Caleb Shomo showed us the Sick Disgusting Aggressive Disease Below The Surface. In painful, lonesome catharsis and with reckless determination, the frontman and multi-instrumentalist forged Beartooth into a weapon. Pain blasted out as anthems as he ripped himself open, a raw nerve exposed.
Beartooth is now one of the most important, vibrant, and visceral acts in modern rock. In 2026, roughly ten years after the gold “Hated” and platinum “In Between,” Caleb is finally… Free. The opening salvo from Beartooth’s new partnership with Fearless Records is a seismic-sized single. Inviting, melodic, powerful, loud, and crushing in equal measure, “Free” ignites a brand-new season.
Beartooth began in Caleb’sOhiobasement in 2013. Heself-produced and played all the instruments on an arsenal of angry yet melodic songs filled with reflection and confession. Beartooth remains his message in a bottle, hurled into a hungry sea from an island of depression, repression, and confusion. Shomo’s unapologetic insistence on growth, no matter how daunting or dangerous, is a creative musical and emotional salve for a legion of listeners, one that shimmers, shines, and shakes as it heals.
The discography, through 2023’s The Surface (which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative and Hard Music charts and No. 2 on the Album Sales, Rock Albums, and Vinyl Albums charts), wove together a bombastic narrative. “Might Love Myself” shot to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Airplay and Mediabase charts. “I Was Alive” was the No. 6th most played song on Rock Radio in 2024, and Beartooth was among the Top 10 most played artists. Beartooth in 2026 is an even mightier animal.
Rolling Stone hailed Beartooth as one of 10 Artists You Need to Know. These songs are both bomb and balm, a refusal to suffer in silence, and a declaration for all who struggle with self-acceptance. Forbes wrote that the band is “inching towards a tipping point of becoming the latest arena headliner.”
Tantalizing, suggestive, and unashamed, “Free” is the sound of a luminous artist clawing through to the other side. The nerve remains exposed, but the decay is fading, making way for a sharper ‘Tooth.
