Hailing from Ohio, Beartooth have become a force in the scene, with their crushing riffs, skyscraper sized choruses, and intense live shows taking them all across the world. They’ve played many festivals and now have their eyes set on taking the next step up to the arena circuit with the release of the career defining record ‘Below’. Unsurprisingly, Punktastic found front man Caleb Shomo in a positive mood. "Our album comes out in like 3 days or whatever which is pretty insane, it’s outrageously exciting. I’ve been working on some stuff, some acoustic versions, and getting everything ready for the drop, then the tour is coming up. Life is very exciting for me, a lot more exciting than it has been for the last 18 months."
The world is still, of course, in the grips of a global pandemic, which has put the brakes on the music industry in particular – but with the light at the end of the tunnel in view, the industry will start to roll back into motion in the coming weeks and months. COVID-19 has affected everyone and Shomo is no different. “It sucked a lot. For me, it was very difficult to try and be creative while working on the new album and try to be inspired and make a good record. At the end of the day, I tried to make the most of it, as much as I could. In a weird way, I think as bad as it was, some really good things came out of it personally for me, mentally and steps I’ve taken in my own life to get healthier both physically and mentally… But overall it absolutely sucked!”
Shomo is known to be a creative force, working on Beartooth every waking hour of the day. ‘Below’ saw him write every word and note, record every vocal and riff, and mix and master the record. As impressive as that is, however, this isn’t a new thing, as Shomo explains; “I’ve done that on every album so far, I didn’t mix ‘Aggressive’ but we did a reissue that I did mix. Everything else aside from that original ‘Aggressive’ release I’ve written, recorded, mixed and what not. During the writing of all of the records except this one, there’s been at least one co-written song, with some of my friends who are writers. I worked with Nick Raskulinecz (KoRn, Foo Fighters producer) on ‘Disease’, he was another set of ears and worked with me for a few weeks. This is the most I’ve done it myself, no co-writers, no other producers, this is the first time I’ve mastered a record. It was a wild experience, half out of necessity, half out of wanting to push myself. I’m really happy with the record and glad I took the chance”.
Production is something that is quite close to Shomo’s heart and something he wished that he could do more. “I started working for local bands when I was like 15 and I’ve been working on production a lot since then. Unfortunately, with Beartooth being so busy, I never have time to work on other bands’ records which I really miss. Producing is one of my favourite things to do.”
‘Below’ is a record full of rage, focusing its attack on mental illness, with Shomo refusing to suffer in silence, making this is one of the most brutally honest records of the year. While Shomo did everything sonically on the record, it transpires that he did have help with the artwork. “I am not a visually talented person, I can barely write my name legibly! There’s a company that we’ve worked with since ‘Disease’, they’re called TensionDivision. They’re amazing, and basically the way that works is, we have a conversation about what the record is about, and we go really in-depth. They take that and then turn that into what they think should visually represent it. They came up with the character and the motorcycle and all that. They’re great.”