Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo has spoken to NME about the band’s new album ‘Pure Ecstasy’, feeling more comfortable in his own skin and finding the “inner strength” to choose the path of joy after coming out.
Lista completa
- Dolly Parton, 1946-2026: the Queen of Country was a unifying force in a divided world.
- Electronic wizard Hakushi Hasegawa’s next experiment? Forming a band.
- For Quiet Light, duality is a fact of life: “Everything is way more connected than we think”.
- Yeon Sang-ho: South Korea’s zombie king tells us the secret to K-horror’s success.
Tomorrow (Friday August 28), the metalcore outfit formed in Columbus, Ohio will share their sixth album – their first release with Fearless Records. Previewed by singles ‘Free’, ‘Eyes Closed’, ‘Bullshit’ and title track ‘Pure Ecstasy’, the record also features co-writing and production from former Bring Me The Horizon member Jordan Fish.
After Shomo started Beartooth in 2012, the band’s blend of menacing post-hardcore riffs with stadium-sized choruses helped solidify their status as heavy music mainstays.
Lyrically, debut album ‘Disgusting’ through to 2020’s fourth LP ‘Below’ were brutally honest portrayals of Shomo’s battles with low mental health. Previous record ‘The Surface’ (2023) shifted to cautious manifestations of self-love, while Beartooth began to infuse pop sensibilities into the heaviness, as Shomo told NME of his desire to “let that part of me out more” at the time.
Although it’s still packed with chunky riff-work and shattering breakdowns, parts of ‘Pure Ecstasy’ push Beartooth’s sound further into pop-metal territory, and Shomo let NME in on the album’s sonic touchpoints.
Upon unveiling powerful lead single ‘Free’ in February, Shomo took himself offline after he was subjected to some disgusting homophobic comments regarding his appearance in the music video.
After returning to social media and announcing the album alongside UK headline shows, Shomo shared a statement in which he came out as a “proudly gay man”.
He told fans: “There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding my personal life as of late, and I feel compelled to set the record straight before it affects those I love any further.”.
Check out the rest of our interview below, where Shomo revealed why he told the world about the context to this album, how Fish “reminded [him] what Beartooth is”, and the overriding elation that ultimately emanates from ‘Pure Ecstasy’.
NME: Hi Caleb. What was it that prompted you to come back online and then publicly share that statement about your sexuality.
Caleb Shomo: “I hit this point in my life where I realised, ‘This is probably going to get out into the world, one way or another,’ and I wanted to get ahead of it and say it on my own terms.
There’s a lot of other reasons, but really, at the end of the day, it was something I needed to do for myself. I want to be who I am and not have to worry about it, and I felt it was probably gonna give me a little bit of peace of mind to rip off that band-aid.
How have you found it navigating the public-facing element and pressures of being in the middle of an album cycle, with so much going on personally.
With the end of your marriage, as well, you’d imagine your day-to-day life now looks quite different. In both a musical and personal sense, have you had the support network you’ve needed around you during this whole period.
You open the album with the lyric “Sick and disgusting this aggressive disease / Never discussing what a word of it means”, referencing your first three albums.
Has making this record helped you finally make sense of the subject matter on those albums.
How do you feel about the reality of having to play those old songs forever.
You sing “I just can’t buy this shit you’re selling” and reference God on ‘Sorry’. Is the message of not apologising for who you are directed at your Christian upbringing.
But ultimately, the album is called ‘Pure Ecstasy’. What is giving you that FEELING that prompted you to declare and immortalise that feeling through an album title.
SEPTEMBER 17 – myticket Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt 18 – Rudolf Weber Arena, Oberhausen 19 – Swiss Life Hall, Hannover 21 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels 22 – 013, Tilburg 24 – SaSaZu, Prague 25 – Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin 26 – Zenith, Munich 27 – Gasometer, Vienna 29 – Fabrique, Milan 30 – Halle 622, Zurich.
OCTOBER 1 – Elysée Montmartre, Paris 3 – O2 Academy Brixton, London 5 – O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds 6 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow.
The world's defining voice in music and pop culture: breaking what's new and what's next since 1952.
When you purchase through affiliate links on NME.com, you may contribute to our site through commissions. Learn More.
NME Networks, a part of Caldecott Music Group. All rights reserved.
