Beartooth – Below
Release Date: 25th June 2021
Label: Red Bull Records
Pre-Order
Genre: Hardcore Punk, Metalcore, Melodic Hardcore.
FFO: I Prevail, While She Sleeps, Wage War, Of Mice & Men, Asking Alexandria, Starset.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
‘Does what is says on the tin’ is the expression that comes to mind. Beartooth’s latest album Below was described as a ‘marriage of colossally catchy choruses and post-hardcore- soaked-in-sweaty-metal’ and I couldn’t describe it any better if I’d have been paid to. Below is 12 tracks of fun, albeit safe punky metalcore that delivers what you expect – Caleb Shomo screaming his heart out and laying his demons out on the table for us to enjoy.
Opener Below is a nasty, abrasive way to start an album, cleanly transitioning into a hugely catchy chorus that acts as one of the most enjoyable parts of the album. Devastation follows a similar formula, which feels like foreshadowing for the vast majority of what’s to come, but the hooks are memorable and the build up to the breakdown is delightfully satisfying. Devastation is likely to live up to its name at a gig – it has huge potential to drive audience energy.
The Past Is Dead is the poppiest song and the lead single for the album, which makes sense. It leans into A Day To Remember sentiments, containing gang chants and bright hooks. The Answer is similar in tone, with warm and beefy chords throughout before slapping into a cheeky breakdown.
Dominate uses metalcore riffs and pitch shifting to demand its place in the modern sound of hardcore music. Credit must be given to Caleb Shomo, the mastermind behind Beartooth; he holds nothing back vocally on Phantom Pain as the pained screams add some much deserved catharsis to the visceral track. The chorus in the Hell Of It goes straight for the face, without any concern for sounding pleasant. It’s fun, rock-driven and the breakdown is an unexpected slow-down; it’s a groovy change of pace home to one of the most memorable sections on the album.
With a band as prominent in the scene as Beartooth, expectations for production were high. Thankfully, you’ll find no disappointment here, with chaotic and nasty effects littered all through Below. The nu-metal inspired tones of the breakdown in No Return and the disgusting feedback at the very start of the title track Below make the music feels very unsafe. The bass, especially on Fed Up during the bridge, is filthy and aggressive, sitting very audibly in the mix – fans of Starset will find this familiar. Little flurries of blast beats and creative fills add some rhythmic interest, highlighting Caleb’s wide-reaching ability as a songwriter.
Tracks like The Last Riff with its slow burn and violently heavy rhythm guitars and Hell Of It with a real punky no-fucks-given attitude are unique sounding amongst Below, but the majority of tracks fall into a very predetermined, safe and relatively predictable boxes. Below is stuck in the interesting catch-22 problem, where all the songs are standout in one way or another which means none of them are.
Beartooth, deservedly, have made themselves a hugely recognised entity and accumulated a strong fanbase. Below will appeal to fans seeking something darker and muddier, but there isn’t enough variation from what we expected to pull in new fans who were on the fence. It’s full of attitude, but there are few surprises to be found below.
(3.5 / 5)
