Back in September of last year, Clutch had to put their touring plans on hold due to frontman Neil Fallon’s back surgery. The band has been back at it for a while since then with plans for new material on the rise, but Fallon has revealed that the surgery had the potential to end his singing career. Fallon spoke with Get Your Rock Out about the surgery:

“I knew this was a really serious thing. What really scared me was that you get put completely under and they jam a ventilator down your windpipe. They have to yank your oesophagus and your trachea off to one side. I was told by the doctor that I may come out of this unable to sing again. The pipe goes past your vocal cords and it’s such a violent procedure that sometimes the vocal cords can get torn. I kind of sat there when I came to and the first thing I did was try to hum a tune. But I was so high on morphine I couldn’t tell you what it was. It was definitely a period of reflection – because I have no marketable skills outside of what I do with this band.”

Surgery is a scary thing, let alone knowing you could be out of a job at the end of it. It’s good that Fallon made it through and is better than ever. Especially seeing as they’re already starting to work on a new album.