Beartooth - The Surface (2023)^{Release ID: 47924}

With The Surface being my first exploration of Beartooth's music, I can't say that I was very excited about he thought. I had heard the name Beartooth thrown around in popular hardcore/metalcore circles, but they never really interested me all that much, likely due to the fact that I was head, neck and probably arms deep in a progressive wormhole at the time, and the thought of some very barebones, mosh-y hardcore music was not near the top of mind.

Well it's 2023 and Beartooth are still relatively popular. So much so that the band has cleaned up their sound and gone full radio friendly with their hardcore sound. The mixing of this record contains almost no reverb effects, which does come with its own drawbacks. Primarily, the whiplash dynamic change during the pre-chorus of "What's Killing You". On the positive, the promotional singles "Sunshine!" and "Riptide" are mostly solid and I did enjoy the title track as well.

Unfortunately this album is remarkably stale. Despite the more accessible nature of it, The Surface still feels like a very barebones and sanitized record. This is one of the more egregious examples of a metalcore band not willing to develop their sound beyond what made them popular many years ago. I cannot even say that it feels transitory because the slower, emotional tracks near this albums end are familiar to metalcore fans, as both Sleep Token and Bad Omens have tried this before to more positive results. The album claims to be more optimistic, but there is still a considerable amount of vocal whining and complaining, which at this point in metalcore, has not just become boring, but annoying.

The Surface exists. If you like Beartooth, then there is no reason why you would not enjoy this assortment of meat and potatoes metalcore. But even the metalcore circles I frequent hold this album out at a distance for its more pop tendencies. We're just hoping this band will dig a little deeper.

Best Songs: Sunshine!, What Are You Waiting For

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