Midwest rockers Beartooth have announced their fourth studio album, Below, which arrives June 25th. They’ve also unveiled the pyro-heavy video for the crushing single “The Past Is Dead”.
The song opens with a soaring vocal build-up and before launching into an anthemic breakdown. The track’s melodies and upbeat metalcore riffing are paired with dark lyrical concepts, as reflected by the album title Below.
In press release, singer Caleb Shomo questioned whether the new material was “too dark.” He said he drew upon experiences from the past year when writing the songs.
“Below is by far my favorite album I’ve made to date,” Shomo stated. “It covers the dark side of dealing with mental strain during the last year. I gave it all I had — musically and lyrically. Is it too dark? Possibly, but it was as honest as I could be about how I felt. I hope everyone is ready to strap in for a wild ride of head banging and rocking.”
He cites the song “The Past Is Dead” in particular, being that it was one of the first song’s written for the album and set the tone for the remaining tracks.
“Various versions have been in the bank for about two years now and it really set the tone for the whole album writing process,” Shomo said. “The video is meant to depict the beginning of the journey to the deepest and darkest parts of my mind, which was the fuel used to make Below.”
According to their press announcement, Beartooth will also explore traditional metal on Below (“stoner metal” and “doomy” dirges) while “weaponizing [the band’s] deceptively radio-ready bombast to deliver stone-cold truth missives.”
Prior to announcing the album, Beartooth also dropped the surprise single “Devastation”. Watch the video for “The Past Is Dead” and listen to “Devastation” below, followed by the album artwork and tracklist. Pre-order the new album Below here.
Below Artwork:
Below Tracklist:
01. Below
02. Devastation
03. The Past Is Dead
04. Fed Up
05. Dominate
06. No Return
07. Phantom Pain
08. Skin
09. Hell of It
10. I Won’t Give It Up
11. The Answer
12. The Last Riff
