LIVE REVIEW: Beartooth @ The Roundhouse, London
BEARTOOTH has been stretching beyond the capabilities of metalcore since their earliest days of 2014. Coming from the whirlwind of MySpace metalcore of repetitive chugging breakdowns, it’s easy to see why BEARTOOTH broke through the mainstream and had a resounding effect on listeners like they did. Their sound leaned into its heavier hardcore roots and was outspoken and honest in its depressing themes that had a blunt impact on its listeners and moved toward the direction of what would now be considered the new wave metalcore 2015-2020.
Their latest album tour for Disease, supported by THE AMITY AFFLICTION and HIGHER POWER, is said to be their last before a new album approaches, and their night at the sold-out The Roundhouse in London felt more like a highlights reel of their greatest accomplishment and something to be stapled for the books. BEARTOOTH came into this scene as undervalued underdogs, but their latest tour solidifies the years of hard work that’s grounded them as a powerhouse of this scene who aren’t going anywhere.
Hardcore punk’s HIGHER POWER kicked into a night with a truly off-the-wall performance as the leading man, Jimmy Wizard, pounced across the stage like a bolt of energy. HIGHER POWER is widely considered as the new wave for British hardcore, borrowing influence from the eccentric 80’s New York hardcore scene that leans into its punk instrumentals and melodic choruses and provides an interesting take from what’s already been done. HIGHER POWER rarely leaves room to disappoint, bringing their latest record 27 Miles Underwater to the stage for all kinds of crazy antics amongst the crowd who’d opened mosh pits by the second song. Though they’re bagging larger tour spots like this, it seems obvious from the underwhelming crowd turn out that this band is grievously underrated and deserves a larger spotlight for 2020.
Rating: 9/10
THE AMITY AFFLICTION came as the second supporting role, although their preexisting status in the scene from their success on Chasing Ghosts and Let The Ocean Take Me made this slot feel like a co-support, just in production value alone. Opening with the triumphant All My Friends Are Dead, like clockwork, mosh pits emerged and crowd surfers flooded over the barrier. THE AMITY AFFLICTION‘s latest album, Everyone Loves You…Until You Leave Them establishes them back at their heavier roots, not only in their grittier metal breakdowns but also returning to the band’s renowned lyrical themes that tackle social, political and personal issues. That’s why it came as a shock that despite the album release coming a week before this show, the band seemingly pandered to fan favorites in their setlist with only three songs from the new album, Coffin, All My Friends Are Dead and Soak Me In Bleach, that were all played in the first half. Granted, this was a shorter supporting slot but it would have been more favorable to their release if they weaved in one or two more songs onto the setlist. However, the band has racked up almost a decade’s worth of touring so it comes to no surprise that they effortlessly smashed a show-stopping performance that pocketed the best parts of any show, the singalongs, moshpits and emotional moments.
Rating: 8/10
Finally, BEARTOOTH hit the stage with a ruthless force, building anticipations as they blared Down With The Sickness by DISTURBED before surprisingly kicking in with a beloved throwback, The Lines. In their earlier Disease cycles, they’ve typically leaned toward the new release, obviously, but as they close the curtains on this era the band are bouncing back into their grittier older works for some nostalgic callbacks and true crowd insanity. Along with the severity of just how massive this show is for the Ohio five-piece, the setlist felt like a highlights reel of everything that’s been accomplished by the band in the past seven years that, for fans watching, felt heart-warming and rewarding to see.
Marching through the night with a variety of head-banging anthems, including work from their latest LP Disease such as You Never Know or Enemy, audiences delved into chaos as for almost every breakdown and at one point it was hard to spot a person not on their feet and jumping around. However, they didn’t miss a beat with their older works and paid homage to the band’s previous two records Disgusting and Aggressive, even scratching the surface of their Sick EP for their oldest fans with I Have A Problem. Beartooth’s sound is an adaptation of the metalcore style Caleb Shomo had worked with in 2010, but evolved to lean deeper into its hardcore punk roots especially with the earlier albums. However, in their more recent LPs, especially in tracks like Bad Listener and Rock Is Dead, Shomo explores his love for classic rock and roll that has a vivacious, gnawing hardcore twist on it. This track’s work well for live performances because on one hand, you can headbang and bounce around, and on another hand, you can open up a moshpit and start two-stepping like there’s no tomorrow.
BEARTOOTH shows are an emotional rollercoaster, both in their versatile heavy sound but also in the ongoing heavy themes throughout the songs that act as an emotional weight to the performance. The five-piece are famously known for their lyrical honest tracks that tackle issues of depression, suicide, alcohol abuse, child abuse, and generally battling with the struggles of life. The personal connection this creates with the crowd and frontman Caleb Shomo is best exemplified through live performances and is a cathartic experience in itself because seeing young fans screaming such powerful lyrics back through tears acts as a reminder of the impact this band have had and still have on their young audience, and to experience it all around you truly gives you a better insight into the depth of those songs.
At one point before their title track Disease, Shomo cleared the air to give a heartfelt speech as he battled through his own emotions. The vocalist shared that the album cycle would be ending soon, that this album was him exploring what made his brain think and act the way it did toward his negative feelings and what seemed to resonate most with the crowd was the honest advice he gave to them, saying that “I’m honored to be a part of that journey, but I didn’t take the gun out of your head, the bottle of pills off the counter, you fucking did that. {…} When you walk out these doors today you can’t say ever gain that you weren’t ever fucking loved.”
It’s somewhat strange to be following a band from almost their pre-school days, going back as earlier as their 2014 show at The Barfly in London, seeing them battle through dive bars and dingy basement venues to now having a platform where they can play to The Roundhouse’s 1,700 sold-out capacity with the production caliber of a 70’s rock band. From smoke machines, blasting fire, confetti everywhere and astonishing drum solos from Connor Denis, it’s definitely a step up in production value from their homely house shows back in 2013. For long-time fans and the band themselves, this night was a monumental success as it displays the band’s growth from the crabcore scene and their sustainability with metalcore that hasn’t washed out into generic metal gargle. Shomo even put the idea of playing Alexandra Palace next, which wouldn’t be too far off considering the overwhelming reception for this tour. Overall it was an exciting performance that fans of rock, hardcore or just good heavy music could enjoy.
Rating: 10/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here:
