Review Summary: "This is for the kids, with the beaten in lips"
A friend of mine, wanted me to listen to his new favorite song, by Beartooth. That song was "Body Bag." He also wondered, had I heard of them before. Well, maybe I'm the only one, but I couldn't watch a youtube video, which didn't have a 1min commercial, for "Beaten In Lips", so yah, I heard of em. What baffled me though, was why the earlier mentioned song was his favorite. I found it so similar to "Beaten In Lips", only a little less catchy. Maybe I was missing something, who knows; so here I am, after listening to this album, and deciding to give it a little review for all ya'll!
I respect Beartooth, for their opener, not being an under one minute--instrumental that begs to be skipped. Now, the thing is, that the first three tracks are all a little too identical. The highlight being, "Beaten In Lips." Catchy as hell, but the formula is a ghost that comes back to haunt on this record. Most times, it follows as so: Caleb declares movement, song starts up, screamed verses, pre-chorus, anthemic chorus, repeat, bridge/ Caleb's one liner and a breakdown, repeat. This makes the songs very, "samey", even when they try and change it up.
Luckily, the album takes a change in tone at least, starting with "In Between." Yah, the chorus sounds like it was ripped right out of, "Crown The Empires", "The Fallout", but it does feel a little different from the rest. The tracks start to get a little darker, with "Relapsing" being an example, as it sounds like a more depressed version of "Beaten In Lips." This is musically darker, not lyrically (duh), which id like to digress toward. The lyrics are, at the worst of times, painfully generic and predictable. Caleb, is a lot like a poor mans, Matty Mullions, who I've always found to be, a poor mans Buddy Nielsen. The lines aren't bad, at the best of times, but metaphors we've all heard, a couple hundred times before. Luckily, as the album pulls forward, the songs start to work, around the lyrics, and actually get some pretty strong cuts. The second half of this album is where it shines, hands down, even if slip ups do occur.
The only song off the ep, I believe, is "I Have A Problem", which stands out amongst the former played tracks. It shows the Beartooth formula, done in such a tasteful way; but isn't saying much, since it is an older track, and doesn't really bring up the albums rep. Small deviations, like what sounds like a little Tremolo on, "One More", attempt variation, even if the formula stays the same. "Keep Your American Dream", has a really cool breakdown, that includes some muted strings, or whatever you call it (not chugs lol), but I can't forgive the lyrics. The way he screams about "working hard, or hardly working", makes me cringe hard. Man, do the hype moments, found on the bridges, start to get old too. Caleb's one liners, really get grating after awhile. So here comes the gold, "Me In My Own Head", is all the emotional torment, anguish, and ferocity that Beartooth have been trying so hard to convey. Only rivaled by the closing track, which ultimately is the best song on the album. "Sick and Disgusting", with its wails, and abandonment of any order, becomes what should have made up this album. This track. makes the album come together, in a very rewarding way (fun fact-- the acronym for this song, is S.A.D).
Disgusting, is a generic album, in many ways. Its obviously miles ahead of most modern Metalcore, but is that enough. Should you be rewarded, for behaving the way you are expected, or should it just be expected. None of the songs are bad, by any means, but I feel a full album was a bit more than Beartooth, could really handle at this moment. The lyrics are predictable, a lot of songs feel like weaker versions of "Beaten In Lips", the formula is way too relied on, and the production choices also end up rubbing me the wrong way (some of those guitar riffs, sounds like duck farts or something). Now, as bad as all that is, this does have some really good songs, and will probably be a huge deal for those, who like the kind of music that caters to the listener (lyrically mostly), so I'm giving it a 2.5/5, because as generic as a lot of it is, it does have enough solid tracks, that you can make your very own ep out of what you like.
