photos by Dante Torrieri
“…I can almost imagine the fog-draped lands evoked by the track’s title.” – MetalSucks
As South New Jersey/Philly-area sludge beasts CLAMFIGHT prepare to self-release their eponymous fourth full-length release in May, MetalSucks is hosting a premiere of the album’s new single, “Brodgar.”
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 and 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.
With the new “Brodgar” single, CLAMFIGHT drummer/vocalist Andy Martin reveals, “I spent eight seasons excavating at the Ness of Brodgar in Orkney before COVID and some career changes put an end to my physical involvement with that site. When this record started shaping up to be about love, loss, and the importance of friendship, it felt really fitting to write a love song about the team, the site, and Orkney. After being apart for ten months out of the year, the team always picked up right where we left off. I wondered if that’s how it was for the original occupants of the site, spending their year moving around the islands but always reuniting at this special place. ‘Brodgar’ is my love letter to the Ness, to Orkney, and to the Dig Team.”
He continues, “The melancholy and longing of the lyrics is what made us decide to ask Samantha Marandola from Oldest Sea to sing on the track. Sam is an incredible talent and has become a good friend over the last few years; we were over the moon when she said she’d do it. We sent her the track, she joined us in the studio and couldn’t have crushed the song any harder.”
MetalSucks writes, “From the moment its opening chords ring out, “Brodgar” immediately washes over the listener. Martin’s gravelly vocals deliver a timbre of hardened experience in a way. Bolstered by Oldest Sea’s Samantha Marandola’s backing vocals, the song gains an almost wind-swept quality. And with this being a sludge tune, the song ebbs and flows with the almost drone-like quality of the song’s main riff. Listening to the track, I can almost imagine the fog-draped lands evoked by the track’s title.”
Listen to CLAMFIGHT’s “Brodgar” first at MetalSucks RIGHT HERE.
The band will self-release Clamfight digitally and on CD on May 16th. Find reorders at Bandcamp where “The Oar” is streaming HERE.
CLAMFIGHT is also booking regional tour dates and live events supporting the new album. They will play Brooklyn on June 20th and a benefit show for their late friend Steve Poponi in Philadelphia on June 21st. A record release show and additional dates are also in the works. Watch for updates to post alongside additional previews of the album over the weeks ahead.
CLAMFIGHT Live:
5/31/2025 Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA *record release show
6/20/2025 Goldsounds – Brooklyn, NY w/ Hollow Leg, Florist, End Of Hope
6/21/2025 Poponipalooza ’25: D.I.L.F.@ Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA [tickets]
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 the sonic range of the new material and brought 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.
