Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Beartooth Disgusting Company: Red Bull Records Release: 2015 Genre: Metalcore-ish Reviewer: Greg Watson

Catchy, emotive album

Beartooth's full length debut, "Disgusting", is one of those albums I'd been looking for but didn't know I was at the time, something to leave an indelible mark on my soul. A departure from my normally extreme tastes, "Disgusting" is a catchy, emotive album that possesses hardcore, punk, pop and metalcore elements and fuses them together in an infectiously driving mix that is wielded and executed with surgical precision. The resulting sound is one that is both beautiful, furious and gut wrenching all at the same time.

Vocalist Caleb Shomo, formerly of Attack Attack!, is the driving force behind the band and his metalcore growl, punk snarl, and sonorous clean vocals help perpetuate the emotional roller coaster that you are on when listening to the album. A great example is the album's opening track "The Lines". Utilizing Shomo's metalcore bark to kick the track off, it is backed up by a thunderous riff of pure groove perfection. As the song really gets going, his punk snarl makes you want to curl your lip in defiance as he sings "How many chances do I get before my head explodes?" and his clean vocals literally send chills through my bones. What constantly amazed me on the album is how deftly and seamlessly he could go from his metalcore bark to punk-styled snarls to clean vocals and back without skipping a beat. Not to be outdone, the rest of the band make the album complete by delivering music that makes each song pop. Alone, the tracks are solid tunes that can easily stand on their own merit. Together though, they make the album come together and cohesively tie everything together. Each song has it's own uniqueness to it from the preceding track but they all have plenty of hooks and lots of heaviness to keep your head bobbing along constantly.

The subject material of the lyrical content is pretty serious, dealing with abusive parents, suicide, drug abuse and just a general sense of discordance. Each song is fascinating lyrically and more than a few songs on the album contain lyrics that you'll find yourself singing for days on end, long after you've listened to the song. The standout tracks on the album for me are "The Lines", "Beaten in Lips", "In Between" and "American Dream". Beartooth is a band that I will definitely be keeping my eye on as they continue. They have caught and held my attention with "Disgusting".


Music extraordinaire Caleb Shomo is Beartooth on debut full-length ‘Disgusting’. Shomo wrote, recorded and produced nearly every song including performing all instruments. The talented young man started at age 14 with metalcore act Attack Attack! In 2012 Shomo left the successful band to see Beartooth come to fruition. The Ohio act released an EP, ‘Sick’, in 2013 before committing full-time to writing the debut. ‘Disgusting’ is indicative of metal’s blend of culture and ideals. Shomo puts his heart and soul by the front door, citing clinical depression as the catalyst for the record’s darker lyrics and feel. The single “Beaten in Lips” is a whirlwind of staccato riffs, screaming vocals and lyrics that defiantly denounce physical abuse. It’s bands like Beartooth, Bring Me the Horizon, and Middle Class Rut that are redesigning how metal looks and feels and songs like this represent that renaissance. “Ignorance is Bliss” and “I Have a Problem” are pure reckless energy with enough aggression to drown continents of death and black metal extremities. “Me in My Own Head” and “Keep Your American Dream” are two of the “lighter” tracks with modern hard rock feelings draped in downward spirals. I’d challenge any band to match this intensity.