Photo courtesy of LionizeIn addition to pursuing their sacred mission of single-handedly keeping rock'n'roll alive, Clutch is also amazingly loyal; there's a reason that nearly every time they headline a tour, they're joined by one (or more) of a small rotating cast of support bands. That's how I ended up meeting Lionize several years back at a chilly, drafty barn of a venue in upstate New York; they're frequent Clutch tourmates, and so are Corrosion of Conformity, the band I was slinging merch for that night.Back then, there was a more pronounced funk bent to Lionize's music, but as their new self-produced Alpha EP shows, over time, the DC four-piece have thrown their lot in with more straightforward rock'n'roll, peppered with a little funk, a little 70s psychedelia, a little soul, and a whole lot of groove. Their bio namechecks Deep Purple, Bad Brains, and Parliament Funkadelic—and their time with Clutch has also had an obvious impact—but Lionize throws a few curveballs, too.Alpha is out January 8 via the band's own imprint, Wheaton's Finest Music—stream it below: