Clutch is fucking awesome. My wife (who hates basically every band I've ever shown her, minus a few songs here and there from Corrosion of Conformity and Keith Caputo) even digs on them. I go through phases with Clutch, where either I love them or I'm simply OBSESSED with them. Only a handful of bands (and I truly mean a handful) can go through a musical evolution as they have and not get any backlash. None. If anything, they've earned themselves MORE fans.
Right now, I'm jamming on the 2LP 180g, six panel, megafuckingawesome Strange Cousins From The West vinyl that I picked up on my birthday, complete with new sequencing and two bonus tracks ("Metroliner Special" and an extended version of "50,000 Unstoppable Watts". It sounds epic. Mostly because it is.
My favorite song off Strange Cousins, "Abraham Lincoln". Live in England. Awesome.
Seriously. I once saw him at a Life of Agony concert workin' it to two 6" plus model-types, while he stands an exaggerated 5 feet tall...And I might be pushing that. Keith owns the rights to the most criminally underrated record of all time, 2000's non-North American release Died Laughing, a perfect pop record with dark melodies and beautifully haunting lyrics. Oh yeah, his acoustic/b-sides/stripped down release Died Laughing Pure was also not available in the states or Canada. But seriously, what the fuck do we know over here. We put bands like Linkin Park and Maroon 5 on a pedestal, while they ruin my ears and give pop music a bad name. You want good pop? Listen to Weezer.
Back to Keith Caputo. He's a freak of nature and a super-talented musician/songwriter/frontman, having made a name for himself with the genre-defining Life of Agony (and still is), the experimental and hard-to-find Freax, various guest appearances (Roadrunner United, Within Temptation) and his solo career. I've had the luck to see LOA with and without Keith (with Whit Crane on vocals, which was actually incredible, as Keith was struggling with some demons at the time), as well as some solo shows in NY and NJ in 2002.
Keith has also self-released the low budget Perfect Little Monsters album, as well as a live record from that tour in Europe, where Keith is celebrated and tours constantly. His third proper solo record was released two years ago. Hearts Blood On Your Dawn is an incredible statement and a fantastic progression for Keith. While on Died Laughing, he strayed away from the heavier stuff, he balanced all his styles here flawlessly.
March of this year, Keith will release his fourth solo outing (with guest a guest spot by Flea on trumpet, plus many others), which promises to break hearts and stick to brains, as all great songs he writes do. Here's to hoping for a Keith solo US tour, even though I have a better chance of becoming President.
If you can listen to "Home" or "Brandy Duval" without feeling the heartache or "I Got Monsters" without feeling how tortured this guy is, you're probably a douche bag.
Clutch is fucking awesome. My wife (who hates basically every band I've ever shown her, minus a few songs here and there from Corrosion of Conformity and Keith Caputo) even digs on them. I go through phases with Clutch, where either I love them or I'm simply OBSESSED with them. Only a handful of bands (and I truly mean a handful) can go through a musical evolution as they have and not get any backlash. None. If anything, they've earned themselves MORE fans. 
