Some of you may be aware of the name Caleb Shomo. For those of you that aren’t, he is most well known as the former singer of Attack Attack! (as in the American metalcore titans, not the very similarly named Welsh band). Taking over from Austin Carlile (now Of Mice & Men) as frontman of Attack Attack!, Shomo remained with them until 2012.
In 2012 Caleb Shomo was going through a rough time, and he started writing for another project to help him through. This project became Beartooth – formed of Caleb on vocals, Taylor Lumley on guitar, Nick Reed on bass and Brandon Mullins on drums.
“I was originally writing songs as sort of an outlet during a rough time in my life around when I quit Attack Attack!,” says Caleb. “All the members of Beartooth were a part of our road crew.”
Having known all of his new band members from life on the road already, Caleb knew he could trust them with his new project. But what made him want to branch out? How is it different from his previous work? His answer: “It’s raw and honest. It’s heavy, it’s raw, it’s energetic.”
He keeps coming back to the word “raw”, so that’s obviously one of the most important things to him in forming the new project. This time it’s raw, it’s real and it’s heavier than ever before. He describes Beartooth as “completely different” to Attack Attack!.
Beartooth have just released their new EP, ‘SICK’, and to an outsider, it does sound fairly similar to the work of Attack Attack!, mainly because they share the same vocalist. Musically, it’s arguably better than Attack Attack!, but they are not worlds away from each other.
When asked to describe the EP, Shomo says, “Very honest lyrically and energetic. I want the music to match the lyrics in how the songs feel so they all flow.” He also confirms that they have their debut full-length coming in the spring: “The album is nearly done! We just have to make some final tweaks and then it’s getting prepped for a spring release.”
If this sounds like it’s up your street, then you’re in luck because Beartooth will be coming to our shores with Of Mice & Men in April 2014. Prepare yourself, because they might just blow your socks off.
LAIS MW