Beartooth – The Surface | Album Review

The journey of self-love and acceptance starts with a single step. And for Beartooth, that first step is The Surface.

Being a fan of Beartooth and absorbing their discography is almost like having VIP access to the mind and thought processes of frontman Caleb Shomo. His public battle with depression & self-hatred has been in the fabric of Beartooth’s releases since day one, but with The Surface, the wallow and misery of previous efforts has been left behind to make way for a new path of acceptance of self and recovery. If you want the gloomier outputs, look backwards. But if you want to understand Shomo‘s journey to sobriety and positivity, The Surface will take you on it with him.

As the band press forwards into the album’s title track, their metalcore roots are still very much implemented and are still their sound with the more melodic elements we know and love them for. And with lyrics like “might have pushed it to the limit, but I’m not dead yet” is a sign of resilience in Shomo and how he’s bounced back. The more pop punk upbeat vibe of The Surface carries on over to the rest of the album. Make no mistake, the more upbeat feeling does not impact their abilities to create a solid metalcore album. Blending the lines between aggression and poppier efforts is done sublimely by Beartooth. Although Shomo does play all the instruments in studio, and does a blinding effort at this, there is no doubt that when the band hit the stage to showcase this effort that guitarists Will Deely & Zach Huston will be able to shred harder and more violently on tracks like Riptide & Look The Other Way.

Beartooth aren’t one for guest appearances on their albums, so it may come a bit of a shock when country singer Hardy joins the song The Better Me for a guest spot. His spot however just blends into the song and doesn’t make any impact. You can tell he’s there, but it sounds like Shomo is doing his vocals with a slight twang which is a shame. But the song is still great and provides more room for guest spots in the future, which hopefully will get more traction.

Since July 2022 when Riptide was released as a single, five other songs have dropped since then, and considering the album is only 11 songs deep most of the album was already released. So that leaves six songs of unheard material from the album. And it stays true to the rest of the album’s themes. What’s Killing You is for the people who are here for the heavier hardcore side of Beartooth. Unforgiving and violent in its riff and drum work only to be layered on top of Shomo’s pained screams and wails with crowd ‘woah’ parts for live settings. 

Want more of their radio rock stylings? What Are You Waiting For is the song for you. Gritty clean vocals that wouldn’t be amiss from the Tony Hawks Pro Skater soundtrack. Sounding like a combination of 90’s punk and early 2010’s A Day To Remember collaboration it’s got as much energy as a Sonic the hedgehog on a quintuple shot of espresso. Fierce riffs and drum work make the song feel electric. And as we pass into the album closer I Was Alive, we’re left with the hard rock marking of the band. When the record fades away with the echoing guitar tone, you feel uplifted full of life. Shomo and co have created a blazingly emotional album. The dark times have passed. The newer lighter age is here, and The Surface has opened more doors for Beartooth to expand their musical horizons.