Written by Nick Garrastegui
“I feel the rage / Something’s starting to grow / Six hundred sixty six feet in my hell below”- these are the word’s that greet you to Beartooth’s fourth album “Below.”
The album wastes no time in getting to the point with its opening title track. The guitars are ferocious and the vocals that accompany them are no different. It immediately draws you in and before you know it, you’re on to track two.
"Devastation” was the first single released off of “Below” and actually preceded the album announcement. It continues the frantic energy started with the title track and gives the listener the first monstrous breakdown of the album, featuring vocalist Caleb Shomo growling “Devastation will reign.”
“The Past is Dead'' switches things up a bit and steps away from the growling, harsh vocals featured on the first two tracks. Shomo’s ability to write anthemic sing-a-longs has become a Beartooth staple and this track is no different. From the sung “oh-oh’s” in the intro to the chant-style chorus, you can easily picture a crowd screaming the lyrics in a packed venue.
Track four, “Fed Up” is where I began to realize just how dark this album would get. The lines “I never want peace / I thrive in the panic” sit on a pounding drum intro before the rest of the instrumentals kick in.
To touch on this darkness surrounding the album a bit, Shomo himself called the album a “time capsule of 2020” in an interview with Forbes. It’s hard to miss the obvious emotions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns that affected us all last year. The raw emotion is captured perfectly within each track, from the instrumentals to the vocals.
As you make your way through “Below,” each song feels like you’re descending further into madness. These raw emotions come through especially on track five, “Dominate.” Every scream and every snare hit drive home the anger that the narrator is spewing with each line.
Something I found incredibly impressive throughout the album was that even with such aggressive instrumentals, the songs managed to somehow be groovy. “No Return” is a perfect example of this; its hard hitting drums sit deep in the pocket while the guitars follow their lead.
Track seven, “Phantom Pain,” is definitely one of the darkest songs lyrically on the album. The first verse ends with the lines “Still dead on the inside / I look dead on the outside” before going into the pre-chorus of “ I shook hands with the devil himself / Just tell me why.” The song captures the anger of absolute hopelessness amazingly well.
If “Phantom Pain” captures the anger of hopelessness, “Skin” captures the sadder side of it. The chorus of “I’m so uncomfortable with this skin I’m in / The mirror’s telling me that I’ll never win / It’s so hard to know these days / If anybody feels the same? I’d give anything for some company, company” make you feel as if you’re experiencing the same loneliness the narrator is.
“Hell of It” is my absolute favorite song off of “Below.” Having an intro composed of screamed vocals and chugging guitars atop a subtle hi-hat leaves the listener expecting a payoff when the drums kick in. While Shomo screams “Rip the flesh off my bones, make a feast of my carcass” the drums come roaring in, right along with one of my favorite guitar riffs on the whole album.
“I Won’t Give It Up” is the mark of the home stretch of the album. It almost acts as the song before the encore in the setlist, giving you just enough reprieve from the aggression of the songs preceding it while still keeping its foot on the gas and preparing you for the closer. It continues the theme of anthemic lyrics, with the refrain “I won’t give it up” recurring throughout.
“The Answer” is the final song to contain lyrics on the “Below.” It feels like everything before has been building up to this point: this explosion of emotions. It just feels like a closing track; it’s easy to picture yourself exhausted in the closing minutes of a live show, mustering just enough energy to shout its refrain,“I’m crumbing under the pressure.”
“The Last Riff” is the instrumental closing track and allows you time to reflect on the entirety of what you’ve just heard. It sounds massive; it makes you feel as if you’ve joined the narrator six hundred sixty six feet in the hell below.
The thing that amazes me the most is that Shomo did not only write all of the lyrics, he recorded all of the instrumentals and mixed and mastered each track. His absolute genius when it comes to songwriting expands into his ear for great tones.
The album is absolutely incredible sonically and it’s easy to tell how much blood, sweat, and tears were poured into this. "Below" is virtually perfect and cements Beartooth as the present and future of rock.
“Below” is available to stream everywhere you listen to music, and you can pick up some merch from the new album. You can also follow the band on twitter @BEARTOOTHband. You can let us know what you think of the new singles by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!
Comments