Album Review: Disgusting by Beartooth

Photo from Wikipedia

Words by: Emily Racanelli

You could use one word to sum up the 42-minute debut full length masterpiece that is
Disgusting: heavy. I don’t say this just because of Beartooth’s aggressive punk/metalcore style of
music, but because of the serious topics this album tackles. Lyricist and frontman Caleb Shomo
writes (and screams) about suicide, depression, alcoholism, and even domestic abuse. To me, there is nothing more satisfying that seeing a band use their popularity to shed light on important
issues that impact the day to day lives of many people. I probably shouldn’t use the word “band”
though, considering that 100% of the credit for this album goes to Shomo. Not only did he write
all the lyrics and do both clean and unclean vocals, but he also recorded every instrument and
composed 11 of the 12 songs in his home studio. I can’t say I’m surprised by this 22-year-olds
unspeakable amount of talent, given he has been in the music world since joining the hardcore
electro-punk band Attack Attack! at age 15 as the keyboardist. (He would later become the
vocalist). Since then, Shomo has honed in on his voice and created the ability to quickly
transition from high to low screams in a verse and then do clean vocals in the chorus. I believe
the chorus of each song on Disgusting is the focal point of the album. Unlike many screamo
bands, Shomo is able to give each song a catchy melody that is sure to get stuck in your head.

This record is perfectly balanced in all aspects. The verses are complete with earpounding,
head-banging double bass drums, with a quick switch over to a sing-along chorus. The
best example of an anthemic chorus on this album is “Beaten In Lips.” A song about child abuse,
it proclaims “Keep living loud and proud!” despite what might be going on around you. Another
highlight on this record is “I Have A Problem.” It tells a powerful story of an alcoholic
recognizing “I guess a bottle can’t save my life.” It gives me chills every time. Speaking of
chills, I can’t forget to mention the absolute highlight of the record, the closing song “Sick and
Disgusting.” Never before have I heard someone put more raw emotion into something.
Throughout the song Shomo’s voice shakes while he labors each breathe between verses. In the
end he completely breaks down crying while screaming “Daddy I don’t wanna be sick and
disgusting.”

Is the music of this album typical metalcore? Yes. Does that make it ordinary? Absolutely
not. With Disgusting, Caleb Shomo has proved that there is no musical challenge he cannot
conquer. This is an indication that Beartooth (and any other project Shomo decides to join in the
future) is sure to have great success. So what would I like to see from this band going forward?
Given Shomo’s remarkably pristine clean vocals, I would hope that Beartooth continue to blow
us away and release acoustic versions of some of their songs!