Beartooth - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 12th July @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Beartooth
The Corner Hotel, VIC
July 12th, 2019
Supports: Thornhill and Windwaker
Reigning all the way from Ohio are Beartooth, who we’re all very much in love with. The guys seem to be just as in love with us (well, we think so anyway), and have been down to our shores a few times before, but not yet for a headliner so they’ve come to sweep the nation by storm. The melodic hardcore dudes almost sold out the entire country, and Melbourne was no straggler.
The Corner Hotel was completely sold out as punters swarmed into the venue on a Friday night for a late gig, getting started after 9pm. Windwaker from Melbourne have been making waves and tailored their set to the crowd and headliner, compiling some of their biggest and heaviest hits. There were obvious fans getting amongst their new material from their Empire EP, as well as their blistering Silverchair cover of ‘Freak’ which was an obvious singalong. These guys have big things ahead and they know it.
Thornhill have also been getting some attention recently and supporting some big artists. They’re joining Beartooth across multiple cities and getting their eclectic sound out there. Presented rather contemporarily, front-man Jacob Charlton proved that his vocal range was wide as he nailed the clean choruses between blistering growls. The band was on-point and had the circle pits and walls of death to show for it. The band played some new material as well as their heaviest song to date ‘Lavender’ which was wild.
Beartooth were welcomed by a diverse crowd who packed into the venue to get a glimpse of the infamous Caleb Shomo himself. Dressed in a somewhat buttoned shirt and bandana, the hardcore ambassador poured all the energy he had into opening track ‘Bad Listener’ after warning the crowd that we’ll have to help him out tonight - seems like the band have been touring quite heavily, which has impacted his vocal cords. The crowd was matching the band’s passionate energy as hands and bodies bouncing up and down across the venue. Shomo closed his eyes looking down and screamed every last lyric with every ounce of available air out of his body and was so thankful to the crowd for getting around it. There are many showboat front-men out there who will say the words their crowd want to hear, but artists like Shomo hold a genuine vibe of appreciation towards fans by thanking everyone for selling out the venue and how lucky he and the band feels to being there. His stage presence was constant and despite failing vocal cords, the singer belted out every hit with more heart than anyone could imagine.
Between bangers from ‘Disease’ and ‘Disgusting’, Beartooth couldn’t get it wrong from a ‘crowd-pleaser’ point of view. Shomo has the kind of voice that anyone can emotively relate to, especially during songs like ‘Afterall’ that make you forget you’re at a metal show, as you’re singing along with everyone to the catchy chorus. Guitarists Oshie Bichar and Zach Huston helped Shomo with backing vocals and some of the heavier screams as he caught a breath. It was incredibly cathartic to hear the raw energy of some of the band’s best music across two enormous albums get performed live, with the freedom of headlining luxuries, like a longer set and tuned up ‘everything’.
Overall, the band delivered a gorgeous set despite Shomo’s vocal difficulties throughout the show. From guitarists crowd-surfing to prolonged drum-solos Beartooth delivered it all. Closing with ‘Believe’ the band left us on a massive high. We look forward to the guys coming back.
Review by Ricky Aarons @rickysaul90
Revisit Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo co-hosting our Wall of Sound: Up Against The Wall podcast right here
Photo Gallery by Dylan Martin. Insta: @dylanmartin_photography
Please credit Wall of Sound and Dylan Martin if you use published photos.
Windwaker
Thornhill
Beartooth
