Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo recently spoke of his band’s divisive new single “Free” and his radical makeover that accompanied it. That track was unveiled in late February of this year and was met with considerable backlash, leading to Shomo deleting his Instagram.
In a new interview with Full Metal Jackie, Shomo spoke about his intent with the song and changing up his look:
“For me, I, at least currently, am really trying not to focus at all and I’m really actively trying to stay away from hearing any of the critical reception. Obviously, on a broader scale, I see if people are listening to it, I see if people are coming to our shows, so on and so forth.
But I think everybody is entitled to their opinion, and there are just inevitably going to be a lot of people that don’t like the way this sounds or maybe don’t like the way I look or the way I’m dancing or what I’m wearing, or whatever that may be. And again, that’s up to them.
And all I’m trying to do is just be as honest as I can and enjoy this very, very amazing gift that I have of being able to be in a band and that be my job, and make the art that I wanna make. I understand how rare it is. I understand how blessed I am to be able to do this, so I just wanna make the most of it.
And I know if I kind of get wrapped up in how people are reacting or get wrapped up in the people who don’t resonate with it, then maybe I’ll lose sight of all the people who do resonate with it.
And more importantly, I’ll lose sight of the only person who truly resonates with it, and that is me. And I just wanna be happy doing what I’m doing. So, that’s all I’m trying to focus on at the moment.”
As for what the platinum-certified melodic metalcore band have in store next with their new label home of Fearless Records, Shomo confirmed a sixth studio album awaits in the wings:
“I don’t know how much I’m supposed to be talking about this, but I do have a new record done. We’re currently in the stages of figuring out how we wanna roll it out to the people and all of the crazy logistics that come along with it. But, yeah, [Fearless] have provided me with such an amazing space to make this album with just unwavering support. They’ve really had to trust my process because it’s the first time we’ve ever done anything together.
And everybody makes art differently, so I really appreciate their patience with me and their understanding and their support. It’s just been amazing. Yeah, musically, it’s been really, really good. And I am so proud of this album. To me, it’s just simply the best Beartooth album I could make. There’s a lot of heavy stuff, there’s a lot of the choruses, there’s a lot of the pop, there’s a lot of the screaming there. There’s all the things that I love when it comes to writing Beartooth songs, and they provided a great avenue for that.”
[via Blabbermouth.net]
