Beartooth
The Surface


3.5
great

Review

by iChuckles USER (34 Reviews)
October 14th, 2023 | 24 replies


Release Date: 10/13/2023 | Tracklist

Review Summary: posi wholesome toothbear.

For reasons that might not immediately be obvious, The Surface marks an important stepping in stone in Beartooth's – and by definition – Caleb Shomo's musical and spiritual journey. On the surface (haha) and judged by its own merits, Beartooth's fifth album is easy to write off as a disposable, pop-ridden. rock and metal offering that at that times flirts just a little too hard with SiriusXM Octane-listeners. But the reality is that going from hearing the absolutely gut-wrenching outro to "Sick and Disgusting" from nearly a decade ago, where Caleb breaks down into tears in the vocal booth. that is preceded by his sentiments of "I just wanna feel loved" to the feel-good anthem of this year's "Might Love Myself", is indeed powerful.

In fact, "Might Love Myself" might be the most reinvigorated that Caleb has sounded in years; layering infectious hooks and melodies on top of soaring instrumentals and quirky ad-libs that clearly signify his newfound lease on life: no longer content with moping about his years lost to struggling with alcoholism, depression and suicidal thoughts. It's a triumphant cut that brilliantly showcases a vibrant and more colorful side of Beartooth's sound and winds up being the catchiest song he's written to date. Hell, even the opening title track sandwiches unusually bouncy riffs and drum patterns around an equally crushing, yet uplifting chorus before saddling back into more familiar breakdowns that has permeated the band's (Calebs?) discography since the very beginning. The first half of The Surface continues Caleb's shift into writing about self-love, joy and overcoming his past vices and last year's "Riptide" feels naturally slotted in the tracklist at number two, where he does away with much of the grating downtuned riffage and cymbal-kick-snare drum motifs that were far too prevalent on Below and Disease, in favor of more dancey instrumentals and less screaming. I'll even admit that the country twang on "Better Me" is a refreshing change of pace that sounds like something that was handed to him by also former Attack! Attack! member and one-man band Bilmuri aka Johnny Franck – it gives The Surface a much needed sense of singularity compared to his previous records.

Unfortunately, signs of repetition still rear their head more than they should as Caleb seemingly insists on utilizing the exact same intro-verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus-reprise of breakdown structure that has remained a staple since Disgusting with the latter half of the album being the worst offender of this. The slightly heavier cuts of "What's Killing You" and "What Are You Waiting For" also fail in bringing anything new to the Beartooth-formula: you know exactly where these songs are headed within the first 30 seconds. Still, his newfound knack for writing peppy pop-hooks, which is where his biggest strength has remained all along, helps give The Surface a slight edge over his more uneven records that came before. At its best, The Surface reinforces the fun side of Caleb's writing that has always been there and does just enough to combat the fatigue that was starting to settle in with his previous material. With more songs like "Might Love Myself" in his belt, Caleb could very well continue his ascent to super stardom in the rock and metal scene, provided he can continue to shed some unnecessary baggage.



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user ratings (73)
2.9
good


Comments:Add a Comment 
Tundra
October 14th 2023


9921 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

This band was boring to me ever since Aggressive, this album though is as good as their debut, amazing positive vibes and catchy infectious grooves

FREETHEGUYS
October 14th 2023


463 Comments


“amazing posivibes”

iChuckles
October 14th 2023


717 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Damn a 1 rating is a bit harsh.

LotionLord
October 15th 2023


211 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Nice review, pos'd.

Love this band. Definitely prefer their heavier stuff but the hooks on the title track and the closer are just magnificent. Caleb is a fucking stud.

iChuckles
October 15th 2023


717 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Thanks man! Yeah closer is real good too, nice to see him fully embrace his pop sensibilities in a good way.

Nikkolae
October 16th 2023


6762 Comments


I doubt this will be anything that impressive, but you have at least peaked my interest


Digging: Mineral - EndSerenading

Gameofmetal
Emeritus
October 16th 2023


11738 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I kinda like it but it has all the same problems their post-Disgusting albums have. Good hooks but none of the heavy parts have any bite.

MrGlass
October 16th 2023


610 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I understand people's criticism of this album. I love it though. Man can write a killer chorus. And as cliche as many of his lyrics may be, they connect for me.

Digging: Better Lovers - Highly Irresponsible

iChuckles
October 16th 2023


717 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

"Good hooks but none of the heavy parts have any bite."



Yeah basically this, I can only name one or two Beartooth songs of the top off my head with enjoyable heavy parts; most of it is pretty heckin' mid.

basteandesite
October 17th 2023


2 Comments


I agree with your opinion eggy car. Like the band a lot. The hooks on the album's title track and closer are very good, despite the band's preference for harsher music.

bellovddd
October 17th 2023


6779 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

about as mid as i expected it to be

mkmusic1995
Contributing Reviewer
October 26th 2023


2025 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

This was very mid unfortunately. I definitely enjoyed Below quite a bit more, definitely had more bite and edge and while still having that signature formula and repetition, the songwriting was more consistently good. There's some effort to branch out on this album and try a more accessible sound but the songs are generic as hell, the only redeeming quality is hearing how well Caleb sounds and that he's in a better place mentally.

Digging: EX GENERATION - The Napoli Exchange

Rowhaus
October 26th 2023


6461 Comments


band is so bad I can hardly bear it

LightAndGlass
October 26th 2023


1283 Comments


"you have at least peaked my interest"

Interest is piqued, not peaked.

Spec
October 26th 2023


40136 Comments


you have pigged my interest

FREETHEGUYS
October 26th 2023


463 Comments


“band is so bad I can hardly bear it”

I openly refuse to bear it and will under no circumstances ever allow myself to bear it

Purpl3Spartan
October 26th 2023


8992 Comments


I can hardly beartooth it guys

Digging: Tenue - Arcos, b??vedas, p??rticos

CaliggyJack
October 27th 2023


10185 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Lmao SiriusXM can't catch a break from this site

Shiranui
December 22nd 2023


1077 Comments


So apparently these guys switched their record label to DarkTones Records? Atleast that's where their new song was uploaded on youtube yesterday. I dunno if this even is a legit record label, their self description literally says "a platform for alternative rap" and the hashtags used for the song are #shadowrap #darktrap. What a weird business decision.

iChuckles
December 22nd 2023


717 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Nah bro "The Lines" came out almost 10 years ago, prolly some AMV channel or something.



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