riff masters Clamfight. III is obviously the bands third release and it is an amazing set of 5 slabs of killer sludge. The band credits alot of the hallmarks of the stoner metal as their influences, and while you can certainly here those influences the fellas in Clamfight do an amazing job of sounding original and masterful. There are elements from the 70's to today and the band finds a way to wink and nod at 40+ years of killer music in only 5 crushing tracks.

To the tracks, the album opens with Whale Road which spans over 11 minutes and kicks of with a surf inspired intro that instantly reminded me of that used in Pulp Fiction. The song varies into a lot of directions as their is a bit of Neurosis when the song kicks in before going in to a Clutch inspired guitar breakdown before some heavy, heavy drums in the outro. Selkie comes in next and it hits you hard and fast. The song is heavy, period. Echoes in Stone is an impressive multi faceted song. There is some Eyehategod level sludge mixed with female vocals and an absolutely face melting guitar solo outro. Eynhallow is the shortest track on the record at a little over 5 minutes. It is a slow instrumental interpretations that opens with a subdued bass line before bringing in some David Gilmour/Pink Floyd inspired guitar work with a nice mix of synths to keep the mood mellow. The album closes with the impressive 12+ minutes of History of Earls of Orkney that comes in with a leisurely 3 minute start before kicking in with an amazing riff that will leave your neck a bit on the sore side. There are so many aspects of this song that are utterly amazing.

Clamfight has bestowed upon us an amazing piece of work. I implore anyone reading this to take the time and track this record down. The band is set to start 2018 with more than just a bang. Do yourself a favor and track down III. I know I am.

-Todd S

Instagram @alltheghoststhathauntyou

Words by Todd Stealey

Thanks to Barbara at NeeCee Agency for the promo. III will be available to buy on CD/DD via Argonauta Records from Jan 19^th 2018.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp