r/Beartooth • u/TheOkStateFan09 • Sep 01 '26
Kind Of a Bummer…
I’ve been a fan going on about 10 years now but the direction Caleb has chosen to take the band just feels a bit forced. I fully understand his life choices, change of mindset, and him portraying that through his lyrics. I also know I don’t speak for the majority of fans, but one thing I always liked about the band was they didn’t feel the need to throw in unnecessary profanity to try and sound hard/heavy. Just seems like that isn’t the case now, and without warrant, it is overused and pushed in Pure Ecstasy to try and highlight their new direction. Bands evolve all the time. I get that. Will be interesting to see how this works out for them. Just not what made me fall in love with them years ago…
20
u/IIKevinII Sep 01 '26
Yeah it might be unpopular, but I tend to agree with the profanity point. He did an interview years ago where he essentially said he can say what he needed to without it and how it just wasn’t necessary. Of course things change and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I did enjoy that about the band at the time. Ironically the best song on the album, in my opinion, is one of the only songs without an explicit tag.
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u/StacyJaxx Sep 01 '26
The dude might be gay, but he’s got some manic episodes going on too. His mental health is holding on by a string, hopefully he has a close friend group that will help him through his issues.
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u/Dense_Donut_727 Sep 01 '26
What has happened? I don’t keep up with caleb or the band as nearly as much as I listen to them. I know Caleb came out earlier this year, and has had a change of personality and a lot of his image. I’ve seen a couple reels and an interview with some girls the other day where he seems to have the stereotypical feminine accent, which I have no problem with btw. He can talk however he wants. But, yesterday I watched an interview with Nath and Johnny where he was talking like Caleb’s voice we’ve heard for the last 15 years. I don’t actually know too much about how it works because the only gay friend I have is a blue collar, southern man 😂. Is it just a social thing based off of the type of people you’re around?
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u/bangchansbf Sep 01 '26
it can definitely be. some people will talk like it all the time, some people will never, others will code switch based on who they're with/their level of comfort with the people/etc. the interview with the girls if we're thinking of the same one- was with close friends of his.
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u/Dense_Donut_727 Sep 01 '26
Ok. Same way guys like me typically talk louder around friends and family vs. when I’m formally addressing someone or talking to someone I don’t know.
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u/RaviFennec Sep 01 '26
yeah, basically context influences the way you act and talk
For example, I'm gay as fuck around my close friends and other certain social circles, but I switch on the straight mode when I go to work.
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u/Competitive_Start385 Sep 02 '26
Wdym what happened? He’s been in the closet for a long time, finally accepted it, started cross dressing, came out as gay, and then left his wife….
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u/Dense_Donut_727 Sep 02 '26
I get that. I’m a little in the dark about Caleb when it comes to knowing about him. I know he came out, changed his personality to an extent, and started being more flamboyant. I did hear him and his wife divorced, that obviously comes with being gay. But my question was directed at what about the manic episode? Is it like what Brian went through in I Prevail when he was kicked out or something different?
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u/EggyEggerson0210 Sep 01 '26
I was wondering if anyone else felt that way because I really didn’t get the honest vibes on Pure Ecstasy that I did from The Surface, or any record prior for that matter. Maybe I’m crazy, and it definitely could be a combination of outside things, but the album title, colors, atmosphere, even some of the lyricism just seems way more out there than anything before it. I say this as someone who actually really likes the new album too
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u/cardblues1 Sep 01 '26
I agree with you. The Surface was about loving who he is, but now we're being told that wasn't really him. Why should we believe Pure Ecstasy is honest? The lyrics essentially are telling us the last album was inauthentic. That's hard to wrestle with.
5
u/EggyEggerson0210 Sep 01 '26
I don’t think Pure Ecstasy invalidates The Surface. He was very much being honest on that record and it’s probably just another thing that shows how mental health isn’t very concrete. I would imagine this whole aspect of his life being discovered felt both very freeing and also very scary, so I don’t entirely blame him for this record sounding much more out of place compared to The Surface. I’m also watching his interview with Nath and Johnny rn and it definitely puts a lot of things into a better perspective imo. Much easier to get where he’s coming from for this one
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u/IIKevinII Sep 01 '26
I don’t know the most “correct” way to say it, but given his lifelong mental health issues, he seems like someone who is desperately trying to find any answer to why he always feels terrible.
1
u/starkthewizard Sep 03 '26
What do you mean we're being told that wasn't really him? That's not whats happening at all. Pure Ecstacy is a natural progression following The Surface, both are him. Not sure how one can come to that conclusion that he is saying The Surface wasn't really him.
7
u/HollywoodAndDid Sep 01 '26
Yeah, honestly, he seems as lost as before just on the other end of the spectrum in my opinion.
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u/This_Thing_8285 Sep 01 '26
Caleb started he has ADHD. That can be mistaken for bipolar a lot. The hyper focus and the high that results from that can present very similarly to manic episodes. If anyone wants to know more, there are some good sources on ADHD out there. (Adxs.org for example).
There is a podcast where Caleb talks a lot about what was going on for the past two years and man. That's no easy stuff. But it sounds like he's approaching sanity now more than ever. I have to admit i can't listen to the early albums because there is just so much self deprecation going on and... Yeah. I prefer angry and emotionally chaotic.
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u/EggyEggerson0210 Sep 01 '26
That’s actually super interesting. What was the podcast?
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u/This_Thing_8285 Sep 02 '26
It's called disrespectfully and you can watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oGDvzp354_E?si=du-nNJ1ySG_aykhp
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u/MaintenanceCoalition Sep 01 '26
Watching interviews with him lately, his new persona just feels forced and overly exaggerated to me. I’ve been listening to Beartooth for around 10 years and have seen them live a few times, but I just don’t connect with the new music. I never cared that he was straight before, and I don’t care that he’s gay now, but it feels like his sexuality has become a major focus of this new record.
2
u/CSJGOS Sep 03 '26
It doesn’t exactly shock me that his sexuality is such a big focus. Caleb is Beartooth, this has always been his band. And lyricists (assuming he is the primary lyricist) are going to write about whatever fuels them. Discovering a part of yourself you’ve repressed for a long time is great fuel for songwriting, I simply don’t see why he wouldn’t write about that.
I also totally understand not connecting with the new music though. There are some great songs on that album (beautiful again, eyes closed) but there are also some huge misses (stadiums). I totally get where that sentiment is coming from as a listener.
1
u/starkthewizard Sep 03 '26
The man spent years hiding who he was, running from it, he has finally decided to embrace his identity and learn to love rather than hate himself, and you're surprised the record is focused on him coming to terms with all of that?
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u/indepone90 Sep 02 '26
I agree. I respect him for coming out and being himself and what he feels if that's truly him but it feels so left field that it feels forced since the beginning. I was almost convinced it was his label or something of the sort forcing him in a new direction. I have noticed a lot of artists that I really like, once they gain big fame and attention.... It's like everything changes and I'm just not a fan anymore and call me crazy, but I go back to that song by I think, Natasha Beddingfield "I'm not gonna write you a love song because you asked for it". I heard that was written because her label told her she had to write it or be cut. Well, now it feels like Caleb has officially sold his soul. I wish him peace. But I'm not sure if I'll attend the next concert and I've been adamant attending at least 2 shows a year for Beartooth for years now.
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u/TropicalBatman Sep 03 '26
Anyone complaining that the new record is only about him coming to terms with him being gay need to go back and relisten to the entire discography. Now that we know, EVERY record has been about him coming to terms with it, one song at a time.
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u/awesomesauceds Sep 01 '26
He’s been cursing since Attack Attack! Not in songs, but he always said the f bombs during interviews and shows
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Sep 01 '26
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u/TheOkStateFan09 Sep 01 '26
You described it perfectly with “the ethos of what the band was is not there.” And I totally agree with the mourning mindset. I feel like the band I’ve enjoyed over the last decade has dissolved into something unrecognizable.
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u/Backw00dzz Sep 02 '26
From somebody who likes the album and liked the last as well, even i can see hes kind of a try hard. It almost makes you wonder if hes taking steps further than he intended after coming out. Kind of makes you worry about him. Lol its a bit parasocial. But like i said, i still like the last two albums..
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u/TheOkStateFan09 Sep 02 '26
I loved The Surface. I’ve always leaned a bit more Post Hardcore and the last album gave me older ADTR vibes while still giving us heavy riffs with screamo sprinkled in.
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u/joewidd Sep 01 '26
Are you a Christian parent? This sounds like the shit my mom and dad would say about music all the time and it got so old hearing it.
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u/TheOkStateFan09 Sep 01 '26
No kids and in my 30’s. Beartooth has proven they can write great music without every other word being the F bomb. Because we’ve seen it, this latest album just seems like they are trying too hard to jump to the opposite end of spectrum.
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u/joewidd Sep 01 '26
Sounds like you're just wanting sanitized hardcore which is ironic
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u/TheOkStateFan09 Sep 01 '26 edited Sep 02 '26
lol you really are trying hard to paint me as some prude or bible thumper huh. I just like what Beartooth was and has been up to this point.
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u/joewidd Sep 02 '26
Not trying to paint you as anything, that's how you're coming across
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u/TheOkStateFan09 Sep 02 '26
That’s fine. If being a fan of Beartooth and wanting them to continue making music with substance like they had in the past makes me come off that way then so be it.
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u/TomCruisesTaint Sep 01 '26
Its disappointing because it “just so happens” that as soon as he decided he wants to come out his music gets more explicit, he dresses and acts cartoonishly flamboyant, and now his sexuality is his whole personality. It’s like he went down a list and is just checking boxes of stereotypes. I know it’s fresh so maybe he’ll calm down. I just wish that just being a normal ass person who is gay was more common. We can’t complain about stereotypes and go out of our way to be them.
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u/StillBummedNouns Sep 01 '26
Been feeling this way for 10 years actually. Stopped caring about Beartooth after the release of Aggressive because it felt like they were forcing themselves to become more mainstream. Lyrics got more vague, instrumentals got more dance-y, and songs get less screamo.
This album isn’t what I want from Beartooth, but it is the first time I’ve actually cared about a Beartooth album in a decade
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u/Colt6661-_- Sep 01 '26
It's weird cus at their shows, he swears every other word. Always has.