Metalourd seeks to meld both old and new sounds

By Guy D’Astolfo

Metalourd has lorded over the region’s metal scene for 25 years.

So long, in fact, that a couple of its younger fans from the early days have become members.

“I remember watching them when I was 17. I knew I would blend in with them,” said Robbie Kluchar, who became the band’s drummer last year. Kluchar is now in his 30s. Guitarist Arin Laney also was a young fan of the band before joining it.

Rock ’n’ roll bars that welcome original metal music have become more scarce in recent years, but Metalourd is forging ahead. The band is working on a new CD that it hopes will lure younger metal fans while staying true to its base. The CD is tentatively slated to drop in June.

In the meantime, Metalourd has two dates this weekend: Friday at Stooges in Salem and Saturday at Victory Lanes Lounge in Warren. The band also has a spot in the Mahoning Valley Rib Burn-Off, June 26 at Eastwood Mall.

One constant through the years has been bassist John Claw.

Manic, fast-talking and constantly in motion, Claw has been in the band since its inception. “We were the first band to play hard-core thrash metal in Youngstown,” he boasts, and it’s hard to argue. “We’re trying to get the scene back to the way it was,” he said, recalling the old days at clubs like JR’s in Niles.

Claw got a kick out of one old-time fan who texted him with the name of a 20-year-old Metalourd song — “Nuclear Holocaust” — while the band was playing at the Boom Room recently.

Metalourd, which also includes singer Gorf, has become a regular at Peabody’s, the Cleveland club that is a mecca for metal. The band has opened for a number of national acts, most recently Testament.

Guitarist Laney described the act’s sound as “progressive metal” and cited influences like Slayer, Pantera and All That Remains. The speed metal sound, said Laney, is actually the closest thing to classical music in the rock world. “It’s like writing for a symphony,” he said. “You have to write a different part for each instrument, like you would for a horn section or strings.”

Metalourd, he said, would like to take a page from Lamb of God and meld the old and new schools into one sound.