Beartooth have provided frontman Caleb Shomo an opportunity to expose his soul to the world. From being a side project back in the days he performed in Attack Attack!, now a fully fledged band on to its fourth album. Below represents the hardest hitting offerings so far from the US hardcore/metalcore crew. Bringing an extra does of the heavy – both thematically and musically, and bearing more soul than ever before.
Right from the opening (and title) track you have no mistaking what this album is going to portray. Kicking off with untamed feedback, Caleb‘s trademark heart-pouring screams and a straight forward pumping hardcore riff. The chorus is textbook Beartooth, able to sound arena filling without losing that intimate aggressive feel. Add the prolonged breakdown and another wild feedback strewn outro and we’re off to a breathtaking start.
Devastation adds a huge dose of industrial riffing, whilst keeping the full fledged singalong chorus. The aggression never drops below 10. The Past is Dead hits next, and Beartooth show why they are the masters of their craft. There is no interruption in the album flow, but the brutal aggression has transformed into a full on easycore hit. Expert songwriting is one thing, but an album perfectly flowing from track to track is something special. That is what gets you coming back in its entirety, rather than grabbing a couple of tracks for your latest workout playlist.
Fed Up and Skin have the hardest hitting lyrics on the album. Caleb pulling no punches in revealing his darkest inner demons. “I’d give anything, anything for some company” is the lyric I think we can all sympathise with and relate to over the past 18 months shut away from the world. Below ends with a doom laden instrumental The Last Riff, and the album is over in a flash, feeling much shorter than its 45 minute run time.
With the world beginning to return to a sense of normality, and the live scene return impending, Beartooth have added a plethora of new songs to decimate the stage. Singalongs and mosh pits at the ready. Below is full of pure, unadulterated energy, emotion, grit and aggression. Caleb Shomo has once again shown his ability as a tormented, but brilliant songwriter. In a current climate full of things bringing us down and tearing us apart, this is the catharsis we need.
Score: 9/10
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