Beartooth Nails The In Between Slot For Coherent Metalcore

Metalcore can be a real head trip to observe up close and personal. It leaves the famous (or infamous, depending on which side of the pro/con camp you shake out on, Cookie Monster vocals, those tonsil flashings so cartoon like and brutish it makes you wonder what's eating that guy. Hailing from Columbus Ohio, Beartooth succeeds in demonstrating that metalcore need not be a sonic screech fest via "In Between". At the chorus segments I can clearly make out lead vocalist Caleb Shlomo's words. I appreciate how he considers my feelings as an audience member. He wants me to have a visceral connection with his band therefore screaming doesn't crowd out his gritty use of language. Taylor Lumley brings ample flavor to the guitar. He matches Caleb stride for stride in the bouncing off the wall energy department. Brandon Mullins steps up to the plate to deliver a rollicking series of inspired drumbeats. Oshie Bichar lights a match under the carnival with nifty bass work. But back to the chorus. That Cookie Monster and Caleb exist within the same body truly gives me cause to be highly impressed. At first you think he's going to take your head off but then this no less aggressive but equally potent chap enters the picture. Drugs and rock 'n' roll have been dance partners for as long as anyone cares to remember but Caleb's the first soul I know to utter the sentence "Life can be such overdose." He shoots off universal sentiments like "Life's so dark when everyday is a struggle." Sounds like truth to me. In addition he poses a choice that you'd have to be a robot not to be affected by, namely, "Speak right now and make the choice to grow." For a good many people, myself included, growing up is one of the most unabashedly tough things we'll ever be asked to do. It means daring to open up to someone, knowing somewhere down the line your heart is bound to get broken. Summoning up the courage to love again takes brass. But the big prize is, if you're lucky you emerge from the wreckage a better person with a greater capacity to love and be loved. But enough music psychology. "In Between" displays a gymnast's agility in jumping from metalcore raw to studio ready polish. Beartooth doesn't alienate either camp and actually makes a case for how it's carving a niche in both genres. Caleb isn't one of your high showmanship front men. What he brings to the table is undiluted enthusiasm. In the rock scrum that can and often does get you brownie points really fast. Beartooth earns respect as a tight unit in lyricism and melodic juice. Caleb professes to know how harsh it can be getting lost in the in between. Leaping from Cookie Monster to Caleb and back again proves Caleb hasn't been dragged down to the in between by any stretch. The video shows how pepped up this foursome gets when it's in the zone. "In Between" offers metalcore without the monster. Such versatility bodes well for Beartooth's future prospects.