BEARTOOTH

Beartooth is an American hardcore punk band formed by Caleb Shomo in Columbus, Ohio in 2012. They are signed to Red Bull Records since 2013 along with Shomo's electronic act Class. Their debut EP Sick was released on July 26, 2013, followed by their debut full-length album Disgusting on June 10, 2014. Their sophomore album Aggressive was released on June 3, 2016.

Beartooth's style on both their EP Sick and their album Disgusting has mainly been described as metalcore, but with more prominent punk rock influences than the style of Caleb Shomo's previous band Attack Attack! (to the extent that Beartooth have been considered a hardcore punk band) and without the electronic elements that Attack Attack! employed. Reviewers have also highlighted his emphasis on catchy choruses. Chad Childers of Loudwire commented that "the former Attack Attack! rocker [Shomo]... is delivering a mix of metalcore and old-school punk on his new band's Disgusting album", while Rock Sound described Beartooth as "mix[ing] metalcore with nu metal and... massive choruses", Kory Grow of Rolling Stone wrote that compared to Attack Attack!, the "smarter, leaner Beartooth have anted up the aggression with poppy hooks and slinky hardcore riffing" and Justin Mabee of HM Magazine said of Disgusting: "while much of the album tends to focus on two-steps, thrash and hardcore, Shomo came from a place where catchiness was in every song". Shomo was also named one of Alternative Press' "15 best screamers in modern metalcore" in February 2014.

Shomo himself commented on his intentions with Beartooth's style in an interview with Alternative Press in January 2013, when Sick hadn't been released yet, saying: "We just want to make fun, punk-rock, hardcore, wild music, play crazy shows and have a good time without any pressure from anything". When asked about the absence of electronic elements, which he has often worked with, from his new music, he stated: "I don't want any electronics in Beartooth. It's very hardcore and punk roots sounding. I have my electronic thing and I have this more hardcore thing, and I don't want those things to bleed into each other musically." In an interview with Kerrang! Shomo stated that he does not intend to change the band's sound on their sophomore album, and that it will be dark and intense like their debut.